Republic of Korea Army Chief of Staff Honors 501st MI Brigade Captain

CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea -- The Republic of Korea Army Chief of Staff Gen. Suh Wook honored Capt. Maegan E. Doucette, commander of Bravo Company, 3rd Military Intelligence Battalion, 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, with the Korean War Michaelis Award, at the Eighth Army headquarters, Nov. 15.

Brig. Gen. Kim, Tae Up, Eighth Army deputy commanding general, ROK, presented the prestigious award to Doucette as the leaders from her battalion and brigade witnessed the recognition for her unwavering loyalty, hard work and exemplary service toward the enhancement of the Republic of Korea -- United States Alliance.

Col. Jamie Walsh, commander of the 501st Military Intelligence Brigade, congratulated Doucette for being selected for the award.

"I appreciate the hard work and effort Maegan has put into building her unit's ability to accomplish their mission by partnering closely with her ROK counterpart unit," said Walsh. "Her mission focus enabled her to recognize and improve the value of the partnership in service to the ROK - U.S. Alliance."

Doucette noted she had a lot of great opportunities to serve in a lot of different roles in the brigade, and each one has given her a different perspective on the ROK -- U.S. relationship and how special and historic it is.

"I have had a great time building those relationships with the ROK Army, Air Force and Navy, as well as the KATUSAs within the brigade," said Doucette. "At the end of the day, we can't do our mission without KATUSAs and we can't do it without the ROK Army."

She also expressed her most enjoyable activity was her involvement in KATUSA friendship week, encouraging participation from all Soldiers and KATUSAs to foster a closer ROK-US relationship and competing on the brigade basketball team, which finished second.

Doucette was very proud and humbled to receive the award and appreciated the many accomplishments that lead her to be selected.

Her father made a special trip to attend the award ceremony and his daughter's change of command the following day.

"I'm very proud," Dan Doucette said. "She's always made me proud, and she continues to surprise me with more things to make me proud."

Doucette served as an intelligence officer, assistant operations officer and Bravo Company commander during her two-year tour in the Republic of Korea. While serving in these positions, she collaborated in planning efforts for intelligence support to the historic inter-Korea summit in 2018. Her efforts contributed toward the repatriation of 55 U.S. Soldiers recovered from North Korea. She also coordinated several capabilities briefs with senior ROK officials showcasing the RC-12's role in the Korean Theater of Operations, thus strengthening relationships and creating partnership opportunities.

In her final position as the Bravo Company Commander, she oversaw the execution of 24/7 joint ROK-US intelligence operations supporting the U.S. Forces Korea and Combined Forces Command. In this position she was responsible for more than 120 U.S. and KATUSA Soldiers and the operational readiness of more than $200 million worth of aircraft and equipment.

The Michaelis Award was established in 2013 to commemorate John H. Michaelis' service during the Korean War and celebrate its victory. Col. Michaelis served as the Combined Forces Command commander from October 1969 to August 1972. He was credited with executing the first combined operation of the Korean War when he augmented the Republic of Korea Army, the 1st Division during Dabudong Combat at Nakdong River.