Nevada Army Guard Medical Detachment wins top honors for state, NCO of Year

Story by Capt. Emerson Marcus

Nevada Joint Force Headquarters Public Affairs

The Nevada Army National Guard took home Best Overall Medical Readiness and Army National Guard Medical Readiness Noncommissioned Officer of the Year awards during the annual Army National Guard Medical Team Conference last month at the Professional Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas.

“The honor of receiving Best Overall Medical Readiness illustrates the hard work and dedication of so many within the Nevada Army National Guard,” said Col. Thomas Weber, Nevada Guard state surgeon. “This could not have been possible without the help of everyone in the Office of the State Surgeon (OTSS) and the Medical Detachment in Nevada. Brig. Gen. Troy Armstrong has been a leader in making sure that medical readiness is a top priority within the state, and this has been key to our success in winning this award.”

Weber also recognized Sgt. 1st Class Justin Konrad who won the Medical Readiness NCO of the Year award. Both awards for the state and Konrad came in the “Small State” Category during the conference April 15-19.

“He is always thinking ahead,” Weber said of Konrad. “He has been invaluable in providing guidance and expert knowledge for medical readiness and is the most professional NCO that I have had the honor to work with in my military career.”

The metrics for Best Overall Medical Readiness for a small state include IDES (med boards-packet entry), provider credentialing, flu vaccines, flight paramedics, top 10 in medical readiness — Nevada ranked third best last year — dental readiness as well as other metrics.

According to Konrad’s writeup for the award: “He was essential in providing guidance and the coordination of 16 mobilization events, processing of over 300 LODs, and over 100 accession physicals. During an aviation ARMS inspection, SFC Konrad was instrumental in the OTSS and aviation medicine program scoring 100% over all six weighted sections of the inspection. During an RSOI, SFC Konrad was able to coordinate an SRP in which 760 Soldiers were put on orders in a two-week period.”