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Show 4 ''fimEs HILLTOP TIMES March 7, 2013 PANEL From page 3 the Air Force, she gave a unique prospective of what it is like to be young and newly enlisted. She spoke of her experience moving to Utah. "I was not happy about Utah at first, but when I got here I felt welcomed. It was a culture shock because I came from Virginia which is a melting pot compared to here. But everyone is friendly and always smiles," she said. The two-year enlisted Airman also gave advice for those thinking of joining the Air Force. "I take everything as a challenge. When people would tell me I couldn't do something, I took it as something to accomplish," said Norman. "I also HAYDEN From page 1 discrepancies, an inspector general-recognized "best practice." Describing that period of time Hayden said, "We had a manning issue and we didn't have any senior NCOs in the office. My leadership gave me the opportunity to step up and `be a NCO' and I had to lead Deployment Medicine which is one of our biggest sections." Several NCOs were inbound and one was set to take maternity leave so the senior airman was asked to assume the responsibility. At the time Hayden hadn't even put on her stripe as a senior airman, entering the position as an airman first class. recommend talking to the Airman and Family Readiness Center about classes on budgeting and saving money. For young people who start making money, it's good to learn how to budget it. It's good to plan for the future." The second speaker was Greg Head, who separated from the Navy and now supports his wife, a master sergeant stationed at Hill AFB. He spoke about how being a male spouse means he is the minority because his wife deploys and he stays home with their children. "When my wife deploys you get weird questions like, 'What are you going to do with the baby?" said Head. He also talked about how during one of his wife's previous deployments from Hill AFB, he was thankful that his wife's command contacted him to check on how his family was doing She did both jobs as a senior airman and as the senior noncommissioned officer for Deployment Medicine. "My leadership was extremely supportive," said Hayden. "While I was filling this position we did have a mass deployment and to meet the medical needs the entire medical group got together to ensure their preparedness." Hayden's nomination package also records the efforts she put forth in the medical group HIV program. She created operating instructions and training for the HIV positive personnel ensuring precision care of positive members. Hayden's efforts didn't stop there, she enhanced Health Services Inspection programs with an inspection tracking log which reduced wait time by 40 percent. This also went toward the medical group's rating of "Outstanding." Hayden also trained 60 unit deployment managers while she served as NCO in deployment medicine. She raised individual medical readiness to 83 percent, the highest Physical Health Assessment rate in Air Force Materiel Command which was praised by the cornmander of the AFMC. This was not all, the senior airman also volunteered as a Red Cross hospital volunteer, donating 108 hours as orderly escort. When Hayden recently returned to duty following surgery on a femoral ligament, she was surprised to learn that she had received the award at the Air Force level. "My morn was very have an effect on children. "My kids are resilient, they don't question when they have to get up at 5 a.m. But it is hard, though, to be gone from them. My daughter was 6 months old when I deployed, and when I came back, she had become very protective of her daddy. And in coming back, I sort of barged into their relationship," said Snow. "I remember we were dancing in the kitchen and she came between us and pushed me away. It took a while to get our relationship back. She is definitely a daddy's girl now though." The next speaker, Master Sgt. Rhonda Perry, spoke from the experience of having both her and her spouse enlisted, and the effect it has on their and to see if he needed anything. He said that was a nice change from a previous base. The third panelist, Capt. Christy Snow, talked about how she started off as a tech sergeant and then, during a deployment to Jordan, she decided to use her education and make the switch to become an officer. And while she doesn't have any aspirations to become a general, she believes her background has helped make her a better leader. "Transferring has made me a better leader. I use experiences from my enlisted days to know what makes a good or bad leader. It's given me experience in personal and work related issues," said Snow. She also discussed the resiliency of her children and how being gone can excited, not that she knew what the award was," she said smiling. Her brother who serves in the Marines understood a little better the significance of the award. "He was very excited," she said. Hayden said of her time putting in the hours in the noncommissioned officer slot, "I think it changed my mindset about the Air Force." She explained, "I feel like a lot of brand new Airmen — it's easy to get the wrong ideas and maybe we don't like how the work is structured. It's a different world being in this position and I was able to understand why everything works the way it does." She is really direct about her praise for everyone who helped her because "no one wins an award by themself." See PANEL I page 8 "My whole office really supported me. If I needed help or if I needed advice they were always there for me," Hayden said. "The entire medical group really helped me out with things I didn't necessarily know and needed to know. The unit deployment managers were also very supportive and they did their best to do their side so it was easier to do mine." Looking at it now from the other side she notes Oall Serving AThroga-Et a feeling of accomplishment in herself and her Airmen for putting on their part of the deployment lines. "We see a lot of traffic (in deployment medicine) and it's very important to get everything right," she said. "They need to get in tip top shape, no mistakes." Those stellar efforts led to a continuance of four years of no discrepancies within Deployment Medicine. Mon. - Fri. 7:00 am - 6:00 pm Open Saturdays Most Insurance Plans Accepted. Payment Plans, Credit Cards, Military Dental Plans. EMERGENCIES WELCOME! www.Iaytonpediatricdentistry.com Marc M., USAA member USAA Auto Insurance. Earned once. Cherished from generation to generation. 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