Buckingham Receives Service Recognition Award

Robert S. Buckingham, Michigan College of Optometry, was recently recognized as the 2001 Association of Military Surgeons United States Optometrist of the Year for his commitment to Federal Service Optometry. Recently retired after 20 years of service in the Air Force, Buckingham distinguished himself by outstanding service to military optometry.

Lieutenant Colonel Buckingham was the first Department of Defense Program Manager for Tri-Service Spectacle Request Transmission System, where he created software to transmit prescriptions to the optical fabrication labs saving the department more than $300,000 and decreasing worldwide turnaround times for eyeglasses by 25 percent. A true groundbreaker, he was the first and only optometrist to be selected as the Air Force’s chief evaluator of medical training and implemented training process improvements that cut course attrition 50 percent. He created course evaluations, which matched training and testing criteria thereby saving $1.3 million per year. His analysis of the Air Force’s largest medical course identified processes resulting in savings of more than $50,000 per day.

While stationed with the Army, Buckingham’s policy changes on vision safety resulted in a cost avoidance of more than $5 million. In addition, the Army commander handpicked Buckingham to be on the executive staff. He was the first optometrist and only Air Force officer to hold this position.

Due to his efforts with the Army, Buckingham was awarded the Army’s Order of Military Medical Merit, which recognizes the top 10 percent of the Army’s medical personnel. He is the eighth Air Force recipient of this award. Additionally, in February 2001, Buckingham was honored as the Armed Forces Optometric Society’s Optometrist of the Year for 2000.

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