Photo By Michelle Stewart | U.S. Air Force Maj. Ryan P. Comes, Keesler Blood Donor Center officer in charge,...... read more read more
The Keesler Blood Donor Center, Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, Miss., proudly announces two winners of the 2024 Armed Services Blood Program Awards.
U.S. Air Force Maj. Ryan P. Comes is recognized as the Armed Services Blood Program Field Grade Officer of the Year, while U.S. Air Force Capt. Nancy I. Pineda is recognized as the Armed Services Blood Program Company Grade Officer of the Year.
The Armed Services Blood Program honors the vital contributions of blood donors through various awards. Since the Korean War, it has served as the exclusive provider of blood and blood products for military personnel, their families, and veterans.
Maj. Ryan P. Comes
Officer in Charge, Keesler Blood Donor Center
Maj. Comes was selected due to his significant impact on the Keesler Blood Donor Center where he employs innovative strategies to fulfill the center’s mission.
As the Officer in Charge, he organized 182 blood drives, oversaw the collection of 2,700 blood donations, and produced 4,600 blood products, resulting in an estimated savings of $980,000 for the Department of Defense. He also initiated an outreach program that collected 20 low-titer O blood products for ground surgical teams supporting the President of the United States.
Additionally, he established a partnership program with the U.S. Navy and Ingalls Shipbuilding, creating a federal location and organizing recurring blood drives with Sailors in the Gulf Coast region.
His team successfully completed a Food and Drug Administration inspection, the first in seven years, addressing findings from the College of American Pathologists and the Association for the Advancement of Blood Biotherapies reaccreditation inspections for the Blood Donor Center.
Beyond leading a team of professionals, Comes shares his expertise with medical planners by providing consultations.
He teaches a tactical combat casualty course covering circulation and hemorrhage management, shock recognition, and massive bleeding control, while also co-authoring materials as a subject matter expert.
Comes attributes his recognition in part to the contributions of his team.
"I have the opportunity every day to work with and lead an amazing team at the Keesler Donor Center. Therefore, this award is not about me; it reflects the phenomenal people and their hard work that makes our mission successful."
Capt. Nancy I. Pineda
Officer in Charge, Keesler Medical Center Microbiology Department
Capt. Pineda was selected for her outstanding contributions while deployed.
She served as the Blood Services Flight Commander at the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing, Qatar Air Base, where she led a seven-member team responsible for Central Command's sole Blood Transshipment and Blood Donor Centers.
Pineda managed $3.4 million in assets and facilitated the distribution of 10,600 blood products to 49 geographically separated units, supporting 50 joint units across 13 countries.
For Pineda, the knowledge that her work is critical to saving lives fuels her passion.
During her deployment, she supported 700 blood deliveries and facilitated 47 transfusions, ultimately saving 17 combat troops.
Her actions were also vital in averting mission failure during an equipment malfunction.
Pineda and her team moved more than 300 blood components to contingency storage in less than 15 minutes, preventing the loss of the entire blood supply in the area of operations. During this incident, she quickly identified that backup refrigerators and freezers lacked the capacity to store all the blood products. To prevent future losses, she installed and validated three additional storage units, thereby increasing capacity by 200%.
Like Comes, Pineda credits her success to her dedicated team.
"I believe my selection was due to the impact my team and I made while deployed,” Pineda said. “I had a great team that was motivated to improve current processes. All of us understood the importance of our mission, and we worked hard to ensure our service members received the blood support they needed to continue their operations."
| Date Taken: | 04.04.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 04.04.2025 10:27 |
| Story ID: | 494568 |
| Location: | BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI, US |
| Web Views: | 39 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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