Mary “Buffy” Gilfoil did an outstanding job as Assistant External Affairs Officer for Planning & Products during her deployment in Indiana. She came in the first day and hit the ground running. By using her professional knowledge and past experience she developed a strategy to distribute the necessary press releases and advisories in a timely and accurate fashion. She was able to review incoming field reports from Community Relations, the Joint Information Center and other sources to determine the best message to develop and distribute. Her weekly plan helped guide External Affairs in its outreach efforts proving that planning is the key to a successful mission. She was flexible in her actions and worked well within her own group as well as other program areas in the Joint Field Office. She is a good manager and leads by example. She guided her writers and made every deadline placed on her and did so with a smile on her face.