Colonel Cannonier takes command of 81st IPTS Published June 25, 2014 By Steve Pivnick 81st Medical Group Public Affairs KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Lt. Col. MiMi Cannonier will accept command of the 81st Inpatient Operations Squadron during an assumption of command ceremony at 1 p.m. July 1, in the Keesler Medical Center's Don Wylie Auditorium. Col. (Dr.) Tom Harrell, 81st Medical Group commander, will officiate. She commands 165 nurses and medical technicians assigned to four flights: critical care flight, responsible for the intensive nursing care; medical and surgical inpatient flights, which oversee the medical/surgical inpatient nursing care; and maternal/child flight, which includes labor, delivery, recovery and postpartum. Cannonier earned a direct commission after graduating from Barry University, Miami Shores, Fla., in 1994. She has held various wing, group and squadron positions to include assistant wing inspector general, flight commander, health care integrator, infection control officer and instructor. Prior to her current assignment, the colonel served as deputy commander and chief nurse of the 8th MDG at Kunsan Air Base, South Korea. She succeeds Col. Jerry Lawson who is retiring after 23 years of Air Force service.