Reservist named top Air Force female athlete

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ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Air Force Services selected an individual mobilization augmentee as the Air Force Female Athlete of the Year for 2006.

Capt. Linda Jeffery is a services officer in the 314th Services Squadron at Little Rock AFB, Ark., and the award recognizes her accomplishments in golf from Oct. 1, 2005, to Sept. 30, 2006.

"I was actually pretty shocked (to win the award), but I'm really excited about it and am in awe considering on how many athletes compete in Air Forces Sports," she said. "I wasn't sure a golfer had a chance."

Captain Jeffrey netted the "grand slam" of military tournaments in 2006. She fired a 76, 74, 77 and 82 to win the 2006 Air Force Women's Golf Championship by 39 strokes Aug. 4 at Vandenberg AFB, Calif.

One week later the captain and her teammates won the Armed Forces Women's Golf Championship by 125 strokes at Vandenberg AFB. She had the top women's score of 322, nine strokes under her closest competitor.

The Air Force reservist then traveled to Galway, Ireland, to compete in the Couceil International Du Sport Militaire Golf Championship. She won the CISM individual event by 12 strokes, and her team won by 53.

Jeffery said the journey to her grand slam began at the 2005 Armed Forces Championships.

"I lost by a stroke in the 2005 Armed Forces Tournament, and that was a 'Hey, I want to win again.' I knew (the CISM tournament) was going to be in Ireland and all year long I had in the back of my mind 'I want to play well and want to do well,'" she said.

"Next year, the CISM is in South Africa. So I have to set more goals," she said.

On-duty at Little Rock, the captain uses her golf skills of goal-setting, visualization and evaluation to improve the 314th SVS mission.

"Especially as an IMA, I have to be able to evaluate quickly and be able to set things up where they can run when I'm not there," she said. "It's the same in golf. If you're shooting an 85, you have to assess why you are doing it, whether you are three-putting or missing your drives.

"In golf, it's a lot of taking what you can get. (In the Air Force) I understand that we have a certain amount of resources, people and money, and in order to get the job done, a goal, you have to figure how to get to your goal with what you have."

In her off-duty time, Captain Jeffrey is a stay-at-home mom who cares for 2.5-year-old twins.

(Courtesy of Air Force Reserve Command News Service)