Major General Vautrinot Named 2024 Recipient of Soldier-Citizen Award

The Center for Military and Veterans Affairs has named the recipient of the 2024 Soldier-Citizen Award, Major General Suzanne Vautrinot, USAF (Ret.). This marks the first time in the award’s 10-year history that a woman has been named as the winner. Major General Vautrinot will receive the award at the Military Summit on September 11.

Military Background

Over her 31 years of service, Major General Vautrinot was critical to the development of cyberspace as an operational domain within the military. She was instrumental in the establishment and early operation of U.S. Cyber Command with responsibility for offensive and defensive cyber activities for the Department of Defense.

Major General Vautrinot also served in numerous staff positions throughout her service, taking up the roles of joint planner and warfighting capabilities analyst on the Joint Staff, Deputy Executive Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Deputy Director, Air and Space Operations, and Strategic Security at Headquarters Air Force. Major General Vautrinot also served as Special Assistant to the Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force.

Civilian Leadership

Major General Vautrinot leads in other aspects of her life as well, serving as the president of Kilovolt Consulting Inc. and a member of the board of directors for Wells Fargo, ECOLAB, CSX, Parsons, Battelle Memorial Institute, and City of Hope. In these roles, she leverages her expertise to advise on cybersecurity matters.

Recognized by all those who know her as an excellent motivator and leader, Major General Vautrinot embodies what it means to be a Soldier-Citizen. Acting as a leader throughout her history with the military and in her civilian activities, Major General Vautrinot has demonstrated strength and skill on her way to numerous honors extolling her capabilities, including National Defense citations, the Symantec Cyber Award, the Women in Aerospace Leadership Award, the Air Force Association Aerospace Citation of Honor, “Women Worth Watching” from Profiles in Diversity Journal, the Presidential Award for Training, Cyberscoop’s Top “Women in Cybersecurity”, and “50 Politicos to Watch.”   She was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering in 2017.

Major General Vautrinot will be honored as the Soldier-Citizen Award recipient at the Center for Military and Veterans Affairs’ annual Military Summit on September 11 at the W Hotel and the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia.