REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. -- Mary Hubbard, executive officer to the Army Materiel Command's Chief Technology officer, was having a conversation with a colleague May 4, 2016, when the other woman started to choke on her lunch. Hubbard quickly administered the Heimlich maneuver. She effectively saved the colleague's life, but she went right back to work, all but forgetting the incident.
On Nov. 3, AMC Deputy Commander Lt. Gen. Larry Wyche presented Hubbard with the Army Safety Guardian Award in recognition for her quick thinking.
"Our office is very fortunate to have caring and concerned employees looking out for each other. In this case, the outcome could have been much worse if not for Ms. Hubbard's timely and effective actions at applying the Heimlich maneuver to a fellow employee in distress," Patrick O'Neill, AMC CTO, said.
The Guardian Award is presented to individuals who reacted to an emergency or an imminently dangerous situation that ultimately avoids injury to Army personnel or damage to Army property. Hubbard tapped into her experience as a military police officer and, later, as a medevac pilot who flew injured service members to safety, to spring into action.
Hubbard retired from the Army as a captain Dec. 25, 2015, after 16 years and 16 days combined military service. She was enlisted in the Marine Corps, then later switched to the Army, where she served as an enlisted Soldier before earning her commission in 2007.
Wyche also presented Hubbard with the Meritorious Service Medal for her work at Research, Development and Engineering Command from 2006-16.
"I didn't get this MSM by myself. I had a great team and the help of a great staff, and I hope to one day pay it forward to them, somehow," Hubbard said.
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