|
The Signal
Newsletter |
Announcements
1. USPHS Merchandise for Sale
2. SAVE THE DATE! Atlanta-area
USPHS Commissioned Corps Promotion Ceremony
Articles
1. Atomic Explosions Remembered: As
Personally Experienced
2. Springtime at Camp Children’s
3. St. Francis Table
4. ACOA Volunteers with Trees Atlanta
5. ACOA Volunteers at the 6th Annual TB
Awareness Walk in Atlanta
6. Polio
Eradication Efforts of Commissioned Corps Officers
7. Opening Session of
2012 Lunch & Learn Series: Readiness and Deployments
8. CDC
Commissioned Corps Personnel Office Presents:
Pre-Retirement Seminar
9. ACOA
Officer of the Year
10. Atlanta ACOA Veterinarians Earn 2012
Awards
11. Make
Paying Your COA/ACOA Dues Easy With Automatic Draft
12. ACOA’s
Social Media Adventures
13. Metlife Begins TRICARE Dental Program
Partnership
President's Column
Jamie
Mutter, LCDR, USPHS, ACOA President
Half of the year is over and that leaves me to ask, where has the time gone? ACOA has been very productive and the committees have been working very hard to bring ACOA members opportunities for Officership and volunteering in the community.
In this
President’s Column, I would like to focus on the importance of
membership in COA and ACOA. COA and ACOA are currently
holding a membership drive to increase membership in the two
organizations. It is very important that you are a COA
member because COA legislation on Capitol Hill continually
supports all Commissioned Corps officers - active duty,
inactive reserve and retired. The more members COA has,
the stronger and louder our voice is on Capitol Hill.
Show your support for COA and join today for the 2012-2013
operational year. Most of you will probably agree that a
major accomplishment of COA was the Post 9/11 GI Bill
transferability for Commissioned Corps dependents. I
know many officers who are taking advantage of the
transferability, including myself. When you renew your
COA membership or join for the first time, please also choose
to become a member of ACOA.
ACOA provides many
opportunities for Atlanta officers and we strive to be the
best local COA branch. In my opinion…WE ARE, but only
because we have support from our membership. If you are
reading this, you are most likely an ACOA member and will be
renewing your dues for the next year. However, please
encourage other officers that you interact with to also join
COA/ACOA and support the organizations that support them
throughout their career. For questions on membership,
please feel free to contact our Membership Chair, LCDR Shane
Davis, gdo4@cdc.gov.
On another note, ACOA has been diligently preparing for the ACOA Promotion Ceremony that will take place on August 6th. Please save the date and plan to participate if you are promoted or come to support a colleague/friend that is being promoted. RADM Clara Cobb, Regional Health Administrator for HHS, Region IV, will be our Keynote speaker this year and we are very excited to have her speak since she has been an avid supporter of AOCA for many years. This year’s promotion ceremony will be a time of celebration for our officers who have worked so hard to be promoted. Please plan to join us for this special event.
Lastly, I would
like to thank the Merchandise Committee for their hard work in
researching, creating and ordering new merchandise this
year. Our team did a great job and all merchandise we
sell enables ACOA to provide great learning, professional
development, social, among other experiences for our Atlanta
officers. Please consider purchasing some ACOA
esprit-de-corps items and show your PHS/ACOA pride. To
make it easier to view our merchandise page on our website,
please scan the new QR code with your smart phone and it will
take you straight to our merchandise page. I would like
to thank our Past President, LT Chris Fletcher with developing
this new and insightful tool for ACOA’s use.
Please feel free to contact me at any time with suggestions on how ACOA can help serve our Atlanta officers. Until next time…
Respectfully,
LCDR Jamie Mutter
1. USPHS Merchandise for Sale
New merchandise likely won’t be reordered this year if at all
so get your pride items now before they are gone! Here is a
link to the ACOA Merchandise Store.
2. SAVE THE
DATE! Atlanta-area USPHS Commissioned Corps
Promotion Ceremony
The Atlanta Commissioned Officers Association will hold the
2012 USPHS Atlanta-area Promotion Ceremony on Monday, August
6, at 1300 at CDC’s Roybal Campus (Bldg 19) on Clifton Road.
All Atlanta-area officers and coworkers, friends, and family
of promoted officers are invited to attend.
The Surgeon General, VADM Regina M. Benjamin, has been invited to give opening remarks. RADM Clara Cobb, Regional Health Administrator, HHS Region IV, will deliver the keynote address. In addition, a number of senior officers in the Atlanta area are expected to attend. A reception will immediately follow the ceremony. Questions regarding the ceremony should be sent to LCDR Stacey Bosch (sbosch@cdc.gov).
| Articles |
Atomic
Explosions Remembered: As Personally Experienced
Contributed by CAPT James Chamblee Meredith,
USPHS (Retired), former ACOA President
In 1957, I had the privilege of
experiencing 12 atomic
explosions. I use the term “experiencing” rather than
“seeing,” because, as I will describe below, all of the senses
are impacted. There are relatively few witnesses remaining who
can share their first-hand
experiences of surface atomic tests, so I am glad to share my
experience for the benefit of younger people and I hope that
they will pass this on to future generations.
As a Commissioned Officer of the U. S. Public Health Service (PHS), I was assigned to the 1957 Atomic Tests in Nevada to provide off-site monitoring along with about 50 other PHS Officers, one civil service scientist, and two U.S. Army veterinarians. The last surface atomic test in the United States took place in 1957. All later tests in the U. S. have been performed underground. The Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was signed in 1963, and since then, all nations except France and China have tested their nuclear weapons underground.
After each atomic explosion, about 15 PHS officers and I were assigned to drive back and forth under the nuclear cloud as it moved eastward for a few days to test for radioactive fallout. The remaining officers were stationed in strategic communities in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and California to provide continuous monitoring of radiation and to keep the local citizens informed of atomic explosions (termed “shots”) and related activities. The two Army veterinarians observed animals in the four-state area potentially affected by the atomic tests. So that we would blend in with the public, none of us were in uniform. The Atomic Energy Commission provided on-site monitoring.
Our PHS Director was CAPT Oliver
Placek and the Assistant Director was CDR Melvin Carter.
Later, Dr. Carter became a professor at Georgia Tech and was
recognized as a world-renowned expert on nuclear energy.
For example, he was an on-site consultant at the “melt down”
disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Russia.
The Nevada Atomic Test Site was located 65 miles northwest of
Las Vegas. All of the personnel involved in the tests
stayed at Camp Mercury. We lived in small trailers with
two sets of bunk beds. We could look out our window and
see an Army encampment across a dry gulch where a battalion of
soldiers suffered in the heat living in pup tents. The
soldiers were there to take their places in trenches about a
mile or two from “ground zero.” This was later
determined to be a bad decision to use humans as “guinea pigs”
in the test.
On
days when an atomic shot was scheduled for the following
morning, we would check the tower in the center of the camp at
6:00 p.m. to see whether the light was green or red. If
the light were red, we
would head into Las Vegas to see live entertainment with
famous movie stars. If the light were green at 6:00
p.m., we would eat supper and relax until 11:00 p.m. and check
the tower again. If the light were red, we would sleep
through the night. If the light were green, we would go
to bed and get up at 1:00 a.m. and eat breakfast in the dining
hall. A point of interest is that we would gain entrance
to the dining hall by putting a silver dollar in a slot to
open the turnstile. Dollar bills were not used in Nevada
at that time, so people would have silver dollars available to
put into slot machines.
Everyone would go around with
pockets bulging with silver dollars.
From the dining hall, we would load up into vans to go to the
test site to be in place by 4:00 a.m. Before the test
series was started, we had been given a tour in closed
vehicles around the craters from earlier atomic tests.
The craters appeared similar to a volcano crater, except that
they were not black with lava but white with fused sand.
The craters were about a mile in diameter and were ringed by structures made from
different materials to determine how they stood up under
explosions. There were also damaged trucks and other
vehicles that had been left there because they were
contaminated with radioactive materials. It may seem
hard to imagine today, but we went on these tours without
wearing any protective gear.
When we arrived at the test site before an atomic shot, it would be completely black with darkness. Most of the bombs were detonated at one minute before daybreak to allow testing for radiation without any sunlight. Sunlight consists of many of the same types of radiation as an atomic explosion – visible light, infrared light, ultraviolet light, etc., and they wanted to observe the initial explosion without sunlight.
We would be standing in a bunker,
which was essentially a mound of sand about 15 feet high and
about a mile long, located about ten miles from ground
zero. Our only protective clothing was a pair of dark
goggles. An atomic blast is about 100 times brighter
than the sun, so we could look directly into the sun with
those goggles and it would appear as only a bright disc.
Please keep in mind that these are my personal reflections and
are not an official description of an atomic explosion.
A voice would come over a loud speaker at
intervals giving us warning of the approaching time for
explosion. Finally, the count-down would begin – ten,
nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one,
zero. The first awareness that I had of something
happening was a feeling that the atmosphere was electrified
and there was a slight odor of ozone in the air -- like during
a thunderstorm. Immediately there was a bright flash
that was all that my eyes could bear through the dark
goggles. Within a couple of seconds, a bright white ball
formed and expanded very quickly at ground zero and then
started to rise quickly. At that point the sun would
rise all of a sudden as it always does in the dry desert and
it appeared that the explosion had lit up the world.
After the initial bright flash, we
were allowed to remove the goggles. The white ball would
expand rapidly and start turning bright yellow as it
rose. The color turned quickly to orange and then to a
fiery red. Finally, as the cloud took the form of a
gigantic mushroom, the whole column would turn white and keep
expanding upward. The next sight seen at every test was
a silver airplane circling the cloud and reflecting both the
sunlight and the brightness of the cloud.
After about a half hour, the cloud
would begin drifting east. We would then go back to the
camp and get into vehicles to start driving out across the
desert to test for radioactive fallout.
We had to wait several days sometimes for shots until the wind
was in just the right direction. It is interesting that
when shots were called off, sometimes people would report
seeing the cloud moving across Nevada and Arizona or even
Utah. Newspapers would report these sightings and then
have to retract the reports the next day.
There would be two men per car or truck, and we would stop periodically to check for different forms of radioactivity – gamma rays, beta rays and alpha rays – and call in our results by radio. We used what the public knows as Geiger Counters that used removable shields to block out all but one type of radiation at a time. One time we made the mistake of calling in from a point on the side of the road in the barren desert when it was about 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade, except there was no shade. CDR Carter said over the radio to stay there and call in readings every fifteen minutes. We were there for about three hours in the dry heat, and I became dehydrated and developed a severe headache. When we finally got to a populated oasis, my partner went swimming in a public swimming pool surrounded by palm trees, while I lay on a bench and suffered. I got over it after drinking a lot of water and having a good night’s sleep. We would usually be gone for two or three days on these cloud-tracking trips. In the meantime, our headquarters was plotting the radioactivity readings on maps as we called in.
One time, a bomb on a tower did not
go off and our assistant director picked me as the subject of
a practical joke. When I got back to the office, he
said, “Cham, we got a call from control central and they want
a Public Health Service Officer to go up the tower and see
whether the electric cable might have been left
unplugged. You have been selected.” For a moment,
I believed him and I know that I must have turned white.
The main test that I want to describe in detail for you took
place in the open desert in full daylight with the bomb
suspended on a balloon about a mile high in the sky.
From a mountain top about seven miles away, we could see a
cable reaching from a structure at ground zero to the balloon,
which looked somewhat like the Goodyear blimp. Without
any protection except our usual goggles, we took the full
impact of the explosion. Most of the other explosions we
had seen from behind the bunker were from bombs equivalent to
10,000 to 20,000 tons of TNT. This special shot was
equivalent to 60,000 tons of TNT, and may be the largest
surface test ever conducted in the U.S. Again, please
keep in mind that my observations were limited to a
three-month period and I did not have full knowledge of all
facts.
After a long wait, the announcement came from the loud speakers that we should put on our goggles and standby. A few minutes later came the countdown, this time with everyone having strong feelings of uncertainty and awe – ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, zero! Suddenly, the atmosphere was electrified. An extremely bright light appeared at ground zero. Even though the explosion actually took place a mile high over the desert, it appeared to take place at ground level like all the other shots. The white ball probably stretched from the balloon all the way to the ground. The next sensation was the passing of the heat wave. It had the same intensity as one would experience if the door of a blast furnace at a steel mill were opened and closed suddenly. Fortunately, we were not harmed by the extreme heat because of the short duration of the heat wave passing by us.
The announcement came that we could remove our goggles. Then we could see the rising fireball turn yellow and then red and finally back to white. Being in bright daylight, we suddenly could see the shock wave kicking up a circle of dust about 50 feet high while moving outward at the speed of sound from the ground zero. We were given no warning of this and the sight was awesome. We had nowhere to hide. All of a sudden, the sound wave hit with its cloud of dust, and we were pushed backward by the impact. However, before we could fall to the ground, a force came behind us and pushed us back up. The shock wave moving outward in a gigantic circle apparently created a partial vacuum behind it so that the wave expanded in both directions and got broader and broader. Surprisingly, there was no actual sound in the wave, at least not at our elevation, but the sensation was one of great pressure, like a strong wind kicking up dust. The sand in the air momentarily blinded us, and when it went by, we could feel that we were covered with a light layer of sand. The only sound that we heard was a brief, low, almost imperceptible rumble in the distance.
Being able to see again, we
observed the huge white cloud mushrooming out at the top and
the usual airplane circling around. We stood there in
awe. This atomic explosion was three times the power of the
atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan in 1945.
I was amazed that all that
energy could come from a small amount of matter.
According to Einstein’s equation (discussed briefly below),
the amount of mass converted to energy is multiplied by the
speed of light squared, showing that the amount of energy in a
small amount of mass is tremendous. I thought of the
instance of creation when God must have converted a part of
His unfathomable energy into the mass of the universe.
Astronomers and physicists have no other explanation, but this
one satisfies me. Someday, it will all be converted back
into energy. There will be no need of the sun to light
up Heaven.
In thinking back on that special assignment a half century ago, I am grateful to have been a part of that highly significant and awesome experience that helped to keep the United States in a strong defensive position in the world. From an agency perspective, it provided the opportunity for the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps to contribute in a vital and visible way in an operation so important to our country.
Addendum: Development of the Atomic Bomb
As soon as the universe was
created, the stars, including our sun, began converting mass
(back) into energy through thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen
into helium. The United States has successfully exploded
hydrogen bombs utilizing the same thermonuclear
reactions. Those bombs were over 1,000 times more
powerful than the atomic bombs that we have exploded in tests
and in World War II, which utilize fission reactions with
uranium and/or plutonium. However, the principle of
converting mass into energy is the same, and only the atomic
bomb is discussed here.
In 1896, Antoine Henri Becquerel, a French physicist,
discovered natural radioactivity while studying uranium.
Uranium is the principal source of nuclear energy that is
generated through fission. Natural uranium is composed
of over 99 percent of the isotope U-238, but comprises only
about 0.7 per cent of the most important isotope U-235, which
is used in nuclear reactors and some atomic bombs.
Natural uranium in its mineral form is reacted with fluorine
to produce gaseous UF6 from which the highly fissionable U-235
can be separated by diffusion, centrifugal action or other
processes. U-233, made artificially from Thorium, can
also be used in nuclear reactors. Plutonium (Pu-239),
made artificially from uranium, can be used in nuclear
reactors and bombs. One World War II bomb contained
uranium (made in Oak Ridge) and the other contained plutonium
(produced at Hanford).
In 1905, the universally known, German-born physicist, Albert
Einstein, developed the famous theory relating energy (E) to
mass (m) in the equation E=mc2, where c is the speed of
light. Early in World War II, Einstein, then living in
the United States, wrote President Roosevelt, informing him
that Germany might be developing a nuclear bomb and urging the
United States to develop an atomic bomb.
An atomic bomb consists of two concentric steel spheres or
cylinders: the inner chamber containing uranium enriched to 90
percent U-235 (or plutonium), and an outer sphere containing
TNT and other explosives. Lead is used as a shield
around the bomb to minimize penetration of radioactivity to
the surroundings during manufacture, storage, and
transportation. The TNT implodes, i.e., “explodes”
inwardly, when it is ignited by impact or an electrical
current, causing the uranium or plutonium to be compressed to
a critical mass, thus starting an unstoppable chain reaction,
leading to an atomic explosion. This description was not
publicly available in 1957, but appears now in many
publications. The artificially created chain reaction that
leads to an atomic explosion was produced in 1942 at the
University of Chicago under the direction of Enrico Fermi, an
Italian-born physicist. Under the highly secret
Manhattan Project, the United States produced the first atomic
bombs in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Hanford, Washington.
The first atomic bomb was exploded secretly in New Mexico in
1945. In August 1945, the United States exploded two
atomic bombs in Japan, thus helping to bring the War to a
close.
Springtime at Camp Children’s
Contributed by LCDR Adriane Niare
On April 5, 2012, eight officers happily volunteered their time to bring an art camp experience to patients and their families at Children’s Health Care of Atlanta at Scottish Rite. The officers created a fun and wonderful environment for the children where they could make arts and crafts to decorate their rooms. The theme was, “Spring is in the Air at Camp Children’s.” In keeping with the theme, the children and their families decorated pillowcases, sun visors, tote bags, door hangers, and bookmarks using paint and appliqués. The activities brought smiles to the kids’ and their families’ faces. Twelve children and their families enjoyed showcasing their creativity while designing their own masterpieces.
The dedication and compassion of ACOA volunteers to give so selflessly their time to others speaks volumes and made this event a huge success. A special thanks is extended to LCDRs Jabal Chase, Erika Odom, Stephanie Rutledge, Henraya McGruder, and LCDR Adriane Niare, as well as LTs Sharanya Krishnan, Rachel Slayton, and NaTasha Hollis for volunteering their time and creativity. These officers represented the Corps and our values with honor and kindness.
Camp Children’s volunteers were led by LCDR Adriane
Niare. This was the fifth year that ACOA volunteers have
organized a camp experience for hospitalized children and
their families and, as usual, it was very gratifying. We hope
that other officers will take the opportunity to share in the
Camp Children’s experience at our next event.
The participating officers’ words best sum up the experience:
“This has become one of my favorite outreach efforts on behalf of the PHS. It warmed my heart to see the smiles on the faces of the children as well as the volunteers. Having a direct influence on public health is heartwarming.” LCDR Henraya McGruder, CDC
“This was my second time volunteering with the group at Camp Children’s and I enjoyed it just as much as before. There is nothing like the joy you experience by seeing a smile on a child’s face. Small things matter the most, so for one going through challenging times due to sickness, bringing happiness to them brings happiness to me.” LT NaTasha Hollis, CDC
“Volunteering at Children’s Hospital was a fantastic experience. It was a great way to go out with other Corps officers and have an effect on the community, and the kids made some beautiful artwork!” LT Rachel Slayton, CDC
“Interacting with children in this setting was completely new
to me, and I was not sure if I was suited for this volunteer
event. But the children just wanted to have fun and this
put me at ease. I hope I will get a chance to
participate again.” LCDR Stephanie Rutledge
St.
Francis Table
Contributed by CDR Kathy Slawson
On Saturday, February 18, 2012,
fifteen officers and their guests volunteered at St. Francis
Table on behalf of the Atlanta Commissioned Officers’
Association (ACOA). At St. Francis Table, volunteers come
from different organizations and groups every Saturday. The
specific number of volunteers each organization provides is
based on advance notice and need. We not only met our
quota of 15 volunteers, but had 10 officers standing by on the
wait list.
St. Francis Table is a soup kitchen located in Atlanta, Georgia,
that is dedicated to furthering the efforts of assisting the
poor and hungry. The weak economy has had a big impact on
Atlanta and the number of homeless and hungry people has
increased dramatically. St. Francis Table feeds over 550 people
every Saturday. It was started in response to the lack of
a food program being offered on Saturday to feed the hungry in
Atlanta. St. Francis Table began operating about 30 years
ago, and is modeled after the work of the Franciscans, who
sought to imitate the indigent lifestyle of St. Francis of
Assisi. Though St. Francis came from a wealthy family,
over time, he developed a distaste for the extravagant lifestyle
he used to enjoy. Instead, he chose to live in poverty, and
others chose to emulate him; in time, this group of followers
became known as the Franciscans.
St. Francis Table is located at the Catholic Shrine of the
Immaculate Conception Church in downtown Atlanta. During
the Civil War in 1864, when General William Sherman and his
Union soldiers destroyed and burned Atlanta, the Atlanta
Catholic Church (as it was called then) was spared in part
because many of Sherman’s forces were Catholic. Although
the church survived the war, the building suffered severe
damage, and a new building was constructed, beginning with the
relocation of the old wood-frame building to an adjacent
lot. The rebuilt church was renamed Immaculate
Conception. It was designated a shrine (an honor to the
church, highly venerated due to its history) and is known today
as the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception and Shrine of the
entire Atlanta diocese. During the course of restoration,
the long forgotten tombs of the early priests were
uncovered. The crypt is included as part of an optional
tour for the Saturday volunteers, and mass is available at
mid-morning for those who may want to receive communion.
The kitchen operations began early at 0700 hours and continued
until noon. The ACOA volunteers set up and cleaned tables,
served soup, bread, and beverages, seated guests, packed food,
and assisted with cleanup. This year, volunteers were
asked to bring packages of sliced meats or cheeses so sandwiches
could be made and distributed as a carryout lunch for the
homeless. St. Francis Table also receives some of its food
from the Atlanta Community Food Bank where ACOA also volunteers
each year. Many of the ACOA volunteers who served St.
Francis Table in August 2011 returned and many vowed to “keep
coming back.” A regular Saturday volunteer commented that
it was nice to see so many familiar faces from our ACOA group!
For more information on St. Francis
Table please refer to http://www.catholicshrineatlanta.org/phpMap/francis.php
 Front Row: LCDR Tracie Gardner, CDR Maria Cano, LCDR Charlene Majersky, CAPT Ann Malarcher, LT Jean Ko, CDR Kathy Slawson. Back Row: LT Brek Steele, CAPT Chad Helmick (Ret.), Eric Combest, LCDR Deborah Dee, Matt Smithson, Mark Slawson. Not pictured: CAPT Julie Margri, LT Erin Grasso, Chris Malarcher |
 CDR Maria Cano and LCDR Charlene Majersky on a photo break in front of the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral altar. |
Contributed by LCDR Sylvera Demas
On Saturday, February 25, 2012,
nine ACOA volunteers joined forces with Trees Atlanta to help
plant trees. ACOA volunteers planted containerized and
balled-in-burlap (B&B) trees and shrubs in the river
bottom of a headwater tributary of South Fork Peachtree Creek,
a stream in Atlanta that eventually feeds into the
Chattahoochee River. This was one of two events that ACOA will
collaborate with Trees Atlanta this year, and it was certainly
a success.
Trees Atlanta is a nationally
recognized citizens group that protects and improves Atlanta's
urban forest by planting, conserving, and educating. Founded
in 1985, Trees Atlanta has planted and distributed more than
81,000 shade trees and cared for more than 100,000 trees. They
also have recruited thousands of volunteers and educated an
average of 2,000 children and adults annually about the
importance of urban trees and how to plant and properly care
for them.
Several individuals joined ACOA
volunteers on a cool and cloudy spring day. We met at 424
Glendale Avenue in Decatur where we were greeted by a Trees
Atlanta representative. We then walked along the path to our
designated location behind the Decatur Cemetery. The
volunteers used axes and shovels to dig holes to plant nearly
100 trees that are expected to thrive in the local
environment. All plant species were native to Georgia (a
mixture of Coastal Plain, Piedmont, and Appalachian plant
types). Then, volunteers placed mulch around the trees and
carried buckets filled with water from the creek to water the
trees. ACOA volunteers had fun while learning about
containerized and B&B trees, and helping to protect and
beautify the Atlanta-area environment.
ACOA Volunteers: Kneeling L to R: LCDR Jamar Barnes
, LCDR Sylvera Demas. Standing L to R: LCDR Minal
Patel, LCDR Benjamin Silk, LCDR Matthew Wise, LCDR
Joseph Cavanaugh, CAPT Michele Pearson, LT Shauna
Mettee, Kylie Mettee. Not pictured: LCDR Adam
Bjor
CAPT
Michele Pearson & LCDR Jamar Barnes in action
LT Shauna Mettee, daughter Kylie, & a non-ACOA
volunteer planting a tree
Back to top
ACOA Volunteers at the 6th Annual TB Awareness Walk in
Atlanta
Contributed by LCDR Tracie Gardner
Tuberculosis (TB) remains an
epidemic in much of the world, causing the deaths of several
million people each year. World TB Day is recognized
annually on March 24 to commemorate Robert Koch’s discovery
of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes
tuberculosis. Activities in support of World TB Day
present opportunities to raise awareness about
tuberculosis-related problems and solutions, and to support
worldwide TB-control efforts.
Each year, a TB Awareness Walk
takes place in Atlanta, Georgia, at which adults, children,
(and pets) walk a two-mile course through beautiful Grant
Park. Event registration is free, and, in addition to
the walk, the crowd can participate in a variety of fun,
family friendly activities. Snacks, coffee, and water are
also provided, courtesy of local small business sponsors
identified by National TB Controllers Association, Atlanta
Chapter of the American Lung Association, and Results
International. This year, the event was held on March
24, 2012.
It takes many dedicated volunteers to support an activity of
this magnitude; therefore, when the TB Walk Committee
mentioned that they needed volunteers for the day of the
event, the Atlanta Commissioned Officers Association (ACOA)
was eager to assist. Eleven Atlanta-based officers
participated in the event by directing walkers around the
two-mile course. Volunteers began arriving at 7:30
a.m. They marked the course before the walkers arrived
and were assigned a station or corner at which to hold
directional signs and cheer on the crowd.
Following introductory remarks, including one by RADM
Kenneth Castro, Assistant Surgeon General, USPHS, and
Commanding Flag Officer, CDC/ATSDR Commissioned Corps, and a
flash mob dance to warm up the crowd, volunteers took their
places along the course to direct and cheer on the 500+
registered walkers. Volunteers also ensured that all walkers
had cleared the course by following the final walkers to the
finish. Not only did our volunteers motivate the
walkers but they were able to participate in the walk as
well!
ACOA also had a walk team consisting of USPHS officers and
their family members. ACOA visibility and support was
evident on this sunny day! We look forward to continuing our
support of this activity in the future.
For more information about World TB Day visit the CDC Web
site at http://www.cdc.gov/tb/events/WorldTBDay/default.htm.
 First row L to R: CDR Kathy Slawson, LCDR Sherry Burrer Second row L to R: LCDR Anne Marie France, LT Brek Steele, LCDR Emily Jentes, LCDR Tracie Gardner, CDR Sapna Bamrah, CAPT Theresa Harrington, LCDR Fuyen Yip. Not pictured: LCDR Deborah Dee, Eric Combest, Olivia Combest. |
Polio Eradication Efforts of Commissioned Corps
Officers
Contributed by CAPT Diana Bensyl, USPHS;
LCDR Kamil Barbour, USPHS; and Yolanda Freeman
During her time in Kenya, CAPT Bensyl stated her experience was very rewarding, and was a lot of hard work with very little down time. The working conditions were often tough, including 12-15 hour workdays, an austere environment, and limited resources. When considering an international assignment for polio, potential responders should consider the following: accommodations may be a nice hotel or they might be a tent; food might be a hotel buffet or whatever you put in your backpack when you left that morning; and road conditions could be a smooth highway, a washed out riverbed, or a small aircraft. There also might be security concerns. CAPT Bensyl was working near the South Sudan border, which is experiencing a drought and is also near a conflict zone. Even though she was in a very difficult area, CAPT Bensyl found the opportunity to network with other organizations, interact with new cultures, and work on the front lines of public health. This experience was amazing, motivating, and inspirational.
LCDR Kamil Barbour, PhD, MPH, of CDC
was intrigued after hearing an announcement from the EIS
program about the potential to be involved in STOP training
and deployment. Eager to be a part of this effort, LCDR
Barbour understood that it would be very good training for him
as an EIS officer. Though LCDR Barbour did not have a specific
interest in a polio field assignment prior to the
announcement, he felt it would be a great privilege to be a
part of the historical effort to eradicate polio. LCDR
Barbour also attended the STOP training and was asked to
travel to Guinea to help conduct Acute Flaccid Paralysis (AFP)
surveillance reviews.
In February, LCDR Barbour arrived in
Conakry, Guinea, with his CDC colleague, Suzanne Powell. LCDR
Barbour’s initial experience in Guinea was quite an
adventure. Once in Conakry, they were asked by the
Customs Officer to surrender their passports because their
visas were not processed. This was the first of several
obstacles the team faced. Additionally, no hotel rooms were
booked, ATMs did not dispense cash, and money exchangers were
almost impossible to find. Though the beginning of the
trip was off to a rough start, the team realized they had a
mission to complete and were ready for the challenges ahead!
LCDR Barbour was given the task to
travel to the Labe region of Guinea to conduct AFP
surveillance review. The Labe region is one of the high
risk areas for wild polio virus (WPV) transmission. In each
district, LCDR Barbour was asked to visit two to three health
centers, a hospital, and traditional healers if possible. He
would interview the main point of contact at each site and
administer a standardized questionnaire that was used to
evaluate the sensitivity of the region’s AFP surveillance
system. The questionnaire focused on record keeping,
logistics, and resources. The review also included ensuring
those interviewed knew the case definition and the protocol to
use when an AFP case was identified. After completion of their
review, the team presented their findings and recommendations
to the Ministry of Health in Conakry.
While in Labe, the team spent several
days in the field traveling on dusty roads that were difficult
to navigate and made for a rough ride. During the little down
time the team had, they were able to enjoy the scenery of Labe
and take in some of the culture at the marketplace and
countryside.
CAPT Bensyl’s advice for those
interested in responding to a polio international assignment
is to be flexible, calm, and learn to go with the flow, but
always keep the goal in mind. LCDR Barbour’s advice to
responders is to learn a little about the country to which you
are assigned. It is important to know that there is a lack of
resources in these countries, and that some of the most basic
amenities may be unavailable. Even though there are plenty of
challenges to the work in polio, LCDR Barbour stated, “Once
polio is finally eradicated, you can take pride in the fact
that you made a contribution towards the demise of this very
deadly virus.”
If you are interested in becoming a part of history and working
on polio, take the following steps:
If you are interested in becoming a
responder for polio eradication response, email the CDC
Emergency Operations Center (CDC EOC) at eocreport@cdc.gov.
 Kenya polio surveillance team, February 2012: LCDR Sara Lowther (row 1, person 1), LT Cara Halldin (row 1, person 4), CAPT Diana Bensyl (row 1, person 5), LT Heather Scobie (row 1, person 7), CDR Katrina Kretsinger (row 2, person 1), LCDR Samir Sodha (row 2, person 2), LCDR Satish Pillai (row 2, person 4), and LCDR Kristie Appelgren (row 2, person 5) |
 LCDR Kamil Barbour in a marketplace in Labe, Guinea |
Opening Session of 2012 Lunch & Learn Series:
Readiness and Deployments
Contributed by LCDR John Halpin
Lunch and Learn events are hosted by ACOA four
to five times per year and cover a range of topics
pertinent to Atlanta-area commissioned corps
officers. Although this first meeting took place on
the CDC Roybal campus, you can expect to see future sessions
taking place at various campuses around CDC. The
next session, “Job Opportunities with the U.S. Coast Guard
(USCG), Indian Health Service (IHS), and Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE),” will be held at Chamblee campus
on May 30, 2012, from 11:30-1:00.
Lunch and Learn sessions provide a forum for
ACOA business matters as well as a venue for informational
topics. The March meeting was kicked off with an award
presentation for the 2011 ACOA offi
cer of the year. CAPT Bruce Tierney was
the recipient this year, having earned the award as a
result of his many contributions to the ACOA over the past
year (please see article in this issue that highlights
CAPT Tierney).
Three speakers presented on the topics of readiness standards and deployment preparations. Speakers included LCDR Joe Laco, from the Commissioned Corps Personnel Branch; CDR Sean-David Waterman from the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD); and CDR Gary Brunette, who is the current chief of the Travelers’ Health Branch at CDC. LCDR Laco began with a comprehensive overview of the current readiness standards utilized by the Commissioned Corps. Noted during the presentation were such issues as: the ramifications of not maintaining one’s basic readiness, the various requirements and criteria which comprise basic readiness, the locations and methods for logging the data that confirm one’s basic readiness, the online courses that are required for basic readiness, and the resources available to officers who have further questions or concerns regarding their basic readiness.
Next, CDR Sean-David Waterman addressed the audience by
phone-bridge to provide insight into a number of questions
regarding readiness from his point of view as the Medical
Readiness Manager for the Response section of OFRD.
Among the issues that CDR Waterman addressed were the type
of roles and missions we can expect for OFRD deployers in
the coming years, the trends in readiness status for
Commissioned Corps officers in various professional
categories, and the current and pending status of the
President’s Challenge.
The final speaker was CDR Gary Brunette, who
provided the audience with a description of the
preparations and highlights of the several deployments he
has conducted to various regions of the world under the
auspices of the Commissioned Corps OFRD. CDR
Brunette has previous deployment experience from the time
he spent as a member of the South African Navy, as well as
the US Navy, and this prior experience with overseas
deployments served him well in his deployments while
serving in the Commissioned Corps. CDR Brunette opened his presentation by stressing the importance
of proper preparation for deployment, both physically and
mentally. He noted that to prepare properly, one
must “know your mission, know your team, know your role,
and know your environment.” He noted how
strenuous some of his deployments have been, underscoring
the importance of the readiness standards which require
all deploying officers to maintain a high standard of
physical fitness.
CDR Brunette describes
his deployment during Operation Unified Response, Haiti,
2010
CDR
Brunette has deployed twice to the island nation of Haiti,
first in response to a hurricane that hit Haiti hard in
2008, and then in response to the massive earthquake that
affected Haiti in 2010. In both cases, he worked
closely with and alongside members of the US Navy, who
provided his transportation and other support. He
noted that, from a medical standpoint, the military is
primarily focused on the preventive health needs of its
own members during a mission such as this, while he and
his Commissioned Corps response team were primarily
focused on the preventive health needs of those affected
by the natural disasters in Haiti. CDR Brunette
noted that security concerns can play an important and
sometimes frustrating role during deployments conducted
with military forces, in part because security issues will
always take precedence over general public health
issues. There were times during his deployments when
he was quite restricted in his movements and ability to
function due to security concerns, and he suggested that
this is something that all deployed USPHS officers need to
be prepared to deal with and understand when working with
the military. He further noted that while on a
deployment, “there is no duty that is beneath your
rank.” He illustrated this point by showing some of
the basic, arduous activities he was sometimes tasked with
during his deployments, including some that one might find
unusual for an officer of his rank. The audience was
appreciative of these various insights he provided about
deployments, and amazed by the photos he presented
depicting the aircraft carrier he deployed from, the
various military transport vehicles he was ferried around
on (including a hovercraft-like vehicle), and the tight
quarters aboard the ship where he was berthed.
CAPT Ralph O’Connor leads Lunch & Learn attendees on
a tour of the CDC Emergency Operations Center.
Upon completion of CDR Brunette’s presentation,
it was time to move on to a tour of the CDC’s Emergency
Operations Center (EOC), located in building 21 on the CDC
Roybal campus. The tour was conducted by CAPT Ralph O’Connor, who is a Health Scientist
in the Division of Emergency Operations at CDC’s Office of
Public Health Preparedness and Response. The tour
was an excellent opportunity to review the roles that CDC
plays during a public health emergency response, and to
highlight the role that Commissioned Corps officers may
play while deployed to the EOC, in contrast to the field
deployments that had been described earlier.
CDC Commissioned Corps Personnel Office Presents:
Pre-Retirement Seminar
Contributed by CDR Todd Alspach
The next pre-retirement
seminar is scheduled to be held at the USPHS Training and
Symposium in June 2012 at College Park, Maryland. I
strongly encourage every officer to attend at least one of
pre-retirement session during the course of their career,
and the sooner, the better. As part of his
presentation, Mr. Berry stated 98% of officers who have
attended a pre-retirement seminar would advise other
officers to do the same, and 76% of officers who did not
attend a seminar said it negatively affected their
perception of the Corps. The two-day session
provided essential information that all officers should be
aware of prior to retirement to ensure a seamless
post-service transition.
ACOA Officer of the Year
Contributed by LT Chris Fletcher
To develop this new award, I reached out to other branches that already had an Officer of the Year or other similar award for guidance. With the help of the ACOA Executive Committee (EC), I sought to develop the award to select and recognize an officer who greatly contributes to the mission of ACOA. The following criteria are those that the EC developed for use:
• Officer is a
current ACOA member in good standing
• Officer’s contribution to the mission of
ACOA
• Officer’s participation in ACOA events
• Officer’s commitment to ACOA above and
beyond that observed of most ACOA members
• Officer’s display of support to ACOA in
the following categories: Leadership, Service, Integrity,
Excellence
After
the EC voted, the first annual ACOA Officer of the Year award
winner was chosen. The EC wanted to present the award at the
annual Anchor and Caduceus Dinner in January 2012. As it
happened, however, the first annual ACOA Officer of the Year,
Captain Bruce Tierney (pictured left with LCDR Jamie Mutter,
2012 ACOA President), was scheduled to be on annual leave and
was unable to attend the 2012 Anchor and Caduceus Dinner.
Thus, the EC chose to wait and present the award in person to
CAPT Tierney at the first ACOA Lunch and Learn of 2012.
CAPT Tierney was recognized for his enormous contributions,
longstanding support of and participation in the events and
mission of ACOA.
For the January 2011 Anchor and
Caduceus Dinner, CAPT Tierney was instrumental in bringing
VADM Carmona to Atlanta to serve as the guest of honor and to
address the ACOA members and guests who were in attendance.
Also In 2011, CAPT Tierney served as an active member of the
ACOA Merchandise Committee, where he designed a new PHS
athletic shirt and a PHS license plate. In addition, CAPT
Tierney attended the 2011 COF Scientific and Training
Symposium to lead the effort in selling ACOA esprit de corps
merchandise. CAPT Tierney worked closely with the local host
branch to ensure that ACOA had an opportunity to sell
merchandise during the Symposium to raise funds to support
ACOA. His efforts resulted in thousands of dollars of revenue
being generated for ACOA. As in previous years, he served as
the primary point of contact for sales of ACOA merchandise to
ACOA officers at ACOA Lunch and Learn sessions, as well as
other venues, and throughout the United States via the ACOA
Web site (www.atlantacoa.com).
CAPT Tierney presents at least one ACOA Lunch and Learn session on uniforms annually and provides updates on uniforms by writing several articles for the ACOA Web site each year, many of which go on to be referenced by PHS officers across the country.
CAPT Tierney’s contributions to ACOA
have been substantial and have directly resulted in a larger,
stronger, and more visible organization. CAPT Tierney
has been a tremendous asset to ACOA for years. His
efforts have strengthened the organization and have provided a
direct benefit to hundreds of ACOA officers.
Atlanta ACOA Veterinarians Earn 2012 Awards
CAPT Hugh Mainzer, CDR Renee Funk, and LCDR
Heather Bair-Brake
2012 Commissioned Corps Veterinary Responder of the Year Award: CDR Renee Funk
The 2012 Veterinary Responder of the Year Award for the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps has been given to CDR Renee Funk, DVM, MPH&TM, DACVPM, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), for her dedication to emergency preparedness and response. During CDC’s response to the novel H1N1 influenza pandemic in 2009, CDR Funk provided senior-level subject matter expertise on respiratory protection and assisted in the development of numerous guidance documents and surveillance tools. She was the lead author on key infection control guidance and interim policies relative to the protection of U.S. swine herds and swine workers. Additionally, she led NIOSH efforts to update and expand the CDC influenza illness surveillance systems to include new occupation-related variables that had not previously existed prior to her initiative.
During the Deepwater Horizon Oil
Spill response in 2010, she created and implemented a
comprehensive responder roster and exposure surveillance system.
CDR Funk created two novel surveillance tools to capture
information about responders upon initial hire and after
exposure. She documented the scope of work to facilitate U.S.
Coast Guard funding of the field-based data collection effort
across five states. Additionally, she led the development of
mechanisms to collect, transmit, and analyze over 55,000 data
collection forms and the development of a Web-based electronic
roster mechanism. This effort resulted in the first federal
roster of emergency response and remediation workers ever
conducted during a major disaster event and served as the
inspiration for a long-term NIOSH study on the public health
impact of the event.
CDR Funk conceived, promoted, and
received NIOSH research funding for the Emergency Responder
Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS) project. ERHMS goals
include developing a comprehensive program to detect, monitor,
and control disaster-related health and safety hazards for the
protection of the response workforce during each phase of a
disaster. As is evident, CDR Funk has made consistent and
important contributions to emergency planning and response by
developing new and effective strategies that can better ensure
emergency responder safety and health, and ACOA is proud to
congratulate our member, CDR Renee Funk, Commissioned Corps
Veterinary Responder of the Year.
2012
Commissioned Corps Junior Veterinarian Officer of the Year
Award: LCDR Heather Bair-Brake
The 2012 Junior Veterinarian Officer
of the Year award for the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS)
Commissioned Corps has been given to LCDR Heather Bair-Brake,
MS, DVM, DACVPM, of CDC, for her contributions to the mission of
the Commissioned Corps and the CDC. LCDR Bair-Brake is
currently assigned to CDC’s Quarantine Border and Health
Services Branch within the Division of Global Migration and
Quarantine (DGMQ), where she serves as a Veterinary Medical
Officer and health communicator. Since joining DGMQ in 2009, she
co-authored and directed the development of the online
continuing education course, Yellow Fever: Information for
Health Care Professionals Advising Travelers, which has become
required training for provider certification in five states,
Canada, and Scotland, and has won three prestigious CDC awards.
She developed and delivered training on CDC’s animal importation
regulations for >100 quarantine station staff located at 19
international ports of entry, and she assists in preparing new
regulations related to animal importation and
communicating changes to the public. In addition, she conducted
formative research on bushmeat importation and arranged for
focus groups of African expatriates to be held in Atlanta.
During her time at CDC, LCDR
Bair-Brake developed an important public health program focusing
on appropriate antibiotic use in agriculture called “Get Smart
on the Farm,” and acted as the liaison between CDC and several
food-animal producer groups. One of her biggest successes was
the development and maintenance of a Web site for the pet-owning
public called “Health Pets Healthy People,” which reaches over
500,000 people in 52 countries each year and has been featured
in newspapers and magazine articles.
During CDC’s H1N1 pandemic influenza
response, she was responsible for drafting the first Traveler
Health Alert Notice (10 million copies printed and distributed
at 327 ports of entry) and the CDC Travel Warning (viewed by
over 1 million). In the last year, she worked in CDC’s Emergency
Operations Center for the Japan Radiation response and wrote
guidance for quarantine station staff on handling
radiation-contaminated pets, passengers, and luggage. For all of
her work, we extend congratulations to ACOA member LCDR
Bair-Brake, Commissioned Corps Junior Veterinarian Officer of
the Year.
2012
Commissioned Corps Veterinarian Officer of the Year Award:
CAPT Hugh Mainzer
The 2012 Veterinarian of the Year
award of the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned
Corps has been given to CAPT Hugh Mainzer, MS, DVM, DACVPM, of
CDC, for his contributions to the mission of the Commissioned
Corps and CDC. Throughout his career, CAPT Mainzer has
done much to support Commissioned Corps veterinarians. From May
2007 to October 2011, he served as Chief Veterinary Officer,
providing strong leadership to the veterinary category. He has
offered career counseling and promotion preparation advice to
veterinary officers and has personally recruited many of the
veterinarians currently on active duty in the USPHS. CAPT
Mainzer has responded to numerous public health emergencies and
deployed on humanitarian aid missions. Drawing from those
experiences, he has encouraged many other officers to do the
same and to serve actively on USPHS Tier I and II response
teams.
CAPT Mainzer has worked towards
increasing the number of veterinarians serving in the federal
workforce. He was recently named Chair of the U.S. Office of
Personnel Management Interagency Talent Management Advisory
Council on the Federal Veterinary Workforce. As Chair, he has
led the effort to describe the veterinary staffing needs and
resources in the federal workforce, highlighting for key policy
makers the critical skill sets that veterinarians contribute to
public health, and identifying gaps in veterinary personnel
resources.
In addition to his leadership roles
and administrative accomplishments, CAPT Mainzer has furthered
veterinary public health through research and numerous published
manuscripts, book chapters, and professional presentations. For
all of these contributions, ACOA congratulates our own CAPT
Mainzer, Commissioned Corps Veterinarian of the Year.
Congratulations, CAPT Mainzer, CDR Renee Funk, LCDR
Bair-Brake! ACOA salutes you all!
Make Paying Your COA/ACOA Dues Easy With Automatic
Draft
LCDR Adriane Niare, USPHS and LCDR Shane Davis
That’s right! Instead of getting a lump sum annual dues statement, opt to pay your membership dues through monthly automatic drafts from your paycheck. There are no additional fees associated with automatic draft payments and your membership will automatically renew each year.
Setting up these
automatic payments is easy! To get started, contact Malissa
Spalding, COA membership coordinator, at mspalding@coausphs.org
or call toll-free: 866-366-9593.When you call, be sure ACOA is
listed as your local branch affiliation.
The membership year starts July 1, but if you renew today, dues will be applied to the 2012-2013 operational year. So make it easy and sign up for automatic draft today!
Are you already on automatic draft payments?
If you have
changed rank from LT to LCDR within the past year OR have
switched agencies, contact Malissa Spalding to update this
information to avoid draft payments being suspended.
ACOA’s Social Media Adventures
LT Chris Fletcher
Atlanta COA is now on Facebook. ACOA
intends to post announcements, topical information, and photos
on the Facebook page. It also will be a great place for members
to post their own photos of ACOA events and engage in
discussions. Please remember to “Like” us on Facebook next time
you log on!
Metlife Begins TRICARE Dental Program Partnership
CDR Leslie Leonard
TDP information
is available by calling 1-855-638-8371 in the U.S.,
1-855-638-8372 outside the United States, or online through
the MetLife TDP Website. The Web site has more
information about costs, coverage details, and finding a
provider. Beneficiaries can use the “Find a Dentist”
feature to locate one of the 168,000 MetLife dental access
points. For more information about TRICARE’s dental
programs, go to http://www.tricare.mil/dental.
You can also contact CDR Leslie Leonard, Health Benefits
Advisor, CDC Commissioned Corps Personnel Branch, at lleonard@cdc.gov or
404-498-1818.
Source:
TRICARE Management Activity, http://tricare.mil/mediacenter
 |