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Defense strength hits new lowV*The number of active-duty and of 31,362 since the same time i

U.S. service membershas dropped last year. - jto its lowest level since before the About 1.46 million people tKorean conflict, according to the were in the Armed Forces in MDefense Department. 1950, since then U.S. military *

Total strength of the Armed strength has never dipped below 2 *Forces on July 31 was 2,018,361, million. (Army News Service) *a decrease of 10,762 since June _

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sergeants first class and master ser-geants, and a selective early releaseboard for command sergeants majorand sergeants major, leading to anearly retirement for many NCOs whohave served 20 years on active duty.

Those measures, with the recenttightening of weight and fitness stan-dards, will help the Army meet thelegal requirements of the drawdown.Reno said current law requires theArmy to reduce accessions, retiresoldiers with more than 20 years'active service, and hold first-term re-tention to the level needed to sustainan end-state Army before- using invol-untary separations to reduce forces.

Separate proposals in the Houseand Senate would restrict many optionsnow available to reduce the force,effectively preventing involuntaryseparations and making executing abalanced reduction more difficult.

The Senate proposal would limitthe Army to first-term separations andearly retirements as its only drawdownmeasures; the House version restrictsthe Army to only current methods ofseparating soldiers. Reno said bothmeasures would likely prompt evendeeper cuts in accessions.

"We really cannot, as an Army,accept that," Reno said. "We wouldnot have a flow of skill-level one

The Army's top personnel officer,LTG William Reno, says that invol-untary separations will be necessary toreduce the Army to 535,000 soldiers

by the end of fiscal year 1995.Under current plans, the Army will

be reduced by 50,000 in fiscal 1992,followed by about 42,000 annually

through 1995. Another 80,000 civilian

positions will be eliminated from, the

Army, although about 30,000 will be

absorbed by the Defense Department.As the deputy chief of staff for

personnel, Reno must see that theArmy gets smaller and maintainsreadiness, quality and fairness. This will

be done by reducing accessions, sepa-rating some retirement-eligible soldiers

early, and involuntarily separatingsoldiers who fail to maintain standards.

For officers, a combination of se-

lective early retirement boards and

reduced accessions is intended to limit

the number of involuntary separationsnecessary to meet congressional end-

strength requirements.Enlisted accessions will be reduced

to the minimum needed to maintain

the end-state Army. This will help the

Army reduce the number of career

enlisted soldiers faced with involuntary

separation, Reno said.In addition, the Army plans to

adjust retention control points for

drawdown," he said.Planners in the Office of the

Deputy Chief of Staff for Operationsand Plans are shaping the Army intoa four-corps, 20-division force; 12 ofthose division would be active Armyunits. Once the planners determinewhat kinds of units are needed, Reno'sjob is to make sure that the Army hasthe right number of soldiers in theright military occupational specialtiesat the right grade.

Once the Army reaches its end-state strength in fiscal 1995, it willmaintain accessions at a constant level.He added that most of the Army willbe based in the continental UnitedStates, and longer tour lengths and lessunit and personal turbulence shouldresult. (Army News Service)

soldiers into the Army, so we wouldhave sergeants doing private's work.You would have platoons in yourcombat force without platoon leaders.More important, you would have voidsof one, two or three years - depend-ing on how long the law was in place- in which you would not be grow-

ing a generation of sergeants to be-come master sergeants, to becomesergeants major, and lieutenants tobecome captains, majors and colonels."

Reno added that the Army couldslow promotions to meet officer endstrength and keep NCO levels in linewith force structure. This would reduceinvoluntary separations but, as men-tioned earlier, would result in sergeantsdoing private's work.

"Our career attrition rates are nothigh enough to accommodate the

About 50,000 to 60,000 people involuntarilyseparate every year under normal circumstances. Overthe next four years, an extra 20,000 to 30,000 peoplea year will face involuntary separation due to theforce reduction. Rather than sort members bydrawdown and business-as-usual separations, saidJehn, DoD will give the extra benefits to all whoare involuntarily separated and meet prerequisites.Personnel officials said the package includes:

Commissary and exchange privileges for twoyears after separation;

- Continued use of government family quartersfor a reasonable rent for up to 180 days;

- Up to 120 days of coverage in the CivilianHealth and Medical Program of the UniformedServices or in-house care, depending on the mem-ber's length of active service; and one year ofcoverage for pre-existing conditions if enrolled in aDoD-approved conversion health-insurance plan;

- Priority placement in the National Guard orReserve on applications made within one year of

separation;One-time employment preference in nonap-

propriated-fund positions for separating members andtheir family'members;

-The option for students to spend their senioryear in the DoD Dependents Schools system if theyhave completed the l1th grade when their sponsoris separated;

The option to enroll in the Montgomery GIBill or convert to it from the Veterans EducationalAssistance Program before separation;

-Up to 10 days of permissive TDY or 30 daysof excess leave for job or house hunting or otherrelocation activities, mission permitting; and

- Shipment of household goods to any state-side destination within a year of separation; up toa year's storage at government expense.

Address questions concerning eligibility andspecific benefits to local personnel and financeoffices, Jehn said. (American Forces InformationService)

by SFC Linda LeeService members facing involuntary separation

are being offered additional benefits to help their

move into civilian life.All separatees get some benefits, said Christo-

pher Jehn, assistant secretary of defense for forcemanagement and personnel. Preseparation counsel-ing, and employment and relocation assistance aretwo ways DoD helps those leaving military service.

"Then, there are more generous benefits, suchas extended post exchange and commissary privileges,medical care and access to military housing," Jehnsaid. "These things, in addition to separation pay,(see story on page 3) will be available to individu-als who are involuntarily separated."

Jehn said the additional benefits, authorized bythe fiscal 1991 National Defense Authorization Act,will help service members who find their careers cutshort because of DoD's planned drawdown. Bene-fits are retroactive to Nov. 5, 1990, when PresidentGeorge Bush signed the law, Jehn said.

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Personnel boss foresees force oi

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DoD prepares benefits to ease involuntary separati onS

2HSC MercuryOctober 1991

CommentThe opinions expressed on this page are those of the writers and are not official expressions of the Department of the Army or this command.

Soldier health, Army mission justify HIV tests

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by Patrick SwanIs the military's AIDS testing

policy a thinly veiled attempt to exposehomosexual and drug-abusing soldiers?

An Air Force major apparentlybelieves so. He faces a court martialfor refusing an order to take the HIVtest, claiming the test violates his civilliberties and is part of "AIDS hysteria"within the military.

PolicyArmy policy is that HIV tests are

conducted biennially to ensure thecontinued readiness and deployabilityof the force. Healthy soldiers are themost important component of a healthyArmy, and HIV testing, combined withphysical fitness and weight controlstandards, is one way of ensuringhealthy soldiers.

Identifying homosexual soldiers orthose who abuse intravenous drugsmay be one inadvertent consequence.While medical statistics show that HIVinfection is highest among thesegroups, the Army acknowledges thatsoldiers can acquire the HIV virusfrom a number of means. Therefore,it makes no negative judgment regard-ing this during counseling sessions withHIV-positive soldiers.

To the contrary, according to MAJDavid G. Peterson, an Army HIV

policy staff officer, the informationobtained during a patient assessmentis protected by law and may not beused against the soldier in any adverseadministrative or disciplinary proceed-ing. Rather, he said the patient assess-ment is used to determine how thevirus is being transmitted, what riskfactors may have played a part in thesoldier's infection, and to identifyothers who may be at risk of infec-tion.

As for whether the frequency ofHIV testing is part of "AIDS hysteria,"an information paper prepared by theoffice of the deputy chief of staff forpersonnel offers a more benign expla-nation: that such testing is based onthe number of new HIV infectionsexpected annually and the costs asso-ciated with HIV testing.

Other testsBesides the standard biennial test-

ing, additional testing requirements aregenerated by pregnancy; referral to aclinic for sexually transmitted diseasesor a drug rehabilitation program; aspart of periodic physicals; or beforemaking a permanent change of stationto an overseas location.

The DCSPER information paper,which supports Army Regulation 600-110, also states that HIV testing is

conducted to interrupt the chain oftransmission, thus preserving the healthof soldiers and their families. Inaddition, it is used to determine fit-ness for military duty and to avoidpotential complications from immuni-zations.

DeployedThe post-World War II Army has

been deployed all over the world.Army officials have a legitimate inter-est in ensuring that its soldiers sent toserve in those foreign locations, at theinvitation of the host government, donot spread the HIV virus, knowinglyor not. In the event soldiers are de-ployed from those overseas posts todefend U.S interests, the Army mustbe confident that the blood supply forits soldiers is uncontaminated. BiennialAIDS testing is a step toward guar-anteeing this.

Nevertheless, as mentioned earlier,because of individual concerns, theArmy takes a variety of steps toprotect confidentiality and providecounseling and treatment to HIV in-fected soldiers. AR 600-110 says manypersons infected with HIV don't appearto be sick and that the majority ofthem may be unaware they are in-fected.

Instead of asking why the Army

tests its soldiers for HIV, a moreimportant question is whether theArmy can allow the potential healthproblems of its soldiers to go unad-dressed or undetected. Clearly, theanswer to the second question is "no."After all, the longer one waits, thetougher it is to treat HIV-infectedindividuals.

It's true that some soldiers at riskare reluctant to voluntarily request atest from Army medical officials dueto fear of being labeled homosexualsor drug abusers. Yet through univer-sal testing, that stigma is removed andprivacy is protected.

Fair?Would it be fair not to test and

leave soldiers to fend for themselves?Realistically, how can the Army takecare of its soldiers if it won't do whatis necessary for the soldiers who needit most?

Far from an official witch hunt,the Army's AIDS testing is both ahumanitarian gesture and fair policy.The Army can't prevent AIDS in itsranks. Through education and testing,however, it can do the next best thing:it can halt the chain of transmission.That is in all soldiers' interest. (ArmyNews Service)

Time isn't right for women to fightby SGT Sally Roberts their experiences there, attitudes will change. Even-

The war in the Persian Gulf has proved that tually, these people will leave the military and returnthere are some provisions of the Combat Exclusion to their communities.Act that need to be revised or updated. However, The feeling of camaraderie that develops whilenow is not the time to force upon the military serving your country in the military, especially inchanges in those provisions that exclude women from combat, isn't lost when you take off the uniform.direct combat-arms specialties. These are convictions that are so strong, they remain

Greater strides for the equality of women have a part of your values for the rest of your life. Valuesbeen made within the military than in any other influence what we are, and when we return to ourorganization in the United States. Service members communities, our values will influence those aroundhave a much more professional attitude about us, whether we mean to or not.working relationships with members of the opposite No doubt, there are some women in the mili-sex. Maybe that's why this seems like a good place tary who are physically and mentally ready, rightto start. now, to serve along with men in direct combat. But

However, this isn't just a question of a woman's if legislation is enacted to lift the bars on womenright to be afforded opportunity. It's a question of in combat it won't be only for the benefit of thosechanging the attitude of Americans about women. few. All people who are affected by that legislation

A simple history lesson in civil rights teaches have to be prepared to make it work.us that the laws can be changed on paper, but in So expand legislative efforts to bring equality toorder to make them work, the attitudes of the people all women of the American workforce. Start in ourhave to change. schools and churches. Start with our communities.

Instead of risking the security of the nation by Just as we are teaching our children not to judgethrusting this experiment upon the military, efforts people on the color of their skin, teach them notto change the attitudes of Americans about women to limit themselves or anyone else because they arein combat should begin in the communities from a boy or a girl. It's not easy to make childrenwhich the future military will draw its strength. The understand the importance of an attitude that won'tmilitary, however, may have a great influence on really affect them until they become women andsuch a process. men. But it is easier to teach them what's right from

As soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen return the start, rather than to try and change what theyfrom the Gulf region and have a chance to digest have become. (Tripler Army Medical Center)

HSC MercuryHSC Mercury is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. Army, published under the authority of AR 360-

81. Contents of the HSC Mercury are not necessarily official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S.Government, Departmentoff Defense, Department of the Army, or USA Health Services Command. It is published monthly using offsetreproduction by the Office of the Chief of Public Affairs, U.S. Army Health Services Command, Fort Sam Houston, TX78234-6000 (DSN 471-6213 or commercial 512-221-6213). Printed circulation is 19,500. Unless otherwise indicated, allphotos are U.S. Army photos.

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Commanding General ............Chief of Public Affairs...........Command Information OfficerEditor ........................................Assistant Editor.......................W riter .......................................

.MG Alcide M. LaNoue

.......... COL Mike Kehoe

................ Rick Sonntag

................. Jerry Harben

.................. Harry Noyes

...... SGT Sunnie Scarlett

Worth quoting"We are in bondage to the law so that

we may be free."Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero

"Short words are best and old wordswhen short are best of all."

British statesman Winston Churchill

"It's terribly hard to spend a billiondollars and get your money's worth."-Secretary of the Treasury George Humphrey

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but ifyou want to test a man's character, give himpower."

President Abraham Lincoln*****

"The world is full of willing people. Somewilling to work, the rest willing to let them."

poet Robert Frost

"Don't find fault. Find a remedy."industrialist Henry Ford

"I don't make jokes. I just watch the gov-ernment and report the facts."

humorist Will Rogers*****

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HSC Mercury <

October 1991 <00-/I m N

Consultantchosen asnext chief ofNurse Corps

COL(P) Nancy R. Adams has been nominatedfor promotion to brigadier general and appoint-ment as chief of the Army Nurse Corps.

Since 1989 she has been nurse consultant toThe Surgeon General of the Army. Previous as-signments include chief of nursing at FrankfurtArmy Regional Medical Center, staff assistant inthe office of the assistant secretary of defense forhealth affairs, assistant inspector general at HealthServices Command Headquarters and director ofthe intensive care nursing course at FitzsimonsArmy Medical Center.

EducationAdams, 46, is a native of Rochester, N.Y., and

a graduate of Cornell University, the New YorkHospital School of Nursing and Catholic Univer-sity of America. She has completed the Commandand General Staff College and the Army WarCollege.

AwardsAmong her awards are The Surgeon General's

"A" prefix for medical-surgical nursing, the Ex-pert Field Medical Badge, the Meritorious Serv-ice Medal with two Oak Leaf Clusters and theOrder of Military Medical Merit.

The nomination requires confirmation by theSenate.

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by SFC Linda LeeDoD recently released regulations governing

separation pay for officers and enlisted members.Congress, as part of a transition package in the

1991 Defense Authorization Act, authorized sepa-ration pay for the first time for involuntarily-sepa-rated regular enlisted service members. Signed intolaw by President George Bush on Nov. 5, 1990, theact also lifted the previous $30,000 ceiling imposedon officers' separation pay.

Involuntarily-separated individuals will fall intoone of three categories, said Defense Departmentpersonnel chief Christopher Jehn. The category willdetermine the pay due - full, half or none. Sepa-ration pay is computed at 10 percent times thenumber of years of active duty times the member'sannual base pay, he said.

Under ordinary circumstances, about 50,000service members are involuntarily separated everyyear, he estimated. DoD's planned force reductionsmay add 20,000 to 30,000 a year over the next fouryears.

"An important part of our drawdown strategyis to be fair," Jehn remarked. "That's one reason wedecided not to try to figure out who's leaving becauseof the drawdown and who's not."

Jehn is assistant secretary of defense for forcemanagement and personnel.

Individuals who receive an honorable dischargeand are fully qualified for retention will get fullseparation pay.

Jehn said this category includes officers who havebeen twice passed over for promotion and enlistedmembers denied reenlistment because they have beenat the same pay grade too long.

Members not fully qualified to continue servingand who are being involuntarily separated underhonorable or general conditions will get half sepa-ration pay.

Examples in this category, said Jehn, include anindividual who loses a required security clearance,who fails drug or alcohol rehabilitation, who ishomosexual or who is not available for assignmentbecause of parenthood.

Eligibility for full and half pay also requires theindividual complete at least six, but less than 20,years of active service. In addition, Jehn said, theseparation must be involuntary, it must not be inthe initial term of enlistment or obligated service,and the member must agree to serve in the ReadyReserve for at least three years following dischargefrom active duty.

Members receive no separation pay if they aredischarged for misconduct or substandard perform-ance, as part of a court-martial sentence, if droppedfrom active duty rolls or for reasons deemed by theservice secretary to warrant no pay, said Jehn.

Members who are eligible for retirement, whoare on active duty for training, who have less thansix years' active federal service, who decline to jointhe Ready Reserve or who request voluntary sepa-ration are ineligible for separation pay.

"I'm pleased we're now at a point that we canbegin paying separation pay," said Jehn. "I'm onlysorry that it's taken so long, but it was essential thatwe do this carefully and thoroughly."

First, said Jehn, DoD had to ensure that sepa-ration pay would be handled uniformly by all theservices, because each currently handles dischargessomewhat differently. He said DoD also movedcautiously to prevent intolerable precedents and toensure the program provided no individual with theincentive to arrange his own involuntary separation.

"We obviously don't want people misbehaving,such as being absent without leave or becominginvolved with drugs or alcohol, in order to engineertheir separation and then get separation benefits,"he said. (American Forces Information Service)

by Evelyn D. HarrisU.S. officials are not pleased with

the general health of the nation.Twenty-six percent of Americans

are obese, they say. For women be-low the poverty line, the rate is 37percent. The national goal for the year2000: Reduce the obesity rate to 20percent for Americans age 20 or olderand to 15 percent for teen-agers.

Only 7 percent of pregnantAmerican women ingest the amount ofcalcium recommended to ensurehealthy bones and teeth for theirbabies. The goal for the year 2000:Raise the rate to at least 50 percent.

Reported cases of measles arerising steadily. Some 25,000 cases ofthe preventable, sometimes deadly,disease were reported in 1990. Thegoal for 2000: zero cases.

Only 22 percent of Americansexercised for 30 minutes five or moretimes per week in 1989. The goal forthe year 2000: Increase the percent-age to 30 percent.

The incidence of syphilis, aftersteadily decreasing between 1943 and1985, is on the rise. In 1989, 18.1cases per 100,000 population wererecorded. In the year 2000, healthofficials want to see no more than 10cases per 100,000.

The sexually transmitted diseasegonorrhea is the most frequently re-ported communicable disease in theUnited States and is a special concernbecause new strains are resistant toantibiotics. In 1989, 300 Americans out

of every 100,000 had the disease. Theyear 2000 national goal is to reducethat to 225 or less per 100,000.

The Department of Defense isparticipating in the ambitious nationalhealth objectives program for whichthese goals and many others have beenset. Measurable, outcome-based objec-tives for improving health can makea difference, because "experienceshows we can meet goals if we takethem seriously," said Navy CommanderKenneth A. St. Andre, a senior policyanalyst in the office of the assistantsecretary of defense for health affairs.

The "users manual" for the pro-gram is Healthy People 2000, a tele-phone-book-sized report on whatAmericans need to do to improve theirhealth. Three years in the making,under the leadership of the U.S. PublicHealth Service, the report includesextensive input from DoD; other na-tional, state and local health officials;and organizations ranging from theAmerican Heart Association to com-munity groups. The report's insidecover notes more than 10,000 peoplehelped select and refine the 300 na-tional health objectives.

"We chose 181 of the objectivesas appropriate to the Department ofDefense," St. Andre said. "Many arethings we've been working on, such asencouraging people to stop smoking ornot begin, occupational safety effortsand so forth."

In many health areas, he noted, themilitary population already does bet-

ter than the national guidelines -weight standards and regular fitnesstests ensure that.

"But being part of a national effortis good, because the work done byother organizations reinforces what weare doing," he said. "We want toemphasize that health promotion isn'tjust the responsibility of the individ-ual or of the command. It takeseveryone working together."

Healthy People 2000 affects otherfields besides health affairs. For ex-ample, substance abuse treatmentprograms fall under force managementand personnel; monitoring the environ-ment and use of toxic chemicals fallsunder production and logistics.

"When we think of health promo-tion, we think about exercise andsmoking cessation, things the individ-ual can do. But health promotion hasto be looked at from a larger perspec-tive. For example, having laws requir-ing seat belt use and educating peopleabout that are also parts of the pic-ture," St. Andre said.

The greatest number of DoD'sobjectives, 71, involve clinical services.These services include the advice,counseling, screening tests, physicalexams and presriptions given byhealth-care providers.

For example, one goal is to en-sure physicians, dentists and nursepractitioners tell parents not to puttheir babies to bed with a bottlecontair anything other than water.(Acids, sugar and nutrients in juices

and milk give all-night encouragementto germs, tooth decay and other oralproblems.)

"Some advice has an impact on apatient just because the provider caredenough to talk about it," said St.Andre. "We have research indicatingwhat type of provider counselingprovides the most 'bang for the buck,'and those are the areas we'll urge ourmedical people to focus on."

Although DoD has adopted 181goals, local leaders decide which toemphasize. "Health promotion ap-proaches must be localized - thesubmariner in Groton is different fromthe Marine at Camp Lejeune, whois different from the soldier at FortBragg, who is different from the airmanat Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.There are different risk factors and dis-ease patterns in different communities,"he said.

Local emphasis is a big part ofDoD's proposed coordinated careprogram, St. Andre added. Militarymedical facility commanders presuma-bly know their area's medical problemsand can decide what resources areneeded and how to get them.

For example, he said, if a medi-cal commander decides his peopleneed more clinical services, he mayask for a PRIMUS clinic.

"It is a lot of new responsibilityfor the commander, but we think itwill result in better health care forDoD beneficiaries," St. Andre said.(American Forces Information Service)

Separation pay rules set

DoD signs onto national health goals for year 2000

HSC MercuryOctober 1991

News notes

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consideration for vacancies in troop program units.MAJ Albert E. Bailey of ODCSPER said the

policy would provide the Army a more flexiblemobilization manpower pool. While most IRR soldierscan be mobilized only after a declaration of nationalemergency or declaration of war, SRA soldiers couldbe involuntarily called to active duty under the200,000 Presidential Call-Up authority.

"They would serve as fillers and replacementsfor early-deploying active and reserve units," Baileysaid. "This would keep us from depleting theremaining units which may eventually be called up."

LTC Hank Hanrahan, also of ODCSPER, saidthe SRA soldiers may train if they desire, but arenot required to. He said many IRR soldiersvolunteered to support Desert Shield/Storm evenbefore the presidential call-up and partialmobilization. (Army News Service)

A proposed Army policy will offer separatingsoldiers a new reserve obligation option, accordingto officials at the office of the deputy chief of stafffor personnel.

Under the Selected Reserve Augmentee concept,soldiers released from active duty or a Reserve troopprogram unit could choose to serve in the SRA forthe first 18 months of their remaining obligationinstead of directly entering the Individual ReadyReserve as enlistments now dictate.

Future soldiers with remaining military serviceobligations would be required to enter the SRA.

As an incentive, SRA soldiers would receivebenefits unavailable to IRR soldiers not on activeduty training orders. Possible benefits being exploredinclude exchange privileges, morale, welfare andrecreation access, limited commissary benefits,Soldiers Group Life Insurance coverage and priority

617,251 specimens tested positive. The rate droppedto .51 percent of 954,413 in 1990 and .45 percentof 533,273 through May 1991.

Agency officials, credit the steady decline to the"active and consistent implementation" of themilitary's random urinalysis program.

Other officials, including Don Conway, drug andalcohol control officer for Training and DoctrineCommand, say the Army's policy of discharging drugusers has caused many soldiers to rethink theirattitudes toward drugs. Under Army policy, sergeantsand above identified as illegal drug users "will beprocessed for separation."

The Army will tighten the policy even furtherwith changes to AR 600-85 to be effective Oct. 1,requiring commanders to separate corporals andbelow who use illegal drugs and have three or moreyears of service. All other soldiers who test positivetwice for illegal drug use are processed for separation.(Army News Service)

The number of soldiers caught using illegal drugscontinued to decline during the first eight monthsof fiscal year 1991.

The percent of soldiers who tested positive duringurinalysis drug testing from October 1990 throughMay 1991 was 1.34 percent, according to statisticsfrom the Army Drug and Alcohol OperationsAgency. Of the 533,273 urine specimens tested, 7,133came up positive, most of them for marijuana orcocaine use.

Agency officials say the numbers show acontinuing trend among soldiers to stay away fromdrugs. In 1985, nearly seven out of every 100 soldierstested came up positive for marijuana use. In 1990,the positive rate for marijuana was down to .86percent, or less than one in a 100.

So far this year, 4,443 specimens have testedpositive for marijuana, or .83 percent.

Cocaine use among soldiers has declined as well,though not as drastically. In 1985, .53 percent of

Making plansDr. Spurgeon Neel (left), chairman of the boardof the AMEDD Museum Foundation, and MGWilliam L. Moore Jr., commander of the AMEDDCenter, look over a model of the museum. Moorepresented Neel with a check for $4,500, proceeds

from the Combat Medic Run on July 27.The Museum Foundation has raised about $1

million of the $3 million needed for Phase 11construction. (Photo by Ron Fellows/AMEDDCenter)

Separating soldiers get newoption for reserve obligationSome outpatients need

CHAMPUS statementsAs of Oct. 1, some CHAMPUS-eligible per-

sons need nonavailability statements (NAS) be-fore CHAMPUS will share the cost of certainkinds of outpatient treatment received from ci-vilian health-care providers. In the past NAS wererequired only for nonemergency inpatient care.

The NAS must be entered in the DEERScomputer data files by a military hospital or theCHAMPUS claim will be denied.

Procedures affected include hernia repairs,breast mass or tumor removal, nose repair, re-moval of tonsils or adenoids, cataract removal,strabismus repair, dilation and curettage, upper GIendoscopy, myringotomy or tympanostomy, liga-tion or transection of the fallopian tubes, arthro-scopy, gynecological laparoscopy, cystoscopy andneuroplasty.

Health benefits advisors will have more in-formation.

USO to award 25$1,000 scholarships

The Budweiser/USO Scholarship Programwill offer 25 separate $1,000 college scholarshipsin 1992 and 1993 to active duty military familymembers who graduated from high school withinthe last four years.

Awards are based on scholastic records, testscores and extracurricular activities.

Completed applications must be received byMarch 1, 1992. For an application and details,write to: USO World Headquarters ScholarshipProgram; 601 Indiana Ave., N.W.; Washington,DC; 20004, or visit your local USO.

VA hospitals choptobacco product sales

Retail sale of tobacco products at VeteransAffairs medical centers ended Oct. 1.

Tobacco sales at VA canteens are estimatedat $5.7 million annually.

Special provisions will allow sales to veter-ans in long-term care.

Deserter sentencedto prison, dismissal

CPT Yolanda Huet-Vaughn, an Army Re-serve doctor who deserted her medical unit lastyear rather than deploy to Southwest Asia, hasbeen sentenced by general court martial to twoand one-half years in prison and dismissal fromthe Army.

She surrendered to federal marshals on Feb.2, 1991, after spending more than a month speak-ing out against Operation Desert Shield on talkshows and at rallies.

'Productive' talksheld on POW/MIA issues

COL Bill Jordon, principal advisor to the sec-retary of defense for POW/MIA matters, calledrecent meetings in Vietnam and Cambodia "cor-dial and productive."

In Vietnam, the U.S. team recommended ex-panding joint field activities and quicker inves-tigations of "live-sighting" reports. The team alsorecommended that Vietnam increase access tofield activities by the media. In Cambodia, the U.S.team presented information on 83 Americansmissing in that country.

Tests find fewer soldiers using drugs

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Walter ReedBids have been submitted for

construction of a 1,100-space park-ing garage at Walter Reed ArmyMedical Center. Work on the four-story facility should start this falland be completed by 1993. Thegarage will be located between thehospital and the Armed ForcesInstitute of Pathology.

Elizabeth and Zachary Fishercut the ribbon to open the FisherHouse on July 25. The $500,000facility will provide lodging foreight families of patients undergo-ing longterm or serious medicaltreatment at Walter Reed.

Besides the Fishers, whodonated funds for the house, dig-nitaries at the ceremony includedArmy Chief of Staff GEN GordonSullivan, former head of the VeteransAdministration Max Cleland, Under-secretary of the Army John W.Shannon, WRAMC CommanderMG Richard D. Cameron and Ser-geant Major of the Army RichardKidd.

EisenhowerBids were opened in August for

construction of a new family prac-tice clinic at Eisenhower ArmyMedical Center. The 28,000-square-feet facility will be built on the eastside of the hospital in the areawhere the old helipad was located.It should be ready for use by March1993.

Construction of the new clinicwill allow the seventh floor of thehospital to be used to accommodateteaching programs expected to

Fort DrumThe Guthrie Ambulatory

Health-Care Clinic, a state-of-the-art facility which serves an averageof 15,000 patients a month, wasdedicated in May at Fort Drum,N.Y.

The clinic became operationalin January and offers family prac-tice, pediatrics, gynecology, ortho-pedics, podiatry, dermatology, physi-cal therapy, optometry, audiology,pharmacy, laboratory, radiology,urgent care center and minor sur-gery.

The clinic is named for Dr.Samuel B. Guthrie, an Army sur-geon between 1812 and 1817 whoinvented chloroform in 1831.

HSC HeadquartersHealth Services Command

processes equal employment oppor-tunity complaints faster than anyother major Army command, ac-cording to a report by the EqualEmployment Opportunity ActionAgency.

The report, based on calendaryear 1990, shows HSC took 200days to process complaints that didnot require a hearing, compared to305 days Army-wide.

Point of contact is LeonardGomez at DSN 471-5412/5413.

The Health Care SystemsSupport Activity (HCSSA) is mov-ing this month from aging buildingson Fort Sam Houston to newquarters at 2455 NE Loop 410, SanAntonio, TX 78217. Point ofcontact is administrative servicesbranch at (512) 637-4635.

\

transfer to Eisenhower as a resultof the closing of Letterman ArmyMedical Center.

The project also includes reno-vation of 4,500 square feet in theradiology/nuclear medicine/patientadministration areas, to meet re-quirements of a radiology residencytraining program.

Fort LeonardWood

Responsibility for health clinic,veterinary, occupational health, al-cohol and drug abuse control andpreventive medicine operations inMichigan transferred from FortLeonard Wood MEDDAC to FortKnox MEDDAC on Oct. 1.

Point of contact is Pat Wintersat DSN 581-9173.

Fort HoodAn inpatient psychiatry crisis as-

sessment/referral/education (CARE)ward opened at Darnall ArmyCommunity Hospital in August. Thiswill allow Darnall to serve patientspreviously referred to civilian pro-viders.

In 1990, Fort Hood familiesspent $1.7 million in out-of-pocketexpenses for mental-health care,while the government's portion ofCHAMPUS bills was $17 million.

"The ever-increasing cost ofhealth care is the reason we are im-plementing this program," said LTCMartha Lupo, chief of theMEDDAC's coordinated care division."We have to change the way we havetraditionally done business in order toaddress skyrocketing costs."

Aberdeen ProvingGround

Kirk Army Health Clinic hascontracted with the University ofMaryland for mammography serv-ice through a mobile health van.

Community health nurses pro-moted Women's Health Days inMay, which included schedulingmammograms with the unit.

"There's a lot of educationgoing on...having a mammographydone up until a few years ago wasscary - now it's just part of aphysical exam," said radiographerSherry Devoe.

Fort CampbellTroop Medical Clinic 5 at

Campbell Army Airfield expandedby 10 rooms this summer, allowingmore space for family membertreatment.

"With the additional rooms, wecan speed up the availability of ap-pointments for the soldiers and theirfamilies," said MAJ David Littrell,officer in charge of the clinic.

AEHAUse of cyclic light to control

spawning of salmon, effects of ul-traviolet radiation on the immunesystem, use of tungsten-hologen desklamps and methods of measuringsun screen protection were some ofthe topics at the meeting of theInternational Commission on Illumi-nation in Melboure, Australia.

Chairman of one of the com-mission's divisions is David H.Sliney, a laser expert from the ArmyEnvironmental Hygiene Agency. Thecommission meets every four years.

The Office of The Army Surgeon Generalrecognized Jerome Bingham of William BeaumontArmy Medical Center with the first OutstandingAuditor of the Year Award at a ceremony in SanAntonio, Texas, during August.

This new annual award recognizes an auditorwho excels professionally in service to the ArmyMedical Department. The winner receives a $1,000Savings Bond and a plaque.

Bingham's nomination cited two significant auditshe conducted in 1990, dealing with supplemental careand Veterans Administration reimbursements.

"Implementation of the recommendations for Mr.Bingham's two audit reports would result in anestimated $88.2 million in potential monetarybenefits," the nomination states.

Runner-up for the award was Paul D. Fu ofTripler Army Medical Center.

Criteria for the award include performance ofone or more top quality audits, development of awell-written report with significant findings andamounts of reported savings, overall contribution tointernal review functions, use of innovative audittechniques, participation in professional associationsand a minimum of "highly successful" rating on themost recent performance appraisal.

for lack of cost effectiveness, and 344 have beenterminated for various reasons.

The complexity of services provided rangesfrom open-heart surgery at a medical center tosocial-work services at a small community hospital.

The program has been successful becausebeneficiaries, hospital staff and civilian health-careproviders have cooperated to increase theavailability of health-care services withoutincreasing the cost.

The average negotiated rate of reimbursementis 16 percent less than what the governmentnormally would pay for the same services understandard CHAMPUS.

More access to physician appointments for thebeneficiaries, more effective use of ancillarysupport services in hospitals and clinics, andimproved management of the entire process ofdelivering health-care services are all benefits ofthe Partnership Program.

(Schultz is a health systems specialist in thecoordinated care division at HSC Headquarters.)

by Albert C. SchultzOn Aug. 1, the coordinated care division at

HSC Headquarters received its 1000th request forapproval of a partnership program agreement. Therequest was for an agreement with David J.Pollin, a psychologist at Fort Carson, Colo.

The Military-Civilian Health ServicesPartnership Program was implemented in 1988to permit military medical treatment facilitycommanders to enter into agreements allowinglocal civilian health-care providers to provide theirservices to eligible benificiaries on militaryinstallations.

The principal beneficiaries are those eligiblefor CHAMPUS (Civilian Health and MedicalProgram of the Uniformed Services), but servicesmay also be provided to other beneficiaries withclaims being paid out of the hospital's budget.

Currently, 524 agreements remain active at43 medical centers, community hospitals andArmy health clinics. Since the inception of theprogram, 122 agreements have been disapproved

J./

Command capsules

Beaumont auditorcited as outstandingHSC partnership program

passes 1,000 milestone

Computers prove value in desert

World War It paintings suffer ravages of time

6HSC MercuryOctober 1991

System gives hospitals real-time supply dattaby Jerry Harben

By 1994 medical supply workersshould be able to move between HSChospitals or to field medical unitswithout having to learn new computersystems. The TAMMIS-MEDSUP sys-tem has been installed at Fort Riley,Kan., MEDDAC; Fort Carson, Colo.,MEDDAC and Eisenhower ArmyMedical Center, and other HSC hos-pitals are scheduled to receive thesystem within the next three years.

TAMMIS-MEDSUP is the Thea-ter Army Medical Management Sys-tem - Medical Supply. It was usedextensively by field units to record,track, inventory and restock medicalsupplies during Operation Just Causeand Operation Desert Shield/Storm.

Know system"The beauty is a guy from a TOE

unit in Saudi Arabia or Korea canwalk into a TDA hospital in the statesand know how to work the computer,"said MAJ Ricky D. Upton, who ismanaging the project for the HSCHeadquarters deputy chief of staff forlogistics.

He said another advantage of thesystem is that it is "on-line and. real-time", meaning the operator sees hisresults immediately. Other systemsrequire data to be processed at aseparate data center to generate areport once a day.

HardwareFacilities implementing TAMMIS-

-MEDSUP will receive the ATT 3B2minicomputer as hardware for thesystem. Upton said this will be asignificant step forward, as medical

supply administration will no longerdepend on the installation's informa-tion processing center. This will saveHSC time and money.

The system was tested at FortRiley in March, Fort Carson andEisenhower in July, and was beinginstalled at Fort McCoy, Wisc., inSeptember. Next on the schedule willbe Fort Knox, Ky., in October; FortHood, Texas, in November and FortBragg, N.C., in January.

"We've had little or no problemsin operation of the hardware, and thesoftware has been excellent," Uptonsaid.

Upton and his team train opera-tors at each site for three weeks. Thenthey return after a month to answeradditional questions.

"It's easy to train," he commented."TAMMIS-MEDSUP is truly user-friendly. The menu guides youthrough."

TAMMIS-MEDSUP will replaceSAILS and MEDSTOC programs, andCPD where that operates medicalsupply accounts. At some locations itwill replace a manual operation.

It will allow use of bar-codereaders, and has "tremendous interfacewith other systems", according toUpton.

"This is a big-time move forlogistics systems. It's something mostpeople have never -seen," Upton said.

by Ron FellowsThe war in the Persian Gulf

was a high-tech war, in whichpeople world-wide sat glued to theirTV sets. We saw tracers light upthe Baghdad skies, and SCUDmissiles destroyed in flight byPatriot anti-missile missiles. It wasa computer war, a new era of smartbombs and laser-guided weapons.We also saw the most massivemovement of troops and suppliessince World War II.

Computers played a major rolein that record movement of soldiersand supplies.

From small tented battalion aidstations, to the huge floating hos-pital ships, all Desert Storm medi-cal supplies and equipment werecontrolled through a system calledTAMMIS - the Theater ArmyMedical Management InformationSystem. TAMMIS provides for themanagement of whole blood, patient

accounting and reporting, patientmovement, and medical logistics.

Specially designed computersand software were used duringDesert Storm to get the right sup-plies and equipment to the rightplaces at the right time. The harshdesert conditions provided a uniquechallenge to the people running thissystem. In sand dunes, you rarelyhave the niceties of modems andtelephone lines.

"We had to improvise and de-velop some unconventional meth-ods," said MAJ Chad Fletcher,TAMMIS coordinator from theAcademy of Health Sciences.Computer files on patient movementwere sent by tactical radio.

"General Telephone and Elec-tronics designed a 'black box' whichserved to link our computer to atactical radio. It was the first timethis was attempted," said Fletcher.

The system, developed over a pe-riod of several months, enabled filesto be sent by field radio for morethan 500 miles.

"We also used a folding, port-able satellite dish - like Peter Ar-nett used to broadcast live fromBaghdad," he said.

Fletcher was accompanied byCPT Carol Fraser, also a medicallogistics officer, and by SFC AllanFlohr, a senor medical logistics non-commissioned officer. Also takingpart were 17 people from theHealth Care Systems Support Ac-tivity, and UNISYS Corporation, thecivilian firm which develops andmaintains the software for TAMMIS.

Computers were used through-out the theater to determine needsand requisition the necessary itemsand support. In all, 96 systems werefielded for Desert Shield/Storm.(AMEDD Center)

ticed then, according to McMasters. Drawings andsketches often were done on whatever paper wasavailable. Charcoal often faded when the materialfell off, like chalk from a blackboard.

Among the pieces in need of repair is a large4-foot by 6-foot painting of MG Norman T. Kirk,the Army Surgeon General and his staff. McMas-ters said the painting has suffered water damage andis losing some paint. He estimates it will costapproximately $10,000 to restore the painting.

The museum is contracting professional conser-vators to survey its conservation and restorationneeds. Separate specialists are being called in forpaintings and works on paper, since each requiresa different type of expertise and type of care.

"We have to be careful with each one, sinceeach piece is an individual creation," McMastersexplained.

The AMEDD Museum will mount an art ex-hibit in about two years. McMasters said the initialexhibit will have about 15 works of art from theMen Without Guns collection.

"This will be a pilot for a much larger exhibitto be installed after Phase II of our construction,"he said.

The museum opened two years ago, after morethan a decade of fund-raising by the AMEDDMuseum Foundation. Eventually the museum willdouble in size. Construction of Phase II will startwhen sufficient funds are raised. Phase II price tag isaround $3 million. (AMEDD Center)

by Ron FellowsThe Army Medical Department Museum is

working to preserve its collection of World War IIart, some of which has deteriorated severely overthe past half-century, according to Tom McMasters,museum curator.

The art is part of a larger collection commis-sioned during World War II under the sponsorshipof Abbott Laboratories. It includes paintings, draw-ings and sketches; some works are done in oil, othersin watercolors, pencil or charcoal. Some are oncanvas, many are on paper.

"We have about 20 pieces, a fraction of the totalproduced," said McMasters.

Twelve combat artists captured images ofmedical soldiers at war around the world. Theirworks are reproduced in a book titled Men WithoutGuns. Most of the art - around 200 pieces - is inthe hands of the Army Art Activity at the Centerfor Military History.

Much of the combat art has shown the stressof time and lack of proper conservation.

"Our collection has never been conserved pro-fessionally, something that is badly needed,"McMasters said.

Most of the museum's war art came to SanAntonio in 1946 when the Medical Field ServiceSchool and Army Medical Museum moved fromCarlisle Barracks, Pa.

Modern conservation methods of climate con-trol and use of acid-free materials were not prac-

Tom McMasters examines damage on a large WorldWar II-era painting at the Army Medical DepartmentMuseum. (Photo by David T. Faas/AMEDD Museum)

AMEDD museum's art requires repair

An informal history of Army medicinein World War 11, by Harry Noyes

Chapter One

history, disease claimed fewer lives than battle.The AMEDD's war was incredibly complex, reflecting the daily deeds and

experiences of over a half million men and women over almost four years.Among those deeds and experiences were heroism and terror, exhilaration

and despair, triumph and failure, gutbusting humor and heartbreaking grief.For some AMEDD people, heroism brought the highest military honors.

Others conducted research and treatments that led to personal postwar glory.But there was tragedy and waste, too. Some people of huge potential died

in banal obscurity, of disease or stray fire, without ever getting to show whatthey were made of. Some just failed. Unable to stand the isolation and horror,a few came home in patient status as mental and emotional basket cases.

It was a war of ironies. An AMEDD conscientious objector received theMedal of Honor - and an AMEDD officer was killed by a falling coconut onan obscure South Pacific island. It was the sublime, the ridiculous, the noble,the disgusting, the glorious and the tragic, all at once and all together.

But for most AMEDD people, it was a war of small but vital parts in avery big show. Their work and lives were short on excitement and glory, longon sacrifice and endless, back-breaking, mind-numbing work. They won neitherfame nor fortune, but they did earn much satisfactions-s- the quiet pride ofseeing very sick people recover and knowing they had helped make it happen.

The devotion with which AMEDD people kept America's promise to itssoldiers - from the physical courage of combat medics to the endless labor ofcaregivers and support troops behind the lines - is the subject of this series.

It is gratefully and admiringly dedicated to America's warriors ofmercy...past, present and future.

Is ready for the war-

Talks on the war role of the U.S.Public Health Service (USPHS), begunin 1939, led to a February 1940agreement between the Army andFederal Security Agency (FSA, whichowned USPHS). USPHS would handlesanitation outside Army camps incooperation with state and localofficials, focusing on VD and malaria.

Getting organizedIn June 1940, Roosevelt created the

Office of Scientific Research andDevelopment. It formed a Committeeon Medical Research (OSRD-CMR).

In September 1940, the Council ofNational Defense set up a Health andMedical Committee (CND-HMC) tocoordinate defense medical efforts. TheCND-HMC included the Army, Navyand USPHS surgeons general; thedirector of the National ResearchCouncil's Division of Medical Sciences(NRC-DMS); and the president of theAmerican Medical Association (AMA).

Thus began an alphabet-soupnightmare of overlapping agenciestrying to manage wartime health care.

Once CND-HMC asked NRC-DMS to set up some advisory

21

committees! That is, one coordinatingagency asked another coordinatingagency to spawn more coordinators.

Similar bureaucratic zoos sprangup to "manage" other aspects of thewar. The U.S. spawned agencies asprodigiously as Liberty ships.

"In the history of World War II,we find no dearth of coordinatingagencies," wrily wrote Dr. George B.Darling, vice chairman of one researchcommittee.

Still, these agencies did good workcoordinating the myriad elements of afree society, -including hundreds ofthousands of health-care practitioners.

But the bureaucracy must not hidethe fact that America's medicalresponse was above all a triumph ofvolunteerism and splendid cooperation.

Some order was imposed whenmost civilian health agencies werecentralized under FSA AdministratorPaul V. McNutt. He was named bythe CND in November 1940 tocoordinate health, nutrition and welfareaspects of national defense.

By late 1941, FSA owned USPHS;the Office of Defense Health and

Welfare Services; CND-HMC; theDivision of Social Protection; and theWar Manpower ComA-ission, whichoversaw recruitment of healthprofessionals for the military.

Generally the agencies coopera-ted. Interlocking memberships helpedcoordinate the coordinators. E.g., theNRC-DMS chairman was also on theCND-HMC, OSRD-CMR and ARC'smedical advisory committee.

The doctorsIn World War I, a mad scramble to

mobilize physicians had led to anightmare of waste that jeopardizedcivilian health without helping soldiers.

As a World War II official wroteof that chaotic call-up:

"(Physicians knew) the mentalanguish of toiling away, perhaps at adesk job which many other men coulddo better, when they knew that theirknowledge and skill... were sorelyneeded in active medical service...Bothmilitary forces and the civilian popu-lation suffered from...a waste ofmedical skill and training...Everyonewished to avoid this (this time)...."

(continued on next page)

The level of military-civiliancooperation in the medical arena inWorld War II seems incredible today.

Universities, manufacturers, re-search labs, hospitals, professionalassociations, philanthropic foundationsall were almost arms of the AMEDD.

(Cooperation had elements thatwould be illegal today. The AMEDDroutinely gave non-competitive re-search contracts to institutions associ-ated with its "unpaid" civilian experts.)

As early as March 1938, theAmerican Red Cross Military ReliefCommittee (ARC-MRC) asked theArmy what it wanted in case of war.

AMEDD mobilization plans calledfor ARC to continue registering nursesfor wartime call-up (an old ARC role);start doing the same for dietitians andmedical technicians; supply somenonstandard equipment and supplies;and provide hospital recreation halls.

In September 1939, PresidentRoosevelt declared a limited state ofnational emergency after Germanyinvaded Poland. (In May 1940, whenFrance fell, he declared an unlimitedemergency.)

HSC Mercury, October 1991

Warriors of Mercy

In ro ucionFifty years ago, war was sweeping most of the world like a prairie fire.Americans had not felt the flames, but smoke hung ominously over their

heads. They watched apprehensively as the fire threatened to leap our waterymoats. Apprehensively, but not passively.

Most Americans remember the U.S. entry into World War II as a shockstemming from the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.

In fact, the U.S. was not wholly unprepared for war. Many citizens andgovernment leaders had recognized the risk of war since 1939. Many concretesteps had been taken to build up our armed forces and industrial base.

By December 1941, we had not yet produced a ready combat force, but wehad laid the foundation for one. Within months the U.S. would begin to strikeback, launching a counteroffensive that would crush the Axis in 1945.

Without the prewar build-up, that would have taken years instead of months.From the start, the American medical community and Army Medical

Department (AMEDD) were up to their necks in these preparations.There were three main pre-war concerns:(1) Mobilizing U.S. medical and scientific resources to meet wartime health

needs, for the armed forces, war industry, the general population and our allies.(2) Expanding and reorganizing the AMEDD itself.(3) Medically examining huge numbers of draftees.The AMEDD received unstinting support from the civilian health community,

which took the ball and ran with it. Many vital initiatives came from civilians.In four years of war, American medicine and the AMEDD would undergo

decades' worth of revolutionary change.In 1939, the AMEDD had 11,000 soldiers. By 1945, it had almost 700,000

uniformed people - almost as many as the entire Active Army has today.Women would go from a token force, tolerated as associate members, to

full-fledged, permanent members of the Army health-care team.Medicine's effectiveness would expand explosively. So would its complexity,

taxing practitioners' ability to keep up. That trend has never ended.The AMEDD operated simultaneously in over 50 different parts of the world.

Medics dealt with battle wounds and all conceivable kinds of disease, caring forsome 15 million patients under all kinds of (usually terrible) conditions.

Raising, training, managing and supplying this huge force for an infinitevariety of missions and situations was a nightmare. Yet the job was done.

U.S. troops faced the terror of battle and mind-numbing misery of supportmissions knowing that they had the world's best medical care.

Fatalities among wounded men were the lowest ever. For the first time in

American medicine g(

C. Stimson, president of the American Nurses Association

(ANA)... and former ANC superintendent.

III July 1940, Stimson convened a conference of nursing

groups, which created the Nursing Council on National

Defense (NCND) and named her its first chairperson.The NCND included the ANA, NLNE, RCNS, Association

of Collegiate Schools of Nursing, National Association of

Colored Graduate Nurses, and Council of Federal Nursing

Services (Army, Navy and USPHS).NCND asked USPHS to do annual nurse censuses. ARC

gave money, and state and local nurse groups assisted.In November 1940, the government created a nursing

subcommittee in the CND-HMC. It had no real power, butwas a good communication channel.

ARC also tackled a national nurse shortage. During thewar lay volunteers, trained by the ARC to do routine tasksto free nurses for professional duties, would play vital roles.

The idea of a 10-week, hospital-based nurses-aide course

was broached within the RCNS in September 1939. Somenurses worried about competition, but Mabel Boardman arguedthat nurses' aides would meet the temporary needs without

creating a permanent oversupply of real nurses.In October 1939, RCNS head Mary Beard agreed and

launched a finely tuned effort. Only top students and teacherswere chosen. A pilot class began in January 1940, and 23women graduated in April 1940. In September 1940 a coursesyllabus was issued for use by ARC chapters around the U.S.

Soon the nation would be grateful for Boardman's zealand Beard's courage in taking on the daunting task.

The expertsThe National Institute of Health (NIH) started war research

in 1939. By 1941 it was devoting 90 percent of its researchresources to secret defense projects, e.g., on toxic hazards ofexplosives and high-octane fuel.

NIH supervised biological labs, and produced medicalmaterials itself. In 1939 it developed a military typhus vaccineand worked with commercial labs to make it in quantity.

In early 1940, NRC-DMS offered its services. It set upcommittees of civilian experts to advise, prepare up-to-datereports on diseases and treatments, and help settle medicalcontroversies. The first groups (May 1940) studied shock,chemotherapy and transfusion.

Like manpower, medical research was blessed with anabundance of godfathers. Remember the OSRD-CMR?

Up to a point, there was logic in duplication. E.g., theNRC (though government-chartered) was technically a privateorganization, so OSRD (as a federal agency) had powers theNRC lacked, to take action and spend money on research.But the NRC had ready access to the finest scientific minds.

An example of cooperation came when the governmentoffered money for defense-medicine research but paid up late.NRC-DMS scraped by on gifts from private groups like theCarnegie Corporation, American College of Physicians, etc.

Even before Pearl Harbor, NRC-DMS averaged 13committee meetings and four conferences a month.

The 1929 discovery of Penicillium mold's germ-killingpower triggered a big cooperative effort in 1940.

Cost and mass-production problems had kept penicillinin the lab. But war made it too promising to ignore.

Sir Howard W. Florey got penicillin to the human teststage. In 1940 he came to the U.S. as a guest of theRockefeller Foundation.

OSDR-CMR chairman Dr. A. N. Richards put Florey intouch with drugmakers, told the firms that penicillin hadgovernment backing, and got the War Production Board togive penicillin a high priority.

Within six months, the Department of Agriculture's:Northern Regional Laboratory (Peoria, 111.) found ways tohike penicillin production 50-fold.

Accelerated testing in military hospitals soon began..

This inspiredr military-civilian cooperation. Physicians werealert. Advance communication, planning, and data collectionvastly smoothed medical mobilization for World War 1I.

In June 1940, at the annual AMA meeting, the ArmySurgeon General's delegate warned physicians to prepare for war.The AMA set up a Committee oil Military P/eparedness.

At Army, Navy and USPHS request, the AMA surveyedphysicians to determine how many were needed for civilianservice and how many were available for the military.

The AMA spent its own money updating its records andgave the roster to the government. With help from localmedical societies, the AMA sent out questionnaires, collecteddata on licensed physicians and entered it on punchcards.

The continental U.S. had 176,202 physicians. Of these164,499 were white males - the only category then takenseriously. There were 8,035 white females; 3,362 blacks (notbroken out by gender); and 306 foreign nationals. Only 42,721were under age 36. Another 70,116 were 36-55.

The nursesAs U.S. forces grew in 1940, many nurses responded to the

call,'but not without some glitches.The Red Cross Nursing Service (RCNS) still played a

major role in mobilizing nurses, but not the dominating role

it had in World War I. RCNS would not take its own hospitalsoverseas, run Army base hospitals, or assign nurses directlyto Army units, as it had in 1917-1918.

The Army Nurse Corps (ANC) was now a permanentinstitution. Civilian nursing had six national associations. RCNSwas no longer nurses' only voice.

There were also administrative glitches. When the ARC

started war planning in 1934, everyone assumed nursing wouldrun as in World War I, so planning was neglected.

In fact, the situation was a mess. RCNS still had the

official charter to recruit military nurses and provide nursing

reserves. But its reserve was too small and badly regulated.This was not all RCNS's fault. Army had decentralized

RCNS records to corps areas, which had no one to maintain

them. New RCNS data rarely got posted. When the Army

asked reserve nurses to go on active duty, many letters went

to obsolete addresses or women no longer available. (In 1940,

corps-area surgeons finally got nurses to keep the records.)The RCNS First Reserve, supposedly prime candidates for

active duty, had only 13-15,000 nurses. Army plans estimated

60,000 would be needed. But the Army, ignoring its own

estimates, did little to help RCNS boost its reserve.In April 1939, Army Surgeon General MG Charles R.

Reynolds and ANC Superintendent MAJ Julia 0. Flikke told

the RCNS that 16,000 nurses was enough.Even in March 1941, Surgeon General MG James C.

Magee told medical groups the Army only needed 1-1.5

percent of U.S. nurses (less than 5,000) and the RCNS reserve

was ample.That may have reassured worried physicians, but it did

nothing to get nurses excited about the RCNS reserve.In fact, even if 5,000 had been enough, the RCNS could

not have met the need. Many reserve nurses weren't reallyavailable due to families, jobs, physical problems, or lack ofdesire. Since the RCNS had no military status, its nurses couldnot be ordered to duty, only invited. Studies showed that only8-20 percent were truly available.

In 1939-1940, despite redoubled efforts, the First Reservestill had only 17,000 nurses of uncertain availability.

In September 1940, the Army made its first call, seekingover 5,000 nurses for one-year tours. The RCNS was namedas the only recruiting source.

Response was poor, due to bad records, apathy, (false)fears of reserve-hospital nurses that they would lose their units,and bureaucratic letters that failed to "sell" the need.

By mid-November only 300 new nurses were on duty.Army now put out more recruiting guidance, referring to theRCNS "or other sources." The change, a technicality, embar-rassed ARC officials who felt they had lost Army confidence.

In January 1941, RCNS energized recruiting, launched abig publicity effort, and set a goal of 4,000 new Army nursesby July. They made it, only to get a request for 3,100 more.

Women answering an "urgent" call expected papers tobe processed fast. RCNS called in insurance-company experts,who streamlined office procedures and added an IBM system.

In July 1940 nurse educator Isabel M. Stewart askedthe National League of Nursing Education (NLNE) to starta national commission on defense nursing problems.

The idea was passed to a prominent nurse leader, Julia

HSC Mercury, October 1991

Prewar trainingFirst Medical Regiment soldiers demcat the Medical Field Service School,

Ingenuity, IIn May 1939, Army Surgeon

General (TSG) MG Charles R.Reynolds, hosted the 10th InternationalCongress of Military Medicine andPharmacy in Washington, D.C.

Among the guests was Reynolds'German counterpart. Three months later,the AMEDD was scrambling to prepare'for possible war against Germany.

While the Army and AMEDDfaced a formidable challenge, they hadmore to start with than in earlier wars.

Interwar progressAfter World War I, unlike previous

wars, the U.S. kept a fair part of itsarmy and had a real military policy.The AMEDD was able to lay vitalgroundwork for World War II.

It set up the Medical Field ServiceSchool (MFSS), at Carlisle Barracks, Pa.,training officers and NCOs from theNational Guard (NG), OrganizedReserves (OR) and Regular Army (RA),who later led the wartime AMEDD.

A School of Aviation Medicine wasborn at Randolph Field, Texas; Armyhospitals started internships; field gearwas modernized at the MedicalEquipment Laboratory at Carlisle.

The AMEDD also built bridges tocivilian health agencies and nationalmedical, dental, nursing and veterinaryassociations, groups it later called on forresearch, recruiting and training help.Most AMEDD officers were active, andsome held high offices, in such groups.

Taste of things to comeOne of President Roosevelt's tools for

fighting unemployment was the CivilianConservation Corps (CCC), a quasi-military organization that em-ployed menon environmental protec-tion work. TheArmy administered and supported theCCC, starting in 1933.

National mobilization, continued

nstrate the loading of patients onto a motor ambulance during aCarlisle Barracks,"Pa., before World War II. (U.S. Army Photo)

big show(equipment, including "assemblages" ofmedical gear) and equipment lists(details on what "assemblage" included).

The September 1939 limited emer-gency brought only a modest increasein RA size and budget and more train-ing for the NG. Even the May 1940unlimited emergency at first broughtonly a little bit more.

New authorization documents werepublished in late 1940 and early 1941,adapting medical units to the Army'snew mobility-oriented combat structures.

In the downsized divisions andcorps, medical regiments were replacedwith medical battalions. (Medical regi-ments continued to exist at higher level).

The new documents updated thestructure, staffing and equipment ofregimental medical detachments,combat-zone hospitals, and rear-areamedical facilities; and invented newmedical structures for armored, airborneand mountain divisions.

The surgical hospital became moremobile and flexible, with a surgical unitand two 200-bed hospital units. Thisdesign let the surgeons go where theywere needed, accompanied by onehospital unit, while the second unit tookcare of non-transportable patients.

These documents replaced animaltransport with motor vehicles and addedmore people to handle new equipmentand procedures. But demands for moreEM led to conflict with the Army staff.

The staff balked until the AMEDDagreed the figures were only a wish listand allowed substitution of civilians forEM. But infighting continued.

OTSG wanted a lot of EM so thatthey could be trained as cadres. TheArmy staff wanted more civilians, to

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adopted a Protective Mobilization Plan(PMP) in late 1938. It made the mostof what the Army had, to buy timewhile the nation mobilized, but it wasflawed by lack of cadres and housing.

OTSG spent 1939 developing theAMEDD's plan. It was a tough chal-lenge. Upon mobilization (expected onlyif the U.S. were attacked), the AMEDDmust rapidly and simultaneously:

- provide care with existing re-sources for the RA and mobilizedreserves initially defending the U.S.

- build, equip and staff scores ofnew fixed hospitals to care formobilized reserves and draftees.

- organize, staff, equip and trainscores of new field medical units.

But the AMEDD could expect fewnew resources until "the balloon wentup" (which was too late). It was likeasking a barefoot man to lift himselfby his bootstraps while holding an anvil.

Few other Army branches had sucha burden. Most units could train formonths before starting their missions orcould quickly train draftees to help.

Not the AMEDD. It had to giveuninterrupted top-quality care. It neededexcellent facilities,- equipment andprofessional teams "from the gitgo."

War's 'brainwork'But the AMEDD got the job done.It got one break: mobilization did

not occur overnight as feared, but overa 15-month period. (Thus the PMP,being defensive, wasn't fully applicable.)

But most of the miracle was thecreativity, hard work, planning andprofessionalism of AMEDD people,including Guardsmen and Reservists.

As early as January 1939, OTSGbegan updating tables of organization(people), tables of basic allowances

In doing CCC medical care (e.g.,examining and immunizing all 2.5million members), the AMEDD gotexperience in mobilizing large numbersof men. It was almost identical to whatit later faced in mobilizing for war.

The CCC was an unprecedentedmedical triumph. A huge force wasassembled in military-style campswithout a serious epidemic.

(The AMEDD supported CCC untilit ended in 1942.)

It's a start...In September 1939, the AMEDD had

2,185 officers and 9,478 enlisted men(EM) in an Army of only 191,551.

The AMEDD had twice as manyofficers as any other Army "service"branch. Its EM strength ranked second.

Still, the AMEDD was strapped forEM. Limited by law to 5 percent of theArmy's EM, it had barely enough forpeacetime hospital services.

It also had to supply EM for fieldmedical units. Shortages put some EMon 12-hour shifts, made trainingdifficult, and left no peak-load margin.

Anxiety about how to train EMdistorted AMEDD mobilization plansand caused staff -squabbles.

In 1939, the Army was 75 percentbased in the U.S. (in nine "corps areas").The rest was in U.S.-owned "depart-ments": Hawaii (20,000 troops); thePhilippines (11,000); Panama CanalZone (13,000); and Puerto Rico.

In garrison the AMEDD had sevengeneral hospitals with 4,136 beds (equalto 3 percent of strength) for "generaland special" needs; and 119 stationhospitals with 8,234 beds (6 percent ofstrength) for "local and ordinary" needs.

Hospitals in the Philippines andHawaii needed repair. Few others could

be expanded. Only 25 were modern; 50more were suitable for modernization.

For combat, the AMEDD had fourregiments and one squadron.

The 1st Medical Regiment was ademonstration unit at the MFSS. The2nd Medical Regiment at Fort SamHouston, Texas, was helping test a newinfantry-division design.

The 11th Medical Regiment was inHawaii. The 12th Medical Regimentwas a Philippine Scout unit. The 1stMedical Squadron was an incompletehorse-cavalry outfit at Fort Bliss, Texas.

Guard and ReserveIn 1939, the Army's real medical

muscle was in the OR and NG.Each had more AMEDD people

than the RA. The OR had 23,000 non-unit men, including 15,000 physiciansand 5,000 dentists. The NG had 14,000men in units, including 12,500 enlisted.

NG medical elements includeddivision units, plus 19 regimentalheadquarters, 12 battalion headquarters,20 collecting companies, 45 motorizedambulance companies, 29 hospital com-panies, and veterinary and service units.

The RA had 11,000 people, includ-ing 1,100 physicians and 8,600 EM,plus hundreds of dentists, nurses, etc.

In 1939 TSG credited the Guardwith its best-ever training level. But theNG was short of medical professionals.

NG and OR looked complementary.NG had EM, who were almost totallyabsent in the OR. The OR hadphysicians, dentists, veterinarians, etc.

But in practice it wasn't easy to"mix and match." Guard EM werecommitted to NG medical units.

Worried about how to meet thetime demands of modern technicaltraining in a short-notice war, Army

HSC Mercury, October 1991

Some notes on methodologyToday's medical soldiers can learn much from their World War II predecessors,

about the challenges they face, the need for their skills, and the satisfaction oftheir work - not to mention a host of how-to-do-it lessons.

There is no lack of historical material. There are tens of thousands of pagesof official and popular histories, unit histories, memoirs, etc.

Indeed there is too much to read. What does not exist is a compact,comprehensive history that tells the whole World War II AMEDD story.

The HSC Mercury will try to fill that gap with a four-year series of articlescalled "Warriors Of Mercy." Every two months a four-page section will coverevents from 50 years ago plus general topics about wartime AMEDD achievements.

The series is mostly a compilation of information from published books. TheMercury has been fortunate to interview a few veterans, but we do not pretendthat "Warriors Of Mercy" is original scholarship. We owe an enormous debt tomany authors. Each issue includes a short bibliography.

We try hard to be accurate, but errors are inevitable. Besides our own goofs,we must contend with errors in our sources. Books often disagree, even on basicfacts that ought to be clear (such as what year a law was passed).

Some mistakes are research/editing errors, but many stem from bureaucraticcomplexity. Major programs have too many parents and too many birthdays (whenthey are proposed; when they are approved, by different levels of government;when they officially take effect; when they start operations, etc.). Program growth, froma staff function to an Army-wide effort to a national program, can double or triple thisproblem. Confusion also stems from the alphabet soup of overlapping agencies withsimilar missions and names.

We explain some major disputes. On minor ones, we often just use what seemsthe best information. To avoid problems, we use round numbers as much as possible.

This hurts the historical precision and definitiveness of our series, but it alsoeliminates clutter, reduces errors, and makes for more readable stories. You won't missmuch: most of the confusion is on trivial details, not matters of substance.

If you spot errors or have information to offer, please contact:Office of the Chief, Public Affairs(ATTN: HSIO, Harry Noyes)HQ, Health Services CommandFort Sam Houston, TX 78234-6000(DSN 471-6213 or COMM 512-221-6213.)

lard work prepare AMEDD for the

free EM for field units.Anyway, there just weren't enough EM. (Civil-

ians were almost as hard to find, due to weak labormarkets, limited transport and housing, etc.)

To solve the EM shortage, OTSG revived effortsto boost the AMEDD's share of EM from 5 to 7percent. In May 1940, Congress approved 7 percentand authorized the president to raise it more in war.

To cope, OTSG revived the World War I"affiliated unit." These were complete reserve hospitalsset up by civilian hospitals or medical schools. Eachinstitution recruited volunteer physi-cians, nurses, etc.,from its own staff for its unit.

By activating an affiliated unit, Army could geta fully organized, staffed, trained hospital overnight.

After World War I, many units disintegrated.In 1939, OTSG revived the idea and by summer

1941, some 41 general, 11 evacuation and foursurgical hospitals were organized as affiliated units.

More bureaucratic bickeringTo some officers, the AMEDD was just a

competitor for scarce resources. E.g., the Army G-4had to supply buildings for camps: every board hegave the AMEDD was one less for recruit barracks.

OTSG sent a medical liaison officer to G-4 inlate 1940, but relations remained prickly.

OTSG and G-4 also squabbled over equipmentfor field medical units. G-4 wanted this stuff issuedfor training. OTSG feared the inexperienced units,with inadequate storage and trucks, would ruin thescarce gear. OTSG wanted it saved for patient care.

To avoid epidemics, the AMEDD demandedplenty of space per soldier in barracks. Line officerswanted to cram soldiers in, to maximize the numbertrained. This one the AMEDD won.

In November 1940, field medical units weretransferred from corps areas to field armies orcombat corps. This confused training responsibilities.

In theory, field medical units got tactical trainingunder field commands and technical training in fixedhospitals. But hospitals were under corps-area control,so field units had two bosses. Who was in charge?

Some hospitals gave field units excellent trainingbut others shamelessly exploited them as scut labor.At best, field units lost their identity in hospitals: thetroops learned skills but got no experience as units.

In the field, some evacuation hospitals borrowed

equipment to do care, then got bogged down withpatients - leading army commanders to improvisenew mobile hospitals from their medical regiments!

A growing AMEDDFrance's fall broke the business-as-usual mindset. In

August 1940 Congress authorized the president tomobilize the NG and OR and recall military retirees.A month later came the first peacetime draft.

The draft caused an explosion in AMEDDpatient loads. 1940 also saw the start of theAMEDD's massive soldier immunization program.

The AMEDD grew faster than the rest of theArmy. By late 1941, its EM had climbed from '5percent to 6.4 percent of the Army. AMEDD officersgrew from 6.1 percent to 7.7 percent of the Army.

To provide cadres, OTSG postponed retirementsand recalled many retirees.

In 1939, OTSG itself had 30 officers and -nursesand 160 civilians. By mid-1941 it had 102 officersand nurses and 717 civilians.

Corps-area surgeons and their overseas counter-parts (department surgeons) started in 1939 withthree or four physicians and a few civilian clerks.

The build-up gave them many extra duties andsome extra people. Most corps-area surgeons got aUSPHS liaison officer, chief nurse and dental officer.

Civilian hiring shot up, to staff new hospitals.Field-army surgeons' offices were small,

unstructured and "fluid." They needed more people,because field operations took them far from special-ists at home station, split them across corps-areaboundaries, and required rear and forward echelons.

In the two years before Pearl Harbor, theAMEDD expanded 10-fold, to some 130,000

officers, nurses and EM. It needed even more, to: (1)build and staff fixed hospitals for new training campsand air bases; (2) staff new bases in Iceland,Greenland, Canada, the Atlantic and the Caribbean;(3) create and train new tactical medical units fortheaters of operation; (4) help send medicalequipment and supplies to the Allies.

In September 1940, the AMEDD still had onlyits division units; four regiments and one squadron;and six new units (a medical supply depot, a lab,two evacuation hospitals and two surgical hospitals).

In December 1940 the Army approved more fieldunits: eight battalions, eight regiments, a depot, a lab,a general dispensary, 15 evacuation hospitals, sixsurgical hospitals, 22 general hospitals, 22 stationhospitals, all to be formed by July 1941.

Soon a battalion and two more regiments wereadded. In 1941 two provisional hospitals created forcancelled task forces were renamed station hospitals.But that's all the units activated before war began.

By June 1941 all tactical units were activated atfull strength. Also at full strength stateside wereabout nine new general hospitals, 175 stationhospitals, 10 depots and eight corps-area labs.

But theater hospitals got only partial strength.OTSG saw them as school units for training

cadres. Others saw them as real units for combat, butthere just weren't enough people. Army had to givepriority to hospitals actually treating trainees.

By mid-1941, OTSG agreed these units had tobe ready for war. It levied hospitals for cadres forthese units, but still resisted issuing their equipment.

In August 1941, to focus readiness efforts, theArmy created a "War Department Pool of TaskForce Units." It included 31 hospitals.

AMEDD schools shortened courses and jammedmore people in. There was anxiety about acceleratingtraining in health care; but most classes weresuccessful, thanks to modern educational technologyand methods. Short courses provided badly neededpeople when there was no other way to get them.

Yet many EM got only on-job-training. Andmany new officers, while professionally qualified,were inefficient at military duties.

A supply crunchIn Fall 1939, the AMEDD expected supply

problems. Its catalogs and reserve supplies were ob-solete World War I leftovers.

Short of money and unsure how fast manufac-turers could react, OTSG surveyed medical industryto measure the problem and stimulate expansion. Itcreated advisory committees on supply availabilityand maintained close liaison with governmentresource- and production-allocation agencies.

In Spring 1940, OTSG warned that it could notsend one general hospital overseas. But G-4, shortof money and (wrongly) convinced that industrycould respond quickly in case of war, paid no heed.

In late 1940, as new hospital capacity becameessential, equipment/supply shortages were as bad asfacility and people shortages. Especially short weresterilizers, orthopedic equipment, X-ray gear, dentaloperating units, catheters and cytoscopic instruments.

Ingenuity and dedication came to the rescue.Physicians and dentists sent home for personalequipment and bought items with their own money.Hospitals borrowed gear from dealers, universitiesand civilian agencies, and built furniture from left-over construction lumber. Patients were sent to theVA or civilian hospitals for tests and procedures.

By Fall 1941, things had improved, but manyitems were still backordered in 1942.

There were at least two major problems:Shortages. The U.S. lost access to European

sources. U.S. industry had not had time to increasecapacity. There were shortages of raw materials.

- Increased demand. The AMEDD had tocompete for supplies with the Navy, civilians, andthe Allies. Lend-Lease aggravated the pressure.

In 1940, OTSG devised a simple new formulafor setting bed requirements, based on troop strength.

The standard was 4 percent. But this was not enoughfor new recruits who easily got sick and injured.

OTSG wanted 5 percent, which G-4 accepted inpart. To save resources, hospitals were built withclinics, operating rooms, offices, etc., for 5 percent;but wards were only built for 4 percent. Wards couldbe added later if needed. Sure that there was need,OTSG backed all requests for more beds.

In May 1940, desperate for space, TSG wrote:"There devolves upon me, as Surgeon General

of the Army, the inescapable duty of bringing to theattention of higher authority the unpreparedness ofthe Medical Department for war."

G-4 pooh-poohed OTSG's anxiety. No onedisputed the need for more beds, but there was fiercedispute over how to get them. Many on the Armystaff wanted to expand Army hospitals, use VA andcivilian hospitals, or even adapt civilian schools andhotels before erecting new hospitals.

To reduce pressure, CCC and veteran patientswere moved elsewhere, starting in early 1940. In late1940, the Army limited dependent care.

In some areas, the Army used USPHS Marinehospitals. But no schools or hotels were ever used.

Where new camps were built, building newhospitals was the only option.

But the G-4 insisted on expanding old hospitals.OTSG protested that this was medically unsound andnot really cheaper. G-4 was adamant. OTSG gotsome case-by-case exceptions, but the policy stood.

The hospital crisisThere were desperate improvisations. Barracks and

porches became wards. Portable buildings and tentswere set up. But key areas (operating rooms, clinics,labs, etc.) could not be so easily improvised.

G-4 remained unmoved even when the draftoverwhelmed the AMEDD. TSG warned G-4 thatthe issue was "dynamite."

The dispute got so bitter that Army Chief ofStaff GEN George C. Marshall, unsure whom tobelieve, told the Army Inspector General inSeptember 1940 to check the status of hospitals.

The IG supported OTSG and in late September,on Marshall's order, the policy was reversed. Nowbuilding new hospitals was the rule. Expansionwould be done only when it was clearly satisfactory.

But by now the dispute had caused big delays.Fall and Winter 1940-1941 saw serious hospital

shortages. Patients were crammed in at theemergency level of 72 square feet per bed, and somewere diverted to VA and civilian hospitals.

This coincided with a shortage of physicians andnurses. The Army had reached the bottom of thereserve barrel before new recruiting paid off.

The AMEDD hired temporary civilians andhijacked physicians from field medical units.

Both problems eased a lot in Spring 1941.New hospitals were built on the "cantonment-

type" plan, a standardized cookbook of drawings forrapid erection of hospitals from 25 to 2,000 beds.

These were small and medium-sized, one-story,wooden buildings, connected by long corridors. Theywere cheap and fast to build with unskilled laborers.

But, being vulnerable to fire, they were spreadout. This wasted land and made them hard to run.

Medical progress made the plans obsolete. Theyhad too little room for X-ray, labs, dental services,records, food-service, storage and offices. There wasno exchange, recreation hall, ambulance garage, ordrug strongroom (though the law required one).

If all this drove a hospital commander mad...toobad, because a cantonment-type hospital had no safeplace to keep him. The psych ward was too flimsy.

All this now led to more inter-staff squabbling,over authority and procedures for modifying plans.

This issue was never really resolved. Localhospital and post officials had to improvise bymodifying buildings; by rearranging space; by usingwards for other things and then adding more wardbuildings; and by building structures locally forstorage, garages, drug strongrooms, etc.

HSC Mercury, October 1991

AMEDD gets ready, continued

-

'Granny' goes to Iraq to take care of soldieirs

HS,

Octo

Officer braves booby traps for Kuwaiti wat: Mercury m

ber 1991 X

:ae

by Ken WynnCOL Charles Kenison was on the hot seat in

Saudi Arabia, and found the only way to survive waswith "gutsy" decisions.

Kenison, chief of preventive medicine at FortStewart, Ga., MEDDAC, deployed for OperationDesert Shield/Storm with the 24th Infantry Division.His biggest challenge was rolling into a liberatedKuwait and keeping the people of the city alive untilpublic facilities were updated to pre-war levels. Food,water, garbage collection, sanitation and insect controlall had to be provided.

The top priority was to get pure water flowing."Somebody had to go to the reservoirs and

confirm that the water had not been contaminated,"Kenison said. "The Kuwait personnel would not hearof it. They would not chance injury for fear of abooby-trapped reservoir. This intensified the prob-lem with the bomb-disposal teams 500 miles awaywith the advancing division."

The colonel took a team of four, plus a guide,into the reservoir, putting all their lives on the line.

"Bear in mind, we were the first humans in thearea since the Iraqis pulled out. I couldn't wait for

the EOD, I just had to put into operation what Ilearned when I was a lieutenant in the combatengineers," he said.

"We crawled through barbed wire, carefullychecking for explosive devices, to get samples inevery reservoir. There were 10 reservoirs, some 200yards long. We followed tire tracks up the slopesfrom reservoir to reservoir. We used our belts to openhatches to minimize damage in case of explosions.We found two grenades, with pins pulled, positionedunder an abandoned rocket launcher. If anyone hadpicked it up, they would have been killed."

"We found explosives, booby traps, wired explo-sives to valve lines, and several deuce-and-a-halftrucks of explosives in one reservoir," Kenisoncontinued. "We made all the necessary precautionsfor personal safety, but more importantly, we wereable to acquire the badly-needed samples."

Kenison recommended Kuwaiti officials allowbomb disposal units to check the entire area beforeputting any of the reservoirs back into operation.

"We had all the reservoirs up and running within24 hours after the EOD team arrived, with only afew small breaks in the line," he said.

Kenison saved Kuwait from losing 250 milliongallons of water, which would have put 200,000people in jeopardy.

He found reestablishing sewage disposal to bean easier problem. When Iraq invaded, the sewagecontract company built a fake wall to hide thecontrol offices from the invaders. The Iraqis did notdiscover the trick, and only two generators had tobe replaced to put the system back into operation.

Kenison deployed to Saudi Arabia in Decem-ber. He developed a screening procedure to deter-mine if a water well was contaminated in two hours,rather than the two days required for laboratory-approved tests. This allowed the advancing troopsto screen and use wells on their line of march, andkept trucks needed to carry ammunition and fuelfrom being diverted to haul water.

Other decisions involved assuring preventivemedicine techniques for enemy prisoner of warcamps. The original estimate of 30,000 prisonersquickly jumped to 90,000.

For his quick decisions and effective work,Kenison received the Bronze Star. (Fort StewartMEDDAC)

I.,I

SFC Anthony Garcia and SGT stration in the field.On Jan. 5, they were returning

from a training mission when they sawan Army fuel truck go out of controland overturn. The passenger in thetruck was thrown clear, while thedriver was trapped in the cab. Threefuel pods on the truck began leakingprofusely.

Despite the danger of fire from thepooling fuel, Garcia entered the truckcab to free the driver while Cruz

cleared debris out of the way.Working together to keep the drivercalm and free his pinned legs, theywere able to get the injured soldierout of the truck and away to safety.

The NCOs then administeredfirst aid to the driver and passen-ger, and took control of the acci-dent site. They flagged down anArmy ambulance, which took thecasualties to the 46th CombatSupport Hospital for treatment.

Angel Cruz received Soldier's Medalsthis summer to recognize a life-sav-ing act in Saudi Arabia. Both soldiersare part of the tactical systems divi-sion of the Health Care SystemsSupport Activity. They were in SaudiArabia helping units deployed forOperation Desert Shield/Storm installthe Theater Army Medical Manage-ment Information System (TAMMIS),a computer system for medical admini-

IV

by Sue HarperFifteen years ago drill sergeants called the 34-

year-old basic trainee "granny." This year she was anAimy physician assistant in the deserts of Iraq.

CWO Karen K. Kelso of Fort Huachuca, Ariz.,MEDDAC, was one of 13 female physician assis-tants in Iraq during the ground war and the only femalemedical officer in the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment.She worked in a medical clearing station, which isgenerally within 10 miles of the battle.

Although her second grandchild was born whileshe was in Iraq, the 49-year-old Kelso does not quitefit the grandmother image. She does not giggle. Sheroars. Her voice is lightly graveled and glossed with aSan Antonio drawl. John Wayne might describe her asa lady with a lot of sand.

But the gravel falls out of her voice and thesand slides away when she describes the day she had10 dead American soldiers come through her clear-ing station in Iraq.

"I had to ID their wounds," she said. ."I had tocollect myself before I could finish. They were mine!I mean, they were American and there was noth-ing I could do for them. I took it very personally."

Helping soldiersDoing something for soldiers was one of the

reasons Kelso joined the Army. Her father was inthe civil service and she grew up around soldiers.

"I fell in love with soldiers," Kelso said. "It wasamazing to me that they were willing to give uptheir lives. I wanted to be there to help them nothave to give up their lives."

But Kelso treated more than American soldiers.She and the other medical officers with the 3rd ACRtreated Iraqi prisoners of war.

"The POWs I treated were duped. Some weretold by Iraqi propaganda that they would be shotat dawn. So some of them were very cautious while

being treated. Others were very angry at SaddamHussein. They would say 'Saddam!' and spit, or theywould say 'Bush! Number one.' But there were somedie-hards who still believed in Saddam Hussein."

She said she discovered many interesting thingsabout Iraq and the Iraqis. For example, the Iraqisdid not drink as much water. They did this bysucking on tinfoil-wrapped rocks, which kept theirsalivary glands active.

While she was in Saudi Arabia Kelso fought flies,heat and boredom. The waiting for something tohappen was the worst part. But she had a noncom-missioned officer who helped break the monotony,she said.

"He was a real NCO and he could get anything.He got me a pink four-seater (latrine) complete withpink toilet paper," she said, roaring. "Oh gosh! Thatwas funny! What was even funnier is that the guysliked it, too. It must have reminded them of home."

Change in IraqHearing the sounds of tanks, strafing rounds,

planes and bombs was a big change from fightingbuzzing flies.

"When I was in Iraq I did not shut my eyes,"Kelso said. "I never thought I would miss SaudiArabia."

Iraq was where she found the first green plantshe had seen in six months, she said.

"I saw a tiny, green, scrubby bush bearing apurple flower. I went galloping across the desert,which I admit wasn't real smart, to get at this plant.I tripped over the root and fell flat on my face,"Kelso laughed.

Kelso has made a habit of finding somethinggreen in barren situations. She is able to findopportunity in misfortune.

When Kelso graduated from Leilehua HighSchool in Wahiawa, Hawaii, she was offered a Navy

four-year nursing degree scholarship, she said."My father was not thrilled," she added.So instead of beginning a Navy career the day

after graduating from high school, she married asoldier. She had two children, a boy and a girl. Shewas a homemaker for almost 10 years. Her mar-riage ended when her husband sent her a Dear Johnletter from Vietnam, she said.

Kelso worked at everything from waitress to thehead cashier for the St. Louis Stock BrokerageCompany. She also gained about 100 pounds. Whenshe reached size 22, she joined Weight Watchers.She lost the weight and gained another career, firstas a Weight Watchers clerk, then as a lecturer. -'

But her children, who had not seen their fatherfor some time, decided they wanted to spend timewith him, so they went to live with their father.

She understood, but she still felt as though herworld had collapsed. So she decided to do some-thing she had always wanted to do. She joined theArmy. "I was an E-zero," she said.

College degreeShe had no college coming into the Army. But

she went to college full time, worked in the Armyfull time and had an additional part-time job. Sheearned a four-year degree in radiological physics. Sheapplied for physician assistant, but did not think shewould be accepted.

"I was too old; I did not have the right MOSbackground; and I was a woman," she said. "I hadheard they did not like to take women into theprogram because physician assistants were morelikely to work close to the line of battle."

She was on the verge of leaving the Army whenshe was accepted. "Granny" Kelso has been a sol-dier for 15 years and a physician assistant for sixyears. For Kelso, a lot can happen in a little time.(Fort Huachuca Scout)

*Computersergean tssave lvesin Saudi

Russian artSGT Anthony Walker holds a folk-art platedipicting a Russian meadow, a gift fromSuzanna Levichek in gratitude for Walker'sservice in Operation Desert Storm. Levichekis a 79-year-old retired biochemist and folkartist in Russia. Walker is a patient atEisenhower Army Medical Center. (Photo byEAMC)

COL Russel J. Thomsen, an obstetrician/gyne-cologist at MEDDAC Alaska, completed his thirdhealth scientist visit to the Soviet Union this sum-mer, shortly before the attempted coup and subse-quent political upheaval that has rocked that nation.

Within a program of the Institute for Circum-polar Health of the University of Alaska at Anchor-age, the two weeks of medical activities took himthroughout the Magadan Region of the Soviet FarEast and the Chukota Autonomous Region.

Thomsen surveyed obstetrical and gynecologicalcare in these areas, while providing lectures anddemonstrations of modern Western contraception andfamily planning.

Visits were made to such diverse places as theregional hospitals of Chukota at Anadyr on thePacific Coast of Siberia to Pevec overlooking thepolar ice cap. Thomsen was also flown by helicop-ter to remote villages and saw Chukchi Nativestending herds of thousands of reindeer. He was ableto evaluate the attempts of Soviet medicine toprovide obstetrical and gynecological care to theseisolated people.

Thomsen was treated with the utmost respect byhis Soviet colleagues. These included Dr. SergeiLisenko, minister of health of the Magadan Regionand Dr. Vyacheslav M. Zolotaryov, his counterpartfor the Chukota Autonomous Region. As their guest,Thomsen was given a welcome and open door tovirtually every aspect of this once closed area of theSoviet Empire.

As an example of openness, he was taken byhelicopter into Severnij, a Stalin-era gulag campwhere 44,000 Russians died mining uranium ore forthat country's first atomic bomb. The camp over-looks the "Arctic Ice Sea" northeast of Pevec, andremains virtually as it was when it closed in 1956.

the Far East for its purported positive effects on malesexuality.

He assisted Soviet physicians performing majorand minor surgeries. He gave the first demonstra-tion insertions in Siberia of the TCu380A IUD andthe NORPLANT Subdermal Contraceptive System.

Also during the visit Thomsen mediated theinitial groundwork for a proposed family-planningclinic to be established by Alaska Planned Parent-hood in Magadan, Anchorage's new sister city in theSoviet Far East.

Thomsen was also able to compare Siberian OB/GYN and family-planning care to that elsewhere inthe Soviet Union. Trips in 1988 and 1989 took himto Moscow, Soviet Georgia, and to the Moslem areasof Soviet Turkmenistan near the Iranian border. Heis a collaborator on a study of IUD insertions withsonographic monitoring at the Zhordania Institute ofHuman Reproduction in Tbilisi, Soviet Georgia.Thomsen was first to report in the medical litera-ture the existence of a new, Soviet copper-T IUD.

An added bonus from these visits spanning fouryears has been the vantage point from whichThomsen has seen the opening of Soviet life underperestroika and the economic and social disintegra-tion of the Socialist system. Soviet citizens, fromindividual patients to the highest officials of gov-ernment, have expressed to Thomsen their hope forAmerica and the West to provide moral and mate-rial leadership as they struggle through one ofhistory's greatest revolutions.

Thomsen hopes to continue his scientific andmedical work in the Soviet Union. A special goalhe has envisioned is the establishment of a programof U.S. military physicians working in hospitals inthe Soviet Union. This idea has the most enthusi-astic support of Soviet physicians. (MEDDAC Alaska)

Thomsen, one of the first Westerners and cer-tainly the first U.S. Army officer to be taken to theSevernij gulag was not only allowed to roam aboutand photograph the abandoned camp, but also tocollect and bring through Soviet customs to Alaskaa number of priceless historical artifacts of the gulag.

Piloting a 30-passenger Aeroflot helicopter andeating freshly killed reindeer over an open fire onthe Siberian tundra were some of the exotic aspectsof this visit. But besides these adventures, Thomsencontinued his work as a Western specialist in theproblems of family planning and contraception in theSoviet Union.

He added samples to his large collection ofcontraceptives and fertility drugs. Samples he obtainedincluded Rantarini, a pill made from reindeer ant-lers and widely used in the Soviet Union, China, and

by Bernard S. Little"There's got to be a better way," is a frequently-

heard quote when people encounter frustrating situ-ations. A statement made when you're doing some-thing that could be accomplished much easier if youcould remove certain obstacles impeding your path.

And voila! That light bulb goes off above yourhead. You thought of an idea. An idea that couldpossibly make life simpler - not only for yourself,but for others as well.

That's what happened to Mai Lon Lee, a reg-istered nurse in the surgical intensive care unit atWalter Reed Army Medical Center.

Lee's predicament, along with other medicalpersonnel, was having to wear scrubs with no placeto hold instruments. The scrubs supplied to medi-cal personnel have a small shirt pocket, but thepocket is not large enough to hold such items asclamps, stethoscopes, scissors, flashlights, tape, tonguecompressors, screw drivers, pens, pencils, and mark-ers. In addition, when items are placed in the pocketof the scrubs, the items often fall out of the pocketwhen the person bends over.

Lee's idea was "ScrubPocs." ScrubPocs are small,slim apron-type pouches with easy-access compart-ments for tools that medical personnel require.

"When I first began to work in the intensive careunit in 1978, I used to wear an apron like cocktailwaitresses wear," Lee recalls. Lee has worked atWalter Reed for nearly 25 years.

"Everybody kidded me about wearing a cock-tail-waitress apron but I found it to be very help-ful. And some of the men were interested in wear-ing something so that they could carry their instru-ments around too. They did not- want to wear thecocktail-waitress apron," Lee said.

"A few years ago, my son's Boy Scout troop

needed to raise money to go on a camping trip.Another Scout's mother and I began to sew to seeif we could come up with something that would lookgood for both men and women who needed some-thing to carry their instruments in hospitals," she said.

Lee said that she brought the pouches to workand the nurses said that they wanted her to makemore. She added that she told the nurses that shewas not selling the pouches, but people could makea donation to her son's Boy Scout troop for thescouts' camping trip. "And the people made out theirchecks directly to my son Michael's Boy Scouttroop," she said.

"So it was helpful to the Boy Scouts and thenurses, who found the pouches beneficial. As a matterof fact, a couple of doctors liked the idea also," Leeadded.

Lee said that health-care providers at Sibley Hos-pital in Washington, D.C. and Shady Grove Hospi-tal, Gaithersburg, Md., have also expressed interestin acquiring the pouches.

Lee said that ScrubPocs are made specificallyfor medical professionals. ScrubPocs have speciallydesigned spaces for instruments and the pouches offereasy access to the instruments without a personhaving to look or fumble for the instruments.

Lee designs the pouches in a variety of fabrics,patterns and colors, including jungle camouflage,desert camouflage and the Washington Redskinsfootball team colors of burgundy and gold.

Lee is in the process of marketing her "Scrub-Pocs." She has applied for a patent and trademark.She has also been contacted by representatives fromthe Huggable Scrubs company, who have expressedinterest in "ScrubPocs." She is currently having thepouches manufactured in Baltimore. (Walter ReedStripe)

8HSC MercuryOctober 1991

OB/GYN doctor studies Russian birth cont'I o

Reed Nurse finds innovationbrings pocketful of success

- -

HSC Mercury ^

October 1991 ~

But some separating soldiers do find civil-serv-ice options attractive. An example might be a phy-sician, nurse or technician who loves working inArmy hospitals but wants to settle down in one place.As the Army downsizes, there will be a new kindof candidate: people who really would prefer to stayon active duty and simply don't get the chance. Forsuch people, the civil service is a way to continueworking in the familiar environment they enjoy.

But how many civilian jobs will there be, in thisage of Army downsizing? Plenty, in Olson's estimate.

"I think in the medical area we won't see a lotof civilian cuts," Olson explained. "With GatewayTo Care, we're talking about recapturing workload,so there won't necessarily be a big erosion of ci-vilian health-care jobs.

"With many medical skills we're still havingtrouble filling some jobs," he said. "Plus, thesesoldiers have experience in our system, so they arewell-qualified to compete for our openings."

Medical facilities should be taking action toexploit the help ACAP can offer, Olsen suggested.

"We hope the MEDCENs and MEDDACs aretalking to their departing soldiers about Army ci-vilian careers," he said.

They can also talk to ACAP counselors to ensurethey know about HSC openings, though civilian-personnel officials are primarily responsible forkeeping ACAP posted on civil-service options. ACAPcounseling is mandatory for departing soldiers.

ACAP helps copeACAP was created to cope with the human

problems that will be created by the historic"downsizing" of the Army.

The Army already had several programs to help,but they were not well coordinated. ACAP synchronizesthose efforts, through Transition Assistance Offices(TAO) at some 67 major Army installations.

The TAO is a sort of transition clearing house.People leaving the Army stop first at the TAO. Itevaluates their personal needs, develops individual-ized transition plans, gives clients transition guidebooks that list resources, and directs them to agen-cies that can help them carry out their plans.

Most posts will also get a new service: the JobAssistance Center (JAC). JACs will be contractedfacilities offering specific job-hunting help. A nationalcontract is planned but not yet issued.

JACs will offer individual counseling, training injob-search skills, reference materials, a computernetwork with information on employment conditionsaround the country, and even limited referrals tonational employers - and, of course, to CPOs.

by Evelyn D. HarrisQualified veterans can enter federal jobs up to

GS-11, WG-11 or equivalents under rules revisedearlier this year.

The Veterans Readjustment Appointment author-ity changed March 23, according to the Office ofPersonnel Management. Formerly, vets could get jobsno higher than GS-9 or the equivalent, a Depart-ment of Veterans Affairs spokeswoman said.

The appointment authority is a special hiringprogram that allows veterans to get federal jobswithout having to take an examination or to com-pete with non-veterans. Appointees who successfullycomplete an initial two-year probationary period earna permanent civil-service appointment.

The new law also drops the limit on the amountof education an applicant can have. Before, vets with16 or more years were ineligible.

The program was created for Vietnam-era anddisabled veterans, but now applies to post-Vietnam-era veterans as well. The program's rationale is thatthe United States is obliged to help veterans read-just to civilian life, because their military servicecaused them to lose career and educational oppor-

tunities, OPM materials state.Vietnam-era veterans who served more than 180

days of active duty, any part of which occurredbetween Aug. 5, 1964, and May 7, 1975, are eli-gible if they have other than a dishonorable dischargeand if they have either a service-connected disabil-ity or a campaign badge such as the Vietnam ServiceMedal. Eligibility time limit is 10 years after thelast discharge or Dec. 31, 1993, whichever is later.

Post-Vietnam-era veterans - those who first be-came service members after May 7, 1975 - may ap-ply if they served more than 180 days of active dutyand have other than a dishonorable discharge. Timelimit is 10 years after the last discharge or Dec. 17,1999, whichever is later.

Disabled veterans get preference for the program.The 180-day-service rule doesn't apply to them, nordo any time limits if the veteran has a disabilityof 30 percent or more.

To apply, veterans should contact the person-nel office of the agency for which they want to work.Agencies recruit and appoint directly.

For more information, contact the nearest OPM areaoffice. (American Forces Information Service)\1

\.

HSC wants to hby Harry Noyes

HSC leaders think they've spotted a silver lin-ing in the black cloud of AMEDD force reductions.

The Army's program to help soldiers get out ofthe Army may also help HSC keep some of thosesoldiers in the Army - sort of.

Crux of this irony is the Army Career andAlumni Program. ACAP is an umbrella program tocoordinate all the Army services that help soldiers,civil servants and family members transition tocivilian life.

Part of ACAP's mission is to give such Army"alumni" helpful hints for finding civilian jobs, forexample by pointing them towards the Army's localcivilian personnel office.

And that - Eureka! - is the silver lining.It turns out that many of the positions on CPO

shopping lists are hard-to-fill professional and tech-nical jobs in HSC hospitals.

Recapture talentBy alerting departing AMEDD officers and

enlisted people to these opportunities, ACAP can helpHSC "recapture" some of the talent and costlytraining it would otherwise lose.

"This is important because Gateway To Carerequires us to expand our medical skills even as wecut back our military strength," said Glen Olson, apersonnel staffing specialist in the civilian person-nel division at Headquarters HSC.

"We've got a lot of training going out the door,"he said. "We want to steer them towards our civil-ian openings. They know our system already, so it'san easy transition.

"The Army's got an awful lot to offer," Olsonsaid. "The Nurse Study showed that nurses find Armymedicine to be like a family. You work with thesame people, not just with whoever happens to haveprivileges in the hospital.

"We offer many medical people more independ-ence in practicing their skills. And since most sol-diers leaving the Army are first-termers, civil-serv-ice pay isn't lower for them. In many places, civil-service pay is close to what the private sector pays."

Why not stay?So why not just stay on active duty? Why take

off the uniform on Friday and come in Monday todo the same job in civilian clothes?

Currently, the reasons are usually personal andvary from person to person. Some people havespecific professional plans or want to get back to

their hometowns, and indeed they won't usually beinterested in Army civilian positions.

Reserves canmake medicalrecruits STARs

Shortages of trained enlisted soldiers se-verely limit our readiness for war. An alter-nate training strategy to train more medicalReserve soldiers is the Specialized Training forArmy Readiness program (STAR). The STARprogram is an Army Reserve enlistment op-tion which allows a soldier to attend a local,Army approved, accredited community collegefor medical training, rather than attendingtraditional Army schools.

After basic training, the soldier completesan associate degree or technical program ina drilling reserve status rather than on activeduty; The soldier then performs four weeks ofactive duty proficiency training at an Armymedical treatment facility to earn an MOS.

$6,000 per yearQualified soldiers receive tuition, fees, and

books, up to $6,000 per year for technicaltraining. They must complete basic trainingwithin 270 days of enlistment (non-prior serv-ice only). They must start the civilian schoolprogram (phase II) within 180 days of accep-tance and make satisfactory progress. Phase IIIis proficiency training at an Army medicaltreatment facility.

STAR targets eight critically short medi-cal skills: 42D (Dental Laboratory Specialist),91B (Medical NCO/Emergency Medical Tech-nician-Paramedic), 91C (Practical Nurse), 91D(Operating Room Specialist), 91P (X-raySpecialist), 91Q (Pharmacy Specialist), 91V(Respiratory Therapy Specialist), and 92B(Laboratory Specialist)

The STAR is available to qualified menand women with or without prior service.Applicants must have a letter of acceptancefrom the school before enlistment.

Proficiency trainingThe USAR units schedule proficiency train-

ing, phase III, by written request 90 days priorto the soldier's proposed arrival date. This al-lows the medical treatment facility to preparetraining personnel and allows soldiers to beprepared through USAR units. Units willrequest phase III training from HSC Headquar-ters, ATTN: HSOP-R, Fort Sam Houston, TX78234-6000. Health services command willcoordinate training and contact the USAR unitwith date, location and reporting information.

The medical treatment facility will providean academic report (AER) as part of thestudent training cycle. They will also coordi-nate with the local military personnel office(MILPO) for the DD 214. Completion of aDD 214 requires the soldier's military person-nel file. The facility must have enough profi-ciency packages to monitor, conduct and evalu-ate the student's progress.

Reserve units may order STAR MOS pro-ficiency packages for the student to studybefore departure. Packages may be orderedfrom: Commandant, Academy of Health Sci-ences, U.S. Army, ATTN: HSHA-IER, FortSam Houston, TX, 78234-6000. Since theSTAR program uses civilian institutions, theAcademy of Health Sciences will not issue adiploma. The medical treatment facility willserve as the agent for awarding the MOS.

More information may be obtained fromSGM Green, DSN 471-8595/6423 or commer-cial 512/221-8594-6423. (HSC DCSOPS)

.y

OPM eases rules for hiring vets

using a scenario of a gas explosion and fire at Tignor DentalClinic.

COL Jeffrey Berenberg, chief of hemotology/oncology atTripler Army Medical Center, was recently selected one of twoHospice Hawaii Physicians of the Year...Recruits who sign up tojoin the Army after Oct. I face tougher weight and body fatstandards...The Department of Agriculture has recognized theenvironmental health services of Fort Hood MEDDAC for itshelp in preventing agricultural pests from being imported into theU.S. on aircraft returning from Southwest Asia.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it willclose its medical center in Martinez, Calif., due to seismic defi-

ciencies. The closure is expected in December, and patients willbe transferred to VA hospitals in San Francisco, Palo Alto, Liver-more and Fresno, Calif., and Reno, Nev.

Winners in the Scientific Awards Research Competition atWilliam Beaumont Army Medical Center are LTC Idelle M.Weisman, clinical category; MAJ David M. Maccini, basic sci-ences category; CPT Jay Carlson, house staff category; R. JorgeZeballos, scientific poster category; and CPT Kim C. Strunz,administration category.

Fort Devens MEDDAC and DENTAC conducted a healthfair on Sept. 7, featuring a 5K run/walk and computerizedhealth-risk appraisals.

CHAMPUS will now share the cost of lung and heart-lungtransplants for patients who have serious heart and lung diseaseand whose condition hasn't improved with other treatment...FortEustis MEDDAC conducted a mass-casualty exercise recently,

I Jenevie Llanes, AMEDD Center MAJ Gordon H. Hsieh, Fort Campbell MEDDAC M.Lisette Melton, AMEDD Center MAJ Mark Lund, Fort Hood MEDDAC SGKatherine S. Wech, Fort Jackson MEDDAC CW2 Annette M. Trombly, Fort Campbell MEDDAC SPCheryl Yates, Beaumont AMC CPT Alvin Vavra, AMEDD Center SS

To Chief Warrant Officer Three M A J H a r ry L. W

a rren,

F o r tCampbell MEDDAC C

Rickie A. Smith, Fort Campbell MEDDAC Meritorious Service Medal 2L

To Chief Warrant Officer Two cwo Henry C. Aucoin, Fort Benning MEDDAC M.LTC Edward E. Bunch, Fort Jackson MEDDAC Cl

John Fano-Schultze, Fort Jackson MEDDAC LTC Harold P. Ducloux, Fort Benning MEDDAC SPTo Master Sergeant LTC Dorothy A. Ellis, Fort Jackson MEDDAC SSRose A. Perez Beaumont AMC

SG T B r e n d a M.

Ferj

a k F o r t M c C l e ll a n M E D D A CM

Donald E. Price, Beaumont AMCC PT J o h n G a a

l, A M E D D C en t e r

SFDonald E P .B ,m CPT Joseph Houser, AMEDD Center ClTo Sergeant First Class COL Mary Hubbs, Fort Stewart MEDDAC SGCharles Bartosevich, AMEDD Center LTC Hazel 1. Ivey, Fort Benning MEDDAC SGCarlos Castillo Jr., AMEDD Center SSG James Jenkins, Fort Stewart MEDDAC SGRussell L. Garland, Beaumont AMC LTC Michael Judah, Fort Sill DENTAC SSJessie B. Jarmon, Beaumont AMC LTC Cheryl Kilian-Hoffer, Fort Benning MEDDAC mMichael Julio, AMEDD Center CW2 Margaret A. Kinney, Fort Jackson MEDDAC MJoseph Noenloe, AMEDD Center COL Wayne W. Loers, Fort Benning DENTAC SSILorenza Morgan, Fort Jackson MEDDAC MAJ Robert Mestas, Fort Drum MEDDAC SFErskine Sealy, AMEDD Center MAJ Thomas Murphy Jr., Fort Benning DENTAC SGJames R. Tierney, Beaumont AMC SFC Paul R. Nails, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC CvThomas E. Wink Jr., Fort Jackson MEDDAC LTC Larry Z. Stone, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC M

To Staff Sergeant SG TSunni

e S ca r l e tt,

H S C HQ SSI10 ^tan Sergeant^~~~~~~~~LT James Schwartz, Fort Eustis MEDDAC M

Allen E. Black, Beaumont AMC CPT Ronnie Talley, AMEDD Center SGMartha W. Blose, Fort McClellan MEDDAC MAJ Glynn Thomas, AMEDD Center MiGlenroy Christie, Eisenhower AMC MAJ Dorman Warren, Fort Eustis MEDDAC LTHelen M. Harris, Fort McClellan MEDDAC LTC Carl Weinschenk, Fort Drum MEDDAC SPNadia Holbert, Fort Jackson MEDDAC Commander's A ward sPElverton A. Mapp, Fort Jackson MEDDAC ommanderM AwardMRoberto B. Negrete, Beaumont AMC for Civilian Service PFJohn Reams, AMEDD Center ., AEACVictor R. Troupe, Fort Jackson MEDDAC Richard Arano r., AEHA M.Thomas White, Eisenhower AMC Steorgen M. Curasoti For., AEusti M CSEloise L. Wilson Fort Campbell MEDDAC Gorghe M. MPotti, Fort EuJcso MEDDAC SS

- - ' Dorothy S. Parrish, Fort Jackson MEDDAC 1LTo S-11 Army Commendation Medal CFIindan Wertz, Hawley ACH- *iLinda Wertaj, Hawley ACH SCT Ricky Adams, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC LT

SGT Stephen E. Arnold, Fort Polk MEDDAC CP^ ^ _ 1~~~~~~~~~LT Kelly Ayotte, Fort Hood MEDDAC CP

i CPT Timothy E. Bateman, Fort Benning MEDDAC M)CPT George F. Beatty, Fort Polk MEDDAC CP

Legion of Merit C PT J u li e A.

B l a n k e,

Fo r tJackson MEDDAC SF

. ^0

n A ^^ ^~~~~~~~~M A

J A l an

L. Blatterman, Fort Benning MEDDACLTC Ray Burdette, AMEDD Center MAJ James Blok Fort Eustis MEDDAC*SFC Robert Wilson, Fort Sill DENTAC ' _m B Fr Ei DDAC' ~~~~~~~~~~MAJ John Bogardus, Fort Eustis MEDDACBronze Star 1LT Frances V. Caraballo, Fort Polk MEDDAC*MAJ Linda C. Allen, Fort Campbell MEDDAC MAJ P

ie r reCastera, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC All

MAJ Glen Fallo, AMEDD Center S FC C h e st e r

Charles Jr., Fort Benning MEDDAC EdMAJ Robert Hansen, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC

C PTJu

li e C la re,

F o r tJackson MEDDAC

MAJ William H. Hartman, Fort Campbell MEDDAC 1 L T

Annette Doswell, Fort Eustis MEDDAC SGSPC Tammy Ferreiro, Fort Jackson MEDDAC S

People who make a difference

IAJ Curtis W. Fisher 11, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC;T David Fornet, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACPC Mary Francis, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC3G Kathleen T. Gaffey, Fort Polk MEDDACPT Damian S. Gormley, Fort Benning MEDDACPT Thomas M. Gotsis, Fort Sill DENTACLT Kelly Greene, Fort Eustis MEDDACIAJ Elizabeth A. Hansen, Fort Benning MEDDACPT Barbara A. Hiemstra, Fort Polk MEDDACPC Eugene P. Jones, Fort Polk MEDDAC3G Lascelles Jones, Fort Stewart MEDDACIAJ Kimberly Jongebloed, Fort Polk MEDDACFC Gregory Jung, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACPT Michael H. Kooker, Fort Campbell MEDDAC;T Scott Maddison, Fort Drum MEDDAC;T Bobby L. Maddox, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACIT Roberto Malonvo, Fort Sill DENTAC3G Edgar Martinez, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDAC1AJ Jean McCaskill, Fort Jackson MEDDACIAJ John M. McMahon, Fort Benning MEDDAC3G Rebecca M. McMullan, Fort Benning MEDDACFC Charles Monahan Jr., Fort Benning MEDDAC'T Scott Montgomery, Fort Stewart MEDDACW3 Ramon Munoz, Fort Drum MEDDACIAJ Thomas Murphy Jr., Fort Benning DENTACiG Charles Nead, Eisenhower AMCIAJ Roger R. Olsen, Fort Jackson MEDDAC3M Guadalupe Perez, AMEDD CenterIAJ Rick L. Perkins, Fort Knox MEDDAC'C Judith Powers, Fort Eustis MEDDAC'C Robin Rathbone-Rolle, Fort Sill DENTAC?C Tania Rosploch, Eisenhower AMCIAJ Clyde R. Roy 11, Fort Jackson MEDDACFC Ronald Shasky, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACPT Alan C. Shero, Fort Jackson MEDDACIAJ Walter W. Skinner, Fort Benning MEDDAC'G William E. Smith, Fort Benning MEDDACIT Miki Spaulding, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACPT Melinda Studivant, Fort Polk MEDDAC[AJ Dennis Sullivan, Fort Drum MEDDACrC Laurie Szoka, Fort Polk MEDDACPT Angel M. Toro, Fort Benning MEDDACPT Christopher Ullmann, Fort Jackson MEDDACIAJ Sharon Villa, Fort Leonard Wood MEDDACPT Philip N. Wasylina, Fort Polk MEDDAC7C Glenford E. Wright, Fort Benning MEDDAC

len B. Dennis, Fort Eustis MEDDACIward Bryan, Fort Eustis MEDDAC;T David Keene, Fort Sill DENTAC?C Robert Wilson, Fort Sill DENTAC

To ColonelGary L. Anderson, HSC HQStephen B. Kern, Fort Monmouth DENTAC

To Lieutenant ColonelWilliam R. Bachand, Fort Sill DENTACJohn M. Dhane, Fort Sill DENTACWilliam S. Hill, Fort McClellan MEDDACJoseph G. Makarsky, HSC HQMark W. Nelson, Fort Sill DENTACAndrew W. Robertson, Beaumont AMCRita L. Svec, Beaumont AMCClaudia A. Zitzka, Fort Jackson MEDDAC

To MajorScott C. Aumuller, Beaumont AMCValerie A. Bell, Beaumont AMCStephen Bodney, Beaumont AMCKimberly Cantees, Fort Hood MEDDACDanny R. Franklin, Beaumont AMCVanessa S. Godin, Beaumont AMCRobert R. Granville, Beaumont AMCEdgar J. Habeck, Beaumont AMCCharles L. Hatley, Fort Sill DENTACJohn B. Holcomb, Beaumont AMCPhilip Holzknecht, Beaumont AMCLisa M. Johnson, Beaumont AMCCheryl A. Little, Beaumont AMCDavid C. Loiewski, Beaumont AMCRalph G. Matalon, Beaumont AMCCarol A. McNeill, Beaumont AMCDonna L. Mercado, Beaumont AMCMichael A. Peterson, Beaumont AMCKeith P. Ramsey, Beaumont AMCLeslie A. Richardson, Beaumont AMCRay J. Rodriguez, Beaumont AMCWilliam D. Smith Jr., Beaumont AMCFrederick Utter, Beaumont AMCRichard F. Williams, Beaumont AMCWalker A. Wynkoop, Beaumont AMC

To CaptainCarolyn M. Comer, Fort Jackson MEDDACJesse Dembeck, AMEDD CenterWende Dixon, Fort Stewart MEDDACGretel Foster, Fort Jackson MEDDACLori A. Fritz, Beaumont AMCJames F. Hefner, Beaumont AMCDana Laughlin, AMEDD CenterPaul Lewis, Fort Stewart MEDDAC

PEBLOlMedical Affairs Coordinator, MEDDAC Pan- Industrial hygienist, Rock Island Arsenal Health Clinicama "Dr. Leuthauser is cited for developing and es-

"Ms. Bermudez serves as the physical evaluation tablishing the first formal ergonomics program in theboard liaison officer for Gorgas Army Community U.S. Army. The program delineates local staffHospital, and also handles all CHAMPUS concerns functions and responsibilities. The program promisesand medical needs for Central and South America. to be a definite success and provides an excellentU.S. embassies and military groups "down-country" mechanism for integrating local efforts concerningrely on her experience and abilities to coordinate employee protection and FECA claims reduction."their appointments back to Panama and CONUS." Robert L. Platt

CPT Charles J. Lauer Supervisor of industrial hygiene activityChief of patient administration

Judy A. SnyderSecretary, Fort Jackson DENTAC

"Ms. Snyder is the epitome of the friendly pro-fessional and conscientious secretary. Everyone whodeals with her feels that she certainly goes beyondthe ordinary to contribute to the mission. Her car-ing attitude is infectious and spreads to all whocontact her."

COL Gary L. WhiteCommander

ford, Deputy Commander for Admini-stration LTC Carl J. Weinschenk Jr.,and Deputy Commander for ClinicalServices LTC Robert L. Reed.

COL Jack E. Bradford is nowdeputy commander for administrationat Hawley Army Community Hospi-tal, Fort Benjamin Harrison.

The new deputy commander forclinical services at William BeaumontArmy Medical Center is COL FredCecere, formerly commanderH;f FortPolk MEDDAC.

Of HSC Mercury| October 1991

Elsa Bermudez Dr. Susan Leuthauser

Changingat the

guardCOL David M. Lam has replaced

COL Theodore J. Raia Jr. as com-mander of Fort Devens, Mass.,MEDDAC. Lam previously was dep-uty sergeon for U.S. European Com-mand.

COL Karl Snyder has replacedCOL Joe Hicks as commander of FortJackson MEDDAC. Hicks has movedto the AMEDD Center.

A new leadership team at MED-DAC Alaska is now complete, includ-ing Commander COL David B. Gif-

le, l^

<-

by Bernard S. Little

A bove Detra Battle's desk in the personneloffice at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Researchsits a copy of Brian Lanker's book I Dream A World.The book consists of a collection of black and whiteportraits of Black women "who changed America."The book tells of the women's contributions tosociety and their dreams.

Battle, 29, also dreams, and she is workingdiligently to make her dreams a reality. The nativeof Washington, D.C., who has been working atWRAIR since 1979, dreams of one day being partof an opera company and traveling. And, accord-ing to critics, she's well on her way to accomplish-ing both.

The 5-foot-8-inch, brown-eyed soprano recentlywon the prestigious Paul Roberson Vocal Competi-tion. For her feat, she earned scholarship money andthe opportunity to perform with the WashingtonPhilharmonic Orchestra June 9 at the National CityChristian Church in Washington, D.C.

"Rare as it may be for a budding opera singerto take an audience by storm, this youthful performerstunned her listeners seemingly without effort," wroteMarion Jacobson of the Washington Post aboutBattle's performance.

"In elementary school, I was always in a choir.I've always sang at church. I was a member of thesenior choir at the Vermont Avenue Baptist Churchsince my early teens. I did my first solo in church.I think it was during a Christmas program. I wasa little nervous, but I got through the song. And ofcourse you get a lot of encouragement when you'reat church," says Battle with a smile. She has sinceperformed several solo recitals at her church.

hile in high school, Battle became in-volved in a special music program. She was also inan after-school program at Duke Ellington Schoolof the Arts, in addition to being a member of theDistrict of Columbia Youth Chorale. It was duringthis time she was introduced to opera.

"I wasn't interested in opera before I watchedone on television and I thought that I would liketo do opera. I like the fact that you can dress upin costumes and play various roles. I didn't knowwhat was going on by listening to the performersbecause the opera was in a foreign language. But Iread the translation at the bottom of the screen,"she recalls.

Battle said that she began to watch more operason television after that. She added that she also beganto ask questions.

"Duke Ellington School of the Arts sponsoredan opera workshop about that time also," Battle said."Edward Jackson, an instructor at Duke Ellingtonwho was also the director of the D.C. Youth Chorale,recommended that I pursue opera. He suggested thatI get a voice instructor to study with, in additionto continuing to work with the chorale."-

"I auditioned for the music department at theUniversity of the District of Columbia and I earneda four-year scholarship," she adds.

In addition to performing roles in operas, Battlesang Mozart's Requiem at the Kennedy Center forthe Performing Arts; Vaughan Williams' Hodie, atThe National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception;and Vaughan Williams' Dona Nobis Pacem, at theAtlanta Choral Guild in Atlanta, Ga.

Battle has performed in Australia, Bermuda,Mexico and Italy. She says she would like to go backto Italy, and also visit Spain, Africa and China.

d he talented soprano has earned the Wash-ington Post Study Grant for the Metropolitan OperaNational Council Regional Artist Competition (1989);the Richard F. Gold Career Grant given by theShoshanna Foundation of New York, N.Y. (1988);the American Opera Society Scholarship Award(1987/88); and third place in the Metropolitan OperaNational Council Regional Artist Competition (1990).

Battle says the money she earns from compet-ing goes into a savings account.

"I spend some on voice lessons and trips I haveto make back and forth to New York for voiceinstructions. There's a lot of things I didn't realizein the beginning that you have to pay for," she says.

Although Battle's goals are to be in an operacompany and travel, she remains focused on her jobas an administrative assistant at WRAIR.

"Detra is an excellent worker," confirms DianeLewis, Battle's supervisor. "She's like my right hand.She worked her way up through the ranks, and itwould be difficult trying to train someone else if Ilose her. She's a loyal person and puts her job first.She's very conscientious about her work," Lewis adds.

Besides working at WRAIR and performing,Battles also teaches elementary school students howto play piano.

ALJ~nd what are the chances of her dream ofbeing in an opera company becoming reality?

"I've been told that I have to be totally dedi-cated because the talent is there. I don't have asponsor, therefore, I have to work Monday throughFriday and practice only in the evenings or on theweekends. It has been suggested to me to enter anapprenticeship program. There's definitely been theencouragement to go overseas, but if you don't havethe finances, you can't go. I'm just a careful per-son and I like to plan everything. I chose to go thecompetition route, which means the more competi-tions that I do, the more possibilities of accumulat-ing funds to build and make the right contacts,"Battle says.

She adds that competing can be "extremelydifficult for someone who is not willing to fightwhatever battles they may have to." She says thatit takes "tremendous perseverance to be in the operafield. Politics and some of the things that happento you can be pretty hard if you're not a solidindividual within yourself. You can easily burn outso you have to pace yourself.

"I've been told that most likely I will be ableto get into an opera company. It depends a lot onme. So far, I'm pretty satisfied with what I've done,"Battle says. (Walter Reed Stripe)

Opera singer Detra Battle

Although Battle has earned a Bachelor of MusicEducation degree from UDC, and a Master of Musicdegree from the Catholic University of America, shestill continues to receive instruction.

"I work with different people at different times.I have voice instructors, voice teachers and languagecoaches." She distinguishes the three by explainingthat her voice teachers work on her vocal techniqueonly. Her vocal coaches work on her delivery andthe emotional aspects of her performances. Andlanguage instructors help with foreign words and theirmeaning.

"In the beginning it can be tedious and some-times frustrating singing in another language," Battleconfesses. "But once I've translated every word thatI'm singing, read and understood what is going onconcerning a particular song, it's like a whole newlight has been turned on for me. Singing in a for-eign language, for me, makes it that much moreinteresting when I perform."

attle adds that she tries to convey her emo-tions to her audience too.

"I can see the enjoyment on their faces. I cansee the smiles and people looking in awe. I've seentears. I've felt tears," she said.

Operatic roles for Battle have included Paminain Die Zauberflote; Micaela in Carmen; Monica inThe Medium; Mimi in La Boheme; Lauretta in GianniSchicchi; and the Strawberry Woman in Porgy andBess.

"I've never attacked the role yet, but I'd liketo perform Aida. I've listened to and watchedLeontyne Price perform it on several occasions," saysBattle, who in addition to Price, enjoys JessieNorman, Kathleen Battle, Beverly Sills, Marilyn Hornand Placido Domingo.

team won their post-season tournament.The Lady Warriors of Walter Reed Army

Medical Center won the Prince George's CountyClass "D" women's slow-pitch softball champion-ship.

BasketballFort Belvoir, Va., MEDDAC won the post

summer basketball championship.

SoftballHeadquarters Company of Brooke Army

Medical Center won the intramural softball cham-pionship at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

The Army Environmental Hygiene Agencywon the women's softball championship atAberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

The MEDDAC men compiled a 12-1 rec-ord to win the regular season softball champi-onship at Fort Belvoir, Va., while the women's

I--41L

HSC Mercury j 1October 1991 | |

Singer scales heights of opera

winner'ascircle

^~"~ "*"

NCO Self Development Test gets trial~~~~~~

,^

f"The competence of our future

leaders will be determined by ourability to challenge them at everydevelopmental stage...," said formerChief of Staff GEN Carl E. Vuono.

HSC Commander MG Alcide La-Noue has described the fourth HSCVital Link as developing competent,confident and successful leaders, andone of the most essential links to adynamic future.

Leader development is built onthree pillars: Institutional training, orform-al courses; Operational assignments';

or opportunities to develop skillsthrough experience; and Self-develop-ment;, or individual efforts to improveand achieve goals. All these activitiesare sequential, taking steps in a givenorder, and progressive, each step build-ing on what has come before.

Leader development must takeplace throughout the life-cycle of thesoldier or civilian, from accessionthrough training and experience untilseparation.

Accomplishing these missionsresults in a personnel inventory that is

44requirements-based" and consistentwith the Army's current and pro-jected personnel needs.

Leader development studieshave been developed for the Den-tal, Veterinary, Medical Specialistand Medical Service Corps, andthose for the Medical and NurseCorps are in process. These andother studies will help maximizeskills throughout the careers ofleaders in a dynamic Health Serv-ices Command.

HSCVITALLINKS

kv JY.le

When soldiers first take the NCO Self Devel-opment Test, it'll at least look familiar, withmarksense forms', no. 2 pencils, multiple choicequestions-- all the trimmings of the now-defunctSkills Qualification Test.

And, if Army training officials at the Pentagonare right, by the time soldiers start taking the SDT"for the record," it'll be an old friend.

A two-year phase-in period will pass before SDTresults are used to select troops for training, pro-motion, retention or assignments. In fact, the firstSDT scores to be posted in soldiers' personnel fileswill be those from the fiscal 1994 tests.

The phase-in is intended to give the Army achance to "work the kinks out" of the test beforeit is used as an indicator of quality in soldiers' files.

"We want to make sure the test is validatedbefore the results are linked to the Enlisted Person-nel Management System," said MAJ Bryan McMil-lan of the office of the deputy chief of staff foroperations and plans.

"The soldiers will be familiar with the test when

they first take it for record. I think the Army lead-ership is going to great lengths to make sure thatthe test is brought on-line as fairly as possible."

That validation process has already begun. About300 Basic Noncommissioned Officers Course studentshave taken a prototype version of the test in recentmonths. So far, McMillan says, it's been well-received.

The Army will begin administering the test toactive duty NCOs worldwide in fiscal 1992; reserveNCOs will begin testing in fiscal 1993. The initial"SDT window," which opens during the fiscal year'sfirst quarter, has been extended by three months tomake sure soldiers receive and get the chance tostudy their "SDT Pubs", a package of Army fieldmanuals that soldiers will use to prepare for the test.

About 60 percent of the SDT will comprisequestions about a soldier's military occupationalspecialty. The remainder will be split betweenquestions on military leadership and training man-agement.

To prepare for the test, soldiers will need theirMOS-specific Soldier's Manual and the SDT Pubs

- FM 22-100, Military Leadership; FM 22-101,Leadership Counseling; FM 22-102, Soldier TeamDevelopment; and FM 25-101, Battle FocusedTraining.

McMillan said that major Army commands havereceived their initial distribution of the SDT manu-als, which are now filtering down to individualsoldiers.

Unlike the SQT, soldiers preparing to take theSDT will do their studying on their own time.

Other differences between the SDT and SQThave become evident as the new test nears its firstrun. For example, McMillan said MOS questions onthe SDT will be more broad-based, requiring moregeneral knowledge of the specialty. In recent years,the SQT had become more focused on the taskssoldiers perform in specific jobs, with "tracks" forsoldiers with specialized duties within the MOS.

The advent of the SDT also eliminates testingfor junior soldiers below the rank of sergeant. TheSDT is only intended for sergeants, staff sergeantsand sergeants first class. (Army News Service)

.Appeals canFr reasons that vary from a

misspelled name on a form to allega-tions of unfair rating practices, ArmyNCOs appeal about 150 evaluationreports monthly.

Half of them never make it pastthe first look.

That's not to say that the appealsprocess is a waste of time. Just theopposite, says Larry Hibbs of theEnlisted Records Evaluation Center atFort Benjamin Harrison, Ind. Hibbs,chief of EREC's NCO Evaluation Reportbranch, says it shows most NCOs aren'tspending enough time and effort prepar-ing their appeals.

"A good 45 to 50 percent ofappeals we return to NCOs because ofinsufficient documentation," Hibbs said."Sometimes, all we get is handwrittenletters on notebook paper from ser-geants, explaining that they want thisreport taken out of their files becauseof...et cetera, et cetera."

DocumentationThat's just not good enough, Hibbs

said. Both kinds of appeals - admin-istrative and substantive - require thatthe NCO challenging an evaluationsubmit a specific list of documents.And, although the two types of appealare quite different, the documentationnecessary for both is almost identical.

"An administrative appeal is wherethey correct administrative data on anevaluation report," Hibbs said, citingname, MOS, duty MOS, PT test scores,and height and weight data among thekinds of entries that can be corrected

)ver urn poorthrough administrative appeal. "It'salso where an NCO can declare thata rater or rating official was not quali-fied to render an evaluation on theirportion of the evaluation."

Administrative appeals are decidedat the EREC. Substantive appeals, inwhich NCOs challenge the content ofan evaluation, must be forwarded tothe Enlisted Review Board at the TotalArmy Personnel Command for deci-sion.

"A substantive appeal is where anNCO alleges that the rating renderedon an evaluation report is unjust orunfair," Hibbs said. "But all the ap-peals, whether it's administrative orsubstantive, are prepared the sameway."9

ResultsAppeal's that are upheld can result

in anything from a report beingstricken from a soldier's record to asecond look by a promotion board thatmay have been influenced by theinvalidated report.

DA Circular 623-88-1 providesinstructions on preparing evaluationreport appeals. The requirements arequite specific, and Hibbs says the rule'sfollowed by officials deciding anappeal are not unlike rules of evidenceused in a court of law.

For example, NCOs must submitstatements from other soldiers or co-workers - preferably of equal rank orhigher - offering evidence to supporttheir claim that the evaluation reportwas incorrect or unfair. Any other

official documents that might have abearing on the NCO's case, such asre-ports of survey or commander'sinquiries, should also be included.

There is also a standardized list ofdocuments that must be included inany appeal package. Every appealmust be accompanied by certifiedcopies of the appellant's DA Forms 2-1 and 2-A, available from the soldier'spersonnel service center. Every appealmust also include a copy of the evalu-ation under dispute.

"Often, the report the soldier hasin his possession is not like the finalreport that was submitted into thesoldier's records," Hibbs said. "Wehave to make sure that what's on theofficial file and what the soldier has(and is appealing) are the same."

All the appeal documents must bepackaged with a cover memorandumand sent to the EREC. A sample covermemorandum is included in DA Cir-cular 623-88-1.

EREC then screens all appeals tosee that the necessary documentationis included. That's where half of allappeals fail the test. The remainder arejudged on the basis of the evidencepresented by the NCO, and on addi-tional research conducted by the re-viewing body.

More than 90 percent of admin-istrative appeals that make it to judge-ment succeed. Hibbs says that's notsurprising, since those appeals gener-ally seek only to correct administra-tive data.

Substantive appeals are another

matter; three of every four that get tothe Enlisted Review Board fail. Again,Hibbs cites insufficient documentationor evidence as the prevailing reasonfor the high failure rate.

" Sometimes we see appeals com-ing through that are just weak," hesaid. "We have to process them,because they contain all the documentsrequired by the regulation. But theevidence they submit just doesn'taddress the issue."

New evidenceEven a rejected appeal can pro-

vide new evidence for an NCO's case.Hibbs said NCOs whose appeals aredenied who want to pursue their casefurther should write to PERSCOM and,citing the Freedom of Information Act,request a copy of the case summaryprepared on their appeal.

"That case summary will explainthoroughly the process that was usedin reaching a final decision (on theNCO's appeal)," Hibbs said. "TheNCO can get that case summary, readit, and resubmit the appeal with newevidence. In fact, they can resubmitappeals as many times as they wantas long as they submit new evidence."

A court of last resort in challeng-ing evaluation reports is the ArmyBoard for Corrections of MilitaryRecords. However, an NCO must havefirst challenged the report throughEREC and PERSCOM to go to theBoard for Corrections. (Army NewsService)

| HSC MercuryI LOctober 1991

evaluation reportsd

c