Betty L. Mullis is a retired USAF command pilot born in Kansas. 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 military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...

and the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal 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 State of Arkansas, United States of America. It is, along with the Arkansas Army National Guard, an element of the Arkansas National ...

(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 MAJCOM, 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 ...

. 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: * Air Force Distinguished Service Medal *

* Meritorious Service Medal with oak leaf cluster * Air Medal * Aerial Achievement Medal * Air Force Commendation Medal 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 recei ...

*Air Force Outstanding Unit Award with "V" device and four oak leaf clusters * Combat Readiness Medal with four oak leaf clusters *National Defense Service Medal with bronze star *Southwest Asia Service Medal with two bronze stars * Armed Forces Service Medal *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