Air Force honors Hickory graduate

Community

Discussion

August 6, 2012

Air Force honors Hickory graduate

Anonymous The Herald The Sharon Herald Mon Aug 06, 2012, 09:00 AM EDT

HERMITAGE — Capt. Mariah K. (Giardina) Zeigler was recognized as the 48th Medical Group’s Company Grade Officer of the Year for 2011.

Zeigler, a 2001 graduate of Hickory High School, has been stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England, for the last three years.

Zeigler is a veterinarian and serves the Air Force as the chief of public health operations at Lakenheath. As such, she is responsible for leading a team of 33 airmen.

She was recruited by the Air Force for her broad understanding of medicine, particularly Zoonotic/emerging diseases.

She serves as an expert and medical intelligence officer to protect deployed troops from location-specific infectious disease. She also oversees the tracking of communicable disease and the general health of the garrison population.

Physicians use her as a reference when dealing with novel or uncommon health incidents that involve communicable disease or interaction with animals.

Her staff is also tasked with protecting and ensuring a safe food supply for troops both in garrison and deployed.

Zeigler and her team are responsible for ensuring the health of over 35,000 Air Force personnel stationed at seven bases across England, Scotland, Wales, and Norway.

Her efforts were vital to the Lakenheath Hospital being named as the Air Force’s best hospital for the past three years.

In the opening days of the Libya campaign, she led her team to medically clear more than 500 personnel, and generated 50-plus combat crews to establish air superiority for the coalition.

She also served as the public health officer for a 2011 Medical Central and Eastern Europe exercise in Macedonia, where her abilities were lauded by the Third Air Force Surgeon General.

These, in addition to many other accomplishments, propelled her to be recognized as the 48th Medical Group’s most outstanding young officer of 2011.

She is married to Capt. Matt Zeigler, a combat search and rescue helicopter pilot, and is a daughter of Dave and Mary Giardina of Hermitage.

Text Only

Community

‘Prisoner’ cracks up cast
Mel Edison has just lost his job of more than 20 years and is having trouble coping with unemployment and the daily aggravations of his neighborhood.

May 23, 2013
Momentum builds for soapbox derby
Soapbox derby cars are shaping up in shop class at Sharpsville High School for the upcoming adult fundraiser race for the Greater Pennsylvania Super Kids soapbox derby race later in June.

May 19, 2013
Unveiling of Rockwell Sharon Steel prints set
A brief unveiling of six donated commemorative prints of Norman Rockwell paintings the famed illustrator did of Sharon Steel Corp. employees will be held at 11 a.m. Monday at the Community Library of the Shenango Valley on Sharpsville Avenue in Sharon.

May 16, 2013
Pageant win gives woman ALS platform
Malinda Koncar lost her father, Ray Witkowski, to ALS, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, on March 6. The 30-year-old woman from West Middlesex then applied for the Ms. Pennsylvania America 2013 title as part of her mission to raise awareness for the disease. And she won.

May 14, 2013
River Watchers pick up big environmental award
When the Shenango River near Pymatuning State Park was clogged with forest debris, the Shenango River Watchers harnessed some unique horsepower to clear the river and open it to recreation. Their novel approach to conservation will be honored with a 2013 Western Pennsylvania Environmental Award, that has been announced by Dominion and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

May 11, 2013
Shot on location, movie a post-Victorian drama
An independent filmmaker and composer with local roots, Scott Nelson, hopes to bring northwest Pennsylvania’s historic beauty and rich heritage to the silver screen with his latest work in progress, “A Simple Life,” a locally inspired post-Victorian drama he believes will touch the hearts of many.

May 10, 2013
Pascha celebration
Happy Easter! It’s not a belated sentiment for faithful Orthodox Christians, who by now have already celebrated “Pascha” today.

May 5, 2013 1 Photo
Winner arts center opens with auction
The work of John L. Lloyd, renowned impressionist landscape painter, will be displayed and a select number will be auctioned Friday at the grand opening gala for the James E. Winner Jr. Arts & Culture Center.

May 2, 2013
LTI’s HOSA team wins gold
The Health Occupations Students of America Competition Team from Laurel Technical Institute, Sharon, returned from their state leadership conference in Lancaster with medals.

May 1, 2013
Commodore Perry students place 1-2 in spelling bee
With a precise spelling of “s-u-c-c-i-n-c-t,” Keane Cropp, a sixth-grade student from Commodore Perry, claimed the title of Mercer County PSEA Spelling Bee Champion.

April 23, 2013
More Community Headlines

Community

Search Results

Discussion

Air Force honors Hickory graduate

Site Map

Contact Us