A Vietnamese lady

who earned a 2007 National Security Medal
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Published Jan 2008

Anh Duong

Position: Science Advisor, Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information, Plans and Strategy.

Agency: Naval Surface Warfare Center, Indian Head Division

Location: Washington, D.C.

Achievement: Designed the thermobaric bomb credited with helping win the war in Afghanistan and develops anti-terrorism technologies for the Pentagon.

Anh Duong is a first Vietnamese lady, and maybe a first Asian lady, who achieved a highest honor for the nation service in 2007, National Security Medal.

Anh Duong fled Vietnam when she was a teenager with her family to the Philippines where her family was assigned to a refugee camp. She always remember that when she was in Vietnam, during the war, she stood at the gate from her house to see her brother, as a Republic of Vietnam soldier, left family to the war, and prayed for him to come back
safety. She always remember of the 56,000 US soldiers, who died for free of Vietnam, and named on the wall in D.C, and 260,000 Republic of Vietnam soldiers who died in Vietnam war.

According to the website, Anh Duong is recognized as the “scientist who developed the bomb that helped win the war in Afghanistan,” and that is just one of her many contributions during her 24 years in federal service.

Once the decision was made that an international coalition was going to invade Afghanistan in response to the attacks of September 11th, military planners determined that new weapons were needed to penetrate the tunnels and caves being used by terrorists and to avoid violent tunnel-totunnel combat between coalition and Taliban forces.

Duong’s team of nearly 100 scientists and engineers quickly went from concept to development and deployment of the United States’ first thermobaric weapon — a device that creates shock waves that can cause caves and tunnels to implode. Weapons this sophisticated have been known to take years to create. Duong’s team got the job done in
67 days. These bombs would prove instrumental in the U.S.-led coalition’s swift overthrow of the Taliban.

When asked about her work, Duong is always adamant that she wishes the United States never had to go to war. “But if war is inevitable,” she says, “If we’re going to send troops, we want to make sure that a lot of them will come back. And we better equip them with the best weapons.” She added, “Foremost in my mind is coming up with ways to protect our troops.”

With her impressive track record, it was no surprise that Duong was chosen to lead this effort. She has worked for the federal government ever since graduating from college in 1983. Her first job was working at the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Indian Head, where she formulated the materials that launch projectiles out of the barrel of big naval guns. From 1991-1999, she managed all Navy basic exploratory research and advanced development programs in high explosives.

In 1999, she took the job as the head of all NSWC Indian Head’s technical programs in explosives and undersea weapons. It was in this position that she led the development of the thermobaric bomb. She has also done critical work to improve the safety of explosives on Navy ships.

Altogether, Anh Duong successfully led the development and transition of a total of 10 high performing explosives into 18 different weapons, which is an unrivaled record in the field. Her accomplishments have earned her the Dr. Arthur Bisson Award for Nava Technology Achievement by the Chief of Naval Research; being featured in the book Changing Our World: True Stories of Women Engineers; recognition in the documentary film Why We Fight; as well as the Discovery Channel’s special Future Weapons.

In 2006, she was put in charge of technology issues for the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations and for the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, made famous by the CBS television series, NCIS. In this capacity, Duong is creating mobile, modular battlefield forensics labs for war fighters. This technology will enable U.S. forces to use DNA and
other forensic evidence to better identify the perpetrators of terrorist acts and catch the “bad guys” before they have a chance to strike again.

In short, Anh Duong embodies the American Dream. Duong says, “We as immigrants only succeed because of the opportunities we are given.” She is remarkably grateful for those opportunities and she has used them to build a better life for herself, but more importantly, to build a stronger America.

Source: http://www.servicetoamericamedals.org