Betty L. Mullis is a retired

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

command pilot born in

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. She is now a civilian airline pilot. Joining the USAF in 1972, she had a 33-year service career in the USAF, before she retired in 2005. During her service, she was awarded the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

and the

Air Force Distinguished Service Medal The Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to the United S ...

and achieved the rank of Major-General.

Military career

Mullis began her career in the

Arkansas Air National Guard The Arkansas Air National Guard (AR ANG), commonly known as the Arkansas Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the Arkansas, State of Arkansas, United States, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element o ...

(ANG), where she was one of the first women in there to earn her wings. In 1988, she transitioned to the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

. In 1993, Mullis took command of a flying squadron and became the first woman in the Air Force Reserve to do so. She became the first woman in the US Air Force to command a flying wing in 1996. Mullis went on to become the first female command pilot in the US Air Force to reach the rank of Brigadier-General in 2000 and attained Major-General in 2002.

Awards

According to the US Air Force, she has been awarded the following decorations: *

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

with oak leaf cluster *

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

Aerial Achievement Medal The Aerial Achievement Medal (AAM) is a decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force which was established in 1988. The decoration is intended to recognize the contributions of aircrew members who would, otherwise, not ...

Air Force Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fift ...

with oak leaf cluster *

Air Force Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

*Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and four oak leaf clusters *

Combat Readiness Medal The Combat Readiness Medal is an award of the United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and ...

with four oak leaf clusters *National Defense Service Medal with bronze star *Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze stars *

Armed Forces Service Medal The Armed Forces Service Medal (AFSM) is a military award of the United States military that was created on January 11, 1996, by President Bill Clinton under . The AFSM is a deployed service medal that is presented to those service members who ...

*Air Force Longevity Award with silver oak leaf clusters *Armed Forces Reserve Medal *Small Arms Marksmanship Ribbon with bronze star *Air Force Training Ribbon *Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) People from Kansas Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal {{USAF-bio-stub