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AMC History Office earns first General Bryce Poe II Award

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Mark Diamond
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill --  The Air Mobility Command History Office is the first recipient of the U.S. Air Force General Bryce Poe II Award.

The new award - presented by the Air Force chief of staff during the recent Air Force History and Museums Program Worldwide Conference - recognizes the best annual history written by a major command headquarters history office.

AMC Command Historian Lillian Nolan said being recognized for their annual historical report shows the Air Force chief of staff's level of commitment to heritage and the Air Force History and Museums Program.

She added that the recognition means even more knowing that her office is the first recipient of the Air Force-level award.

"I believe we in AMC History are proactive in all we do for our commander and staff," Ms. Nolan said. "It is obvious that my folks love their work by the level of excellence we have been able to achieve."

Several members of the AMC History Office echoed Ms. Nolan's statements.

"It was quite an honor for our office to receive this award, especially when you consider the fact it was the initial presentation of this new award," said John Murphy, who accepted the award of the behalf of AMC History Office.

He said the fact that the presentation of an award that recognizes his office's hard work and dedication took place in front of their peers made it that much better.

"I think our office is full of dedicated professionals who take pride in the work we do, so to have that acknowledged this way was simply fantastic," Mr. Murphy said.

Mark Morgan, another member of the AMC History Office present during the presentation, described the award as "a very pleasant surprise" and "pretty exciting."

"Throughout the U.S. Air Force History and Museum Program we all put in long hours and a lot of hard work to support and assist the commanders, so recognition of this sort was definitely gratifying," Mr. Morgan said.

"I was honestly unaware that there was an award for best MAJCOM annual history," said Kathy Skipper, also from the AMC History Office. "I was and am very proud to be a member of this team. We all work very hard in this office and love the mission here at AMC. It is truly a privilege to be one of the people responsible for recording the history of this great organization."

According to Ms. Nolan, the Air Force History and Museums Program's mission is to improve U.S. Air Force combat capability and program development through the collection, preservation, interpretation, dissemination and display of historical information, artifacts and Air Force heritage.

She said her office accomplishes this mission through heritage questions and slides, and presentation of historical exhibits at events such as the Tuskegee Airmen convention, the Airlift/Tanker Association convention, the 50th Anniversary of the C-130 at Little Rock, and actively participating in the historical background behind the AMC Heritage Center, and providing educational awareness at events such as High Flight."

Additionally, Ms. Nolan said a museum representative works with each unit on acquisition and maintenance of static display aircraft; yet another way to tell the Air Force and unit story.

Although the History Office manages many different functions and activities, Ms. Nolan said accomplishing an annual or semi-annual historical report is a primary function of her office and the AMC field historians.

"Each wing and independent group has their own historian who tells the unit story much as we do here at the MAJCOM," she said. "Each wing and independent group in this command has a historian who captures their respective important issues, events, and maintains their own archive while we at headquarters maintain the archives for the entire command."

Ms. Nolan said with their extensive archive collection and talented historians, History offices are often called upon.

"We are able to pull together data that can be used for analysis or comparison/contrast in assisting our leadership to have the full picture so vital in the decision-making process," Ms. Nolan added.

The General Bryce Poe II Award is named in honor of retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Bryce Poe II whose 38-year Air Force career culminated as the commander of Air Force Logistics Command. During the Korean War, then-Lieutenant Poe flew the first Air Force jet reconnaissance sortie. A longtime and vigorous supporter of the Air Force History and Museums Program, General Poe earned a Master of Arts in History from the University of Omaha, and served as the president of the Air Force Historical Foundation until 1996. General Poe died Nov. 20, 2000.