POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- Col. James Johnson, 43rd Airlift Wing Commander, presented a Commander's Coin Tuesday to Senior Airman Mindy Bloem, 43rd AW Public Affairs, for her exceptional performance beyond the call of duty. Airman Bloem is a staff writer for the Carolina Flyer. She writes articles, takes photos of wing events, designs and lays out newspaper pages, and posts articles and photos on the Pope Web site. Airman Bloem's job performance can be highlighted in several occasions. She deployed last Labor Day with less than 45 minutes notice to cover the hurricane response team. Her articles and photos were seen nationwide. She is always ready to highlight an unknown unit or an unsung hero through her series - Dirty Jobs, A Day in the Life, and, most recently, deployed Pope members. The dirty jobs series she wrote was picked up by the Pentagon Channel, which highlighted her articles and came to Pope to highlight the Airmen covered in the articles in their version of the dirty jobs series. Off duty, Airman Bloem is very involved in base chapel events, attends Bible studies, volunteers her time as a Protestant Youth Ministry counselor each Sunday and chaperoned the youth during a recent retreat campout. Last year, Airman Bloem was an adult mentor for the Drug Education for Youth program and volunteered several hours each month teaching youth of the dangers of drug use and the importance of leadership and being a productive member of society. "Airman Bloem is a model Airman who not only goes above and beyond to recognize outstanding Airmen and get the word out to the community about events happening on and off base," said Capt. Beverly Mock, Chief of Public Affairs. "She is a professional and deserving of the recognition herself."