Lt. Col. Dawn M.
Hewitt USAF ('84) recognized
with DWC's first Citizen of the Year Award
Daniel
Webster College presented its Citizen of the Year Award to Lt. Col. Dawn
M. Hewitt USAF, class of 84, at ceremonies held at the college May 13th.
2005 marks the first time that the college has presented the award; this
year it was awarded to an alumna whose service to her country warranted
recognition and honor. The award is presented to a Daniel Webster College
graduate for continuing service to society in either a professional or
volunteer position.
Lt. Col. Hewitt
studied at Daniel Webster College on a four-year Air Force ROTC
scholarship and graduated in 1984 with a bachelor of science degree in
computer science. Lt. Col. Hewitt’s first career was as a ground launch
cruise missiles combat crew member. After two tours of duty, she was
selected for an Air Force sponsored master’s degree program at Indiana
University, and after completing her degree, she joined the history
faculty at the United States Air Force Academy. After serving for a year
at the Joint Military Intelligence College, Dawn became an intelligence
officer and she spent two years in Europe serving as a political analyst
for the Balkan conflict. This was followed by a year in Canada at Queen’s
University as a Visiting Defense Fellow.
With her academic and
on-the-ground experience in Africa, Dawn was sent by the Joint Chiefs of
Staff to work on African crisis operations. When the Kosovo air war arose,
she moved to the European Section to work on U.S. political alliances with
NATO allies during the course of the war. During her time with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Dawn was one of the first Air Force members
certified as a foreign area officer. Following her service with the JCS,
Dawn was appointed deputy group commander at Southern Air Force
Headquarters.
In recent years, Lt.
Col. Hewitt has focused on Foreign Area Officer assignments. She was sent
to Kosovo as the team chief of a U.N. observation team in the volatile
northern region. She currently serves as chief, European Command Branch
and director of Sub-Saharan Africa Programs for the Deputy Under Secretary
of the Air Force – International Affairs, where she oversees all Air Force
programs in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Lt. Col. Hewitt has
earned a master of arts degree in British and European history (with a
specialty in British Imperialism), a master of science degree in
International Affairs (with an emphasis in NATO and the Middle East), and
a post-graduate degree in Strategic Intelligence (with a specialty in
Europe and Africa). She has published a book on the Balkans,
From Ottawa to Sarajevo, Canadian
Peacekeepers in the Balkans, 1988, and a journal article on
African peacekeeping, “Peacekeeping and the Lusaka Protocol.” When she
retires from the Air Force, Lt. Col. Hewitt would like to teach part-time
at a university so she has time to write novels and history books.
Said Daniel Webster
College’s director of alumni affairs Paul LaBarre, “Dawn Hewitt has served
her country while touching people across the globe.” While she resides in
Washington, D.C., Hewitt’s mother lives in Keene, NH.
