Program Collects Protective Equipment to Save Lives

By Cheryl Pellerin of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 11, 2011 - A joint program charged with collecting the personal protective equipment of soldiers, airmen, sailors and Marines killed in action is working to save future warfighters' lives. Natalie Eberius is an analyst at the warfighter survivability branch of the Army Research Laboratory's survivability and lethality analysis directorate in Aberdeen, Md. Her group is one of several partners in the Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program. DOD photo by Cheryl Pellerin  The Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program links the Defense Department medical, intelligence, operational and materiel-development communities. Known as JTAPIC, the program is part of DOD's Medical Research Program for the Prevention, Mitigation and Treatment of Blast Injuries, established in 2006. JTAPIC was created the same year. The two organizations work together to integrate combat, medical and materiel-analysis information to prevent and mitigate future warfighter injuries by changing tactics or improving equipment, John Uscilowicz, the program's deputy manager, told American Forces Press Service. The goal, Uscilowicz said, is to better understand warfighter vulnerabilities to threats and guide the improvement of tactics, techniques and procedures on the battlefield. Program partners include the Army National Ground Intelligence Center, the Office of the Armed Forces Medical Examiner, Program Executive Office Soldier, the Army Research Laboratory, the Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory, the Army Institute of Surgical Research, the Maneuver Center of Excellence Naval Health Research Center, and the Marine Corps Systems Command. The work starts on the battlefield, Uscilowicz explained, with an event that kills or injures warfighters. Information flows from after-action reports to the program's operational intelligence partners, he said, "who gather as much information from the field as possible" about mounted operations and dismounted patrols. Back at the program office, medical information is matched to data about the combat injuries and what personal protective equipment the warfighter was wearing at the time. A critical element of the data gathering involves getting damaged personal protective equipment back from the battlefield and examining it along with the combat and medical data, Uscilowicz said. "This has proven to be a real challenge," he said. For soldiers killed in action, body armor sometimes comes back with them to the Armed Forces Medical Examiner. For others, or for those who are wounded or fired on and hit but protected by their body armor, collection teams in Afghanistan and a few left in Iraq help to get the damaged equipment back to the United States for analysis. At Program Executive Office Soldier at Fort Belvoir, Va., Army Col. William Cole, program manager for soldier clothing and individual equipment, is a JTAPIC partner. "We partner with JTAPIC when the equipment is returned to the states, either at Dover or to the Mortuary Affairs Effects Collection Center at Aberdeen," Cole said. "When the protective equipment is evacuated to them, they can look at it first and compare what happened with the equipment [to] what happened to the body. Afterward, they let us have the equipment to do further analysis." For example, he said, analysts perform a metallurgical analysis on any fragments in the equipment and look at X-rays and CAT scans of the equipment. Advertising in dining halls, mailrooms and convenience shops helps to increase success in collecting the protective equipment, Cole said. "We don't expect to get 100 percent of the damaged equipment back from the field, just because of the nature of war," he said. "It's always somewhat chaotic, and leaders on the ground have to make decisions about where to place their priorities. "Getting every last bit of protective equipment back isn't realistic," Cole added, "but I think the more we can advertise it and the more we can explain to soldiers how the things we learn help us make even better equipment in the future, the more successful we will be." In Aberdeen, Md., Natalie Eberius is an analyst at the warfighter survivability branch of the Army Research Laboratory's survivability and lethality analysis directorate. Her group also is a JTAPIC partner. "Our group, in addition to doing materiel analysis, is what you call personal vulnerability experts," she said. "We understand injuries and what it takes to get certain injuries. We're able to take that data and make it make sense." Every four weeks, the partners meet to evaluate and learn from events that have occurred for mounted and dismounted warfighters since their last meeting, Eberius said. "Right now," she added, "we're working on a program that is trying to provide body armor protection to a particular region of the body. The soldiers are engaged in a specific threat that is causing very specific injuries, so we're looking at solutions that could mitigate those injuries and help trauma doctors treat those who are injured." On the mounted warrior side of the effort, she said, "one of the things we're able to do through the JTAPIC program is to look at survivability benefits of adding specific armor enhancements or enhancements to a vehicle." Program results for combat vehicles include better seat design, blast-mitigating armor and fire-suppression systems. JTAPIC also has helped to improve personal protective equipment, tactics and procedures, as well as models and simulations. One procedural improvement that came from the partnership's deliberations, Eberius said, was to begin providing medics with scissors that can cut through body armor. "It seems like a simple thing unless you're a medic and you've got these bandage scissors and you're trying to cut through 18 or 30 layers of Kevlar" to help a soldier on the battlefield, she said. "It was one of those 'a-ha' moments –- 'Why don't medics have that?' the analyst said. The JTAPIC program sent a pair of the scissors to every medic, Eberius added. "Now in their kits, instead of bandage scissors, they have these scissors that can cut through practically anything," she said. The power of the JTAPIC program, Eberius said, is through the incorporation of the medical, operational intelligence and materiel and analysis communities. "If you're looking just at operational intelligence, you'll get a feel for what the soldiers are engaging in and the threats," she explained. "If you are looking just at the medical aspect of it, you'll understand the injuries. But what we're doing is combining what's happening to the soldier in terms of his environment, the system he's wearing and the medical information that comes from the threats. We pull all that together and try to look at ways to mitigate the effects of those threats." Officials are working to get more soldiers to understand the program's importance, Eberius said. "They're the ones who understand the threats they're seeing in their environments," she added. "The way we can give them the best equipment is to understand those vulnerabilities."

Related Sites: Joint Trauma Analysis and Prevention of Injury in Combat Program U.S. Army Research Laboratory Program Executive Office Soldier

Women Learn to Fight Stress from Home Front

By Terri Moon Cronk of American Forces Press Service

How to fight stress

WASHINGTON, Feb. 9, 2011 - During a week in which the White House pledged a vigorous, whole-of-government approach to supporting military families, 11 women worked diligently a few miles away to learn to cope with the stresses of their husbands' multiple deployments and the post-traumatic stress that affects many of them when they return home.

Ten military wives and a fiancée met in a quiet place the week of Jan. 24 without the distractions from ringing phones, kids' schedules and work projects. They learned coping skills through resilience training. They learned meditation, tried acupuncture, talked, laughed and cried.

The "significant others," who found out first-hand that post-traumatic stress affects entire families, came to the support group with more questions than answers. But they left armed with a battery of tools to cope with the everyday stresses of military life in a time of war.

The Significant Others Support Group is an offshoot of the Specialized Care Program their husbands completed following a diagnosis of combat stress or post-traumatic stress, or because they had difficulty readjusting to home life after war. Both programs are based on resilience and strength-building education conducted by the Defense Health Clinical Center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.

Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has called post-traumatic stress "the military health issue of our era." He and his wife, Deborah, are well-known advocates of taking care of the military family, taking every opportunity to make it known they want war veterans and their families to get all the help they need to cope with war's invisible scars.

Discovery Health

For five days, the Significant Others Support Group charter class studied family roles and relationships, how combat affects service members, how to raise children during a stressful time in a lengthy war, and how to communicate about and deal with control issues when the deployment is over. They also learned the how to take care of themselves, an often-overlooked need.

"We don't 'cure' people here," said Dan Bullis, director of administration and operations at the clinical center. "It's the start of their journey to cope with symptoms."

Because it affects the entire family, efforts to confront post-traumatic stress must be include a family care plan, he said.

"[It's] is not a level playing field for them," Bullis said, adding that he believes the support group will become even more successful as word spreads to new attendees and sponsors.

"In a weeks' time," he said, "12 to 14 [significant others] are equipped with tools to cope with life. It's their lesson plan to take home so they can deal with the chronic symptoms. They're so overwhelmed."

The idea, Bullis said, was spawned from the husbands in the Specialized Care Program who began saying, "If only my significant other could get this support." A pilot program that launched with five or six women progressed to the charter class of 11 last month, he added.

Thanks to a $35,000 donation by the nonprofit Walter Reed Society, the 11 women were brought to Walter Reed on per diem travel, housed in a nearby hotel, and attended the training and education, all expenses paid.

Designing the support group for women came from a tried-and-true approach.

"We had a lot of input through the years from service members to help their families and significant others," said Victoria Bruner, the center's director of clinical education and training, who also is a social worker and expert in traumatic stress, with a background as a registered nurse. "Whether it's a mother, brother, sister or adult child, we built the group on the basics of what helps people heal."

A holistic approach, Bruner said, is important in an environment that promotes comfort, healing and peacefulness.

"The [significant others] need a sense of safety to feel comfortable to tell a story, and to connect to other people so they know they're not alone," she said. "It's important to be in a safe environment, where people are assured their stories are honored and respected, so they can go as far as they want about their situation, or not."

Late in the morning on their final day together, Bruner conducted a session with the women, seated in a circle in a comfortable room adorned with plants, a wall quilt and subdued lighting.

"What has this week been like for you?" she asked. Answers circulated in a flurry of optimism from the participants, whose identities are not included in this article to protect their privacy.
"I feel less isolated, I made close friends," one of the women said. "We understand each other."

"I feel empowered, refreshed -- a partner with my partner," another said. "I'm inspired to work as a team."

"It's refreshing," said a third. "I learned skills to regain my energy. I feel whole again."

Bruner said the women in the support group see signs of strength in themselves to keep going -- to bounce back and realize they're not "crazy." They learn how to practice patience, be more tolerant and supportive of their military family in a balanced manner, she added.

Bruner, who lost her husband in Vietnam, said it's critical for the women "to get the support they need, to reduce the cost of war."

Post-traumatic stress is not new –- it's just another name for a phenomenon that's been recognized since the Civil War. "Melancholy," "shell shock" and "battle fatigue" are among the names it's had when it's been observed in service members in past conflicts.

Bullis, a former Army medic who served in Vietnam, said that during and after the Gulf War deployment in 1990 and 1991, 100,000 service members complained of what became known as "Gulf War syndrome."

"It came from out of nowhere, and they had symptoms similar to chronic fatigue syndrome," he said. Eventually, with no real medical cause found, it was called "medically unexplained physical symptoms." And service in the Gulf War, he added, was never linked to it.

Bullis added that 20 percent to 30 percent of those deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan can develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress, but treatment can be successful if it is caught in its early stages. And medical staff members at military clinics worldwide are catching signs of the disorder at a rapid pace through routine screening, he added.

Yet, the average time it takes a service member to seek help after the onset of symptoms is a staggering 12 years, Bullis noted.

Women's forum

"It's an invisible wound," he said, "and it's always a part of war."

The Significant Others Support Group provides sessions on topics such as "Dealing with Adrenaline Overload," "Understanding Triggers" and "Dealing with Things You Can't Control." It also provides relaxation and focus classes featuring Yoga Nidra, QiGong and acupuncture, as well as a massage donated by a local spa.

Robin Carnes -- a local mind and body skills instructor who teaches relaxation tools to the Significant Others Support Group -- said the techniques can be used at home in five minutes a day. Her methods teach the women to relax and refocus by "putting back life energy and storing it," she said.

"If you want to change your life," she added, "change your practice. It's a healthy addiction if done every day."

The charter class of 11 significant others gathered one last time on the final day in a small ceremony. As they received certificates of completion, some quietly said, "Thank you." But one Army wife, also a veteran, dropped to her knees, tearfully gesturing to the group, thanking everyone for the support she now has, and for her husband's success in the Specialized Care Program.

"This program," she said, "gave me my husband back."

(Photographs inserted by blogger after internet search for the purely non commercial and educative purpose)

Save a 3 year old boy

An Urgent Appeal

Shiv, a 3 year old boy from Punjab was brought to CMC hospital in a serious condition by his parents with complaints of difficulty in breathing along with abdominal pain on & off. The boy belongs to a very poor family and is financially handicapped and is in desperate need for help. The child is diagnosed to have Pancreatitis along with ascites and pleural effusion i.e. fluid in chest and abdomen. His condition is critical and requires surgery as it is not improving.

The cost of his treatment is beyond the reach of his family. His father is a daily wage laborer who manages to get work about 20 days a month only. His mother is a domestic help earning 1200/month but is currently with child in hospital and out of work. We encourage you to come forward and help this child by contributing to the Surgically Sick Children’s Fund of CMC Hospital, Ludhiana.

Any person interested in contributing can contact the Department of Pediatric Surgery.

The Contact Numbers are –

Dr. William Bhatti- 9876609924, Dr. Dhruv Ghosh- 9915198894, Dr. Nandini K. Bedi- 9914360480.    ----Amarjeet Kaur

Surgeons'sTeam led by CMC honoured at Golden Temple

Dr Bedi with foreign surgical superspecialists at the Harmandir Sahib

The Christian Medical College & Hospital. Ludhiana was honoured specially for its contribution to the health of the people of Punjab. In a solemn ceremony Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Surgery at CMC & H – was honoured for his immense contributions to the advancement of knowledge of cardio vascular diseases and their latest therapy and their compassionate implementation so that the people of Punjab stay in good health. In the hallowed office of the SGPC in the revered Harmandir Sahib Dr Bedi was bestowed with the ceremonial saropa and a replica of the Golden temple. Dr Bedi is credited with being a world leader and the pioneer in beating heart surgery and in the world’s first use of the radial artery in treatment of vascular disease of the leg. He has ben earlier bestowed the “Punjab Parman Patra” fro his services to Punjab.

SGPC honoring Dr. H.S.Bedi at Amritsar

Dr Bedi has recently hosted the prestigious “ International Master Class on Venous Disease  – 2011”  on 7-8^th Feb 2011 . In view of the extensive work on vascular disease being done in the CTVS Dept of CMC & H it was decided by an international panel to hold the workshop in Ludhiana. This is the first such workshop in North India .   Renowned surgeons, including Prof Jean-Francois Uhl (France), Dr Ted King (USA), Dr Mark Malouf (Australia) and Dr Benigini  (France), were invited to give their expertise so  that the latest techniques could be used to help people of this region. Extremely complicated cases were operated upon by the CMC surgeons with the visiting experts. Delegates from all over India participated to learn this new technique (endovenous thermal ablation) which has been perfected in CMC & H.   Dr Bedi took the visiting team to pay obeisance at the Harmandir Sahib.

According to Dr Bedi, chronic venous disease is quite common in India as most of our population works in the standing position, leading to pressure on the veins which dilate. It is estimated that over a lakh die due to venous disease (DVT and PE) each year – which is the equivalent of the disappearance of a city the size of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

With the new technique (endovenous thermal ablation) there is no large cut on the patient , no pain , no anesthesia , no hospital admission and an immediate return to work (compared to severe pain, need for general anesthesia and a 3-5 day admission and a 2 week leave from work). This workshop was attended by a large number of surgeons from all over India who were greatly helped by the workshop.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – reiterated that CMC was committed to bringing the latest technology to the people of this region...: Rector Kathuria

Band NCO Gets Grammy Nomination

From a West Point Band News Release
WEST POINT, N.Y., Feb. 8, 2011 - The West Point Band's newest audio engineer, Army Staff Sgt. Brandie Lane, was nominated for a Grammy in the category that will recognize last year's best-engineered classical music album.

Army Staff Sgt. Brandie Lane, a member of the West Point Band at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., is up for a Grammy Award for best-engineered Album. U.S. Army photo

Awarded by the Recording Academy, the Grammy honors excellence in the recording arts and sciences.
The album, "Quincy Porter: Complete Viola Works," also is nominated in two performance categories: best instrumental soloist performance with orchestra and best chamber music performance. Lane also has engineering credits on "Sarah Schuster Ericsson: 20th Century Harp Sonatas," nominated in the best instrumental soloist performance without orchestra category.
Before she joined the Army in July, Lane was the head audio engineer at Sono Luminus, a record label in Virginia that specializes in classical and jazz music. These albums were completed during her time there.
"It was truly an honor to be part of such a special project," Lane said. "The album was a fantastic melding of research and performance involving many world-class engineers, producers and performers.
"Many thanks to them, and the rest of the team at Sono Luminus for allowing me the opportunity to be a part of it. I feel proud to be representing the West Point Band and the Army Band program in such a positive way," she added.
Lane also has engineering credits on the 2008 Grammy-nominated album, "Ronn McFarlane: Indigo Road," which was in the classical crossover category.
The engineering and classical portions of the award ceremony will be streamed live at http://www.grammy.com before the live telecast Feb. 13. Lane will attend this event and the televised ceremony.

Airman's Lineage Spans Three Generations

By Mike Joseph of 502nd Air Base Wing LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, Feb. 7, 2011 - Growing up, Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Paxton knew it was only a matter time before he would follow in his family's boot prints. From left, Jack Paxton, Jr., Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Paxton and Jack Paxton talk about serving as military training instructors for the Air Force. U.S. Air Force photo by Alan Boedeker  Though family lineages in military service aren't uncommon, the Paxtons stand out for the way three generations chose to spend part of their Air Force careers. Paxton is now going down the same path chosen by his father and grandfather as a military training instructor. "Even when I was in high school, I knew I was going into the Air Force," said Paxton, who serves in the 323rd Training Squadron. "And I always knew at some point I was going to be a TI, because I thought it would be cool to be a third-generation TI." The Paxtons' military training instructor lineage started in 1970, when the sergeant's grandfather, Jack Paxton, arrived here from Vietnam. He joined the Air Force in 1954 to leave West Virginia, he said, "because there was really nothing for me there." He spent four years as a military training instructor here before retiring and taking a civilian job on the base. It wasn't long after his father's retirement before Jack Paxton Jr., one of six children, followed his lead into Air Force blue. "About a year after high school [in 1978], Dad woke me up one morning and said, 'You've got an appointment at the recruiter's office,'" the younger Jack Paxton said. "I didn't know what I wanted to do -- my dad nudged me along. If I could go back and do it all over again, I'd do the same thing." The "same thing" translated into an Air Force career. Twenty-two years later, he retired as a senior master sergeant. He spent eight of those years as a training instructor, section supervisor and superintendent. "I knew I wanted to be a TI because I grew up with my father being a military training instructor," he said. "The same thing with Jason -- he was around this environment when I was an MTI." Jason, who joined the Air Force in 2001, arrived here after deciding the time was right to apply for a military training instructor position. He was certified as an MTI in June. Perhaps it was destiny calling when Paxton was assigned to the 323rd TRS. The squadron is housed in the same recruit housing and training building where his father spent six years in the MTI corps. But that's not the only connection. Jack Paxton Jr. was the MTI for his son's current supervisor. So when the three generations of Paxtons gathered at the squadron recently, it was like coming home. "Jason runs into people all the time who knew me," the sergeant's father said. "When I see what Jason's going through, it brings me back. And every time I walk in this building, it's like nothing's changed. "I saw some trainees at parade rest [while I was coming in], and I almost yelled at them," he added with a laugh. But his personality and that of his father suggest otherwise. "Anybody who meets Dad and Grandpa knows they are very, very laid back -– big time," Paxton said. "Dad never brought it home. And if I didn't know, I'd have never thought Grandpa was a TI." His father quickly agreed about his own father. "People look at Dad as the nicest guy in the world," he said. The sergeant's grandfather said he enjoyed being an instructor and remembers his time here. "I still go back to the TI business in my dreams," he said. "It never leaves you. Sometimes I wake up marching, 'Hut, two, three, four.' Some of it is TI and [some is from Vietnam experiences]." All three Paxtons agree job satisfaction far outweighs the long hours and demands involved in being a military training instructor. "Three generations of TIs ... says something about the career field," Jack Paxton Jr. said. "I'd do it all over again. This was by far the best job I ever had."

Related Sites: Lackland Air Force Base

Workshop on Endo- Vascular Therapy at CMCH

Ludhiana: The Christian Medical College and Hospital(CMCH) here has been chosen to host the prestigious “International Master Class on Venous Disease – 2011”. Dr Harinder Singh Bedi, Head, Cardio-Vascular and Thoracic surgery Department, CMCH, said, “In view of the extensive work on vascular disease being done in the CTVS Dept of CMC & H it was decided by an international panel to hold the workshop in Ludhiana”. This is the first such workshop in North India.Dr Bedi had also delivered a guest lecture on redo-surgery at the last International Workshop. Dr Bedi is credited with being a world leader and the pioneer in beating heart surgery and in the world’s first use of the radial artery in treatment of vascular disease of the leg.

Renowned surgeons, including Prof Jean-Francois Uhl (France), Dr Ted King (USA), Dr Mark Malouf (Australia) and Dr Rene Milleret (France), will be assisting the CMC surgeons so that the latest techniques could be used to help people of this region.According to Dr Bedi, chronic venous disease is quite common in India as most of our population works in the standing position, leading to pressure on the veins which dilate. It is estimated that over a lakh die due to venous disease (DVT and PE) each year – which is the equivalent of the disappearance of a city the size of Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.The other members of the local faculty are Dr A Joseph, Dr A Gupta, Dr V Abraham, Dr V Bhasker, Dr A Bhardwaj, Dr P Gupta and Dr K Gupta.The conventional therapy of varicose veins is a major operation called stripping.It entails a long cut, pain, admission and a slow recovery. A revolutionary new technique called ‘Endovenous Thermal Ablation’ with a Radio Frequency Ablation (RFA) has been introduced and perfected at the CMC. It is this technique which will be discussed in detail at the workshop. Patients will have the advantage of having the best International experts in Ludhiana to lend their surgical skills.Dr.Abraham G Thomas - Director of CMC & H - reiterated that CMC was committed to bringing the latest technology to the people of this region.--Rector Kathuria

Taking part in a shura

Afghan government and International Security Assistance Force officials take part in a shura or meeting, with elders in Safidar village, Zabul province, Afghanistan, Feb. 1, 2011. The Zabul Provincial Reconstruction Team, Shinkai Detachment visited the village to talk with elders and help Afghan National Security Forces distribute winter supplies. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Shoes for a young gir

U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Manuel Delarosa finds a pair of shoes for a young girl while helping Afghan National Security Forces distribute winter supplies in Safidar village, Afghanistan, on Feb. 1, 2011. Delarosa is assigned to the Provincial Reconstruction Team Zabul, Shinkai Detachment. DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson, U.S. Air Force. (Released)

....when police vehicles could not respond

U.S. Army Spcs. Christopher Partin, left, and William Spencer, both with the 1175th Military Police Company, respond to a house fire with a county police officer in St. Louis County, Mo., Feb. 1, 2011. National Guardsmen were providing transportation for police emergencies when police vehicles could not respond following a severe winter storm that caused several Midwestern governors to declare states of emergency. (DoD photo by Spc. Jacqueline Courtney, U.S. Army/Released)

Assisting a stranded motorist

U.S. Army Spc. Daniel Logrosso, with the 139th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment, assists a stranded motorist on a highway in Illinois Feb. 1, 2011. Approximately 500 Illinois National Guardsmen were called to state active duty by Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn following a severe winter storm that caused several Midwestern governors to declare states of emergency. (DoD photo by Staff Sgt. Kassidy L Snyder, U.S. Army/Released)

'Cheetahs' Offer Swift Connection Home for Troops

By Elaine Wilson of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 - Deployed service members often count on connections home -- whether it's e-mail, Skype, Facebook or Twitter -- for encouragement, comfort or just a welcome diversion. Marine Corps Sgts. Wesley Johnson, left, and Robert Brown, both of the 1st Marine Logistics Group Exchange Detachment, set up a satellite dish for a morale satellite unit nicknamed the "Cheetah." These units offer free Internet access and phone service to service members deployed to remote locations in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo  But while Internet access has become a foregone conclusion on many large bases in Afghanistan, it's a different case in the more remote forward locations. Troops there may not have Internet access for weeks or months at a time. To remedy that, officials are racing portable satellite units, nicknamed "Cheetahs," to forward-deployed troops in the farthest reaches of Afghanistan. The name connotes speed, which the units deliver. Cheetahs come equipped with up to eight laptops, phones and a router to provide service members free, swift Internet access and crystal-clear Web or phone calls home. "When it was broken out, it was like Christmas morning," one deployed Marine said of the satellite unit. The Marine Corps started the program about two years ago to fill a communication gap for forward-deployed Marines, Jose Burgos of Marine Corps Community Services said. Timothy R. Larsen, director for the Marines' personal and family readiness division, asked his experts to come up with an idea that would enable Internet in some of the most remote, rugged spots in Afghanistan, he explained. They came up with a portable and highly efficient satellite unit, Burgos said, which they pieced together from equipment that already had proven successful in the field. The Marine Corps Community Support Morale Satellite Office, which manages the program for the Defense Department, successfully tested three units in Afghanistan in 2008. The benefits were evident, he said. Troops could set up and take the unit down in 20 minutes and run it off of a Humvee battery or generator. And since it's portable, it can be packed up and moved to any operation around the world at a moment's notice. Defense Department officials tracked the program's success, and the Pentagon's military community and family policy office pitched in with enough funds to add 35 more units in 2009 for Marine Corps, Army and Air Force use. U.S. Forces Afghanistan joined with the military community and family policy office to fund 100 more in 2010 to further increase the access to remote areas, explained Pam Crespi, director of morale, welfare and recreation policy for the office of military community and family policy. "Communication is the No. 1 morale factor in helping to cope with deployments," she said. "That's the driver behind our efforts. Because it's communication, it's one of our top priorities." The program that started with three units now has grown to more than 130 -- either in Afghanistan or on their way –- reaching troops in some of the most remote and austere deployed locations, Crespi said. The Marines' Cheetahs usually accompany a portable mini-post exchange -- loaded onto the back of a semi truck -- to an outpost, explained Joshua Montgomery, Wi-Fi and satellite communications manager for Marine Corps Community Services. News of the arrival spreads quickly, as does a line for the Cheetah. The line typically is longer for Cheetah use than for the PX, Montgomery noted. That's understandable, he added, since the service members may have gone months without talking to loved ones. "The service people are just happy. It doesn't cost them anything, and you can call directly back to your house," Montgomery said, noting the lines are so clear it's as if the person they're talking to is "right next door." One Marine, Burgos recalled, hadn't talked with his pregnant wife in three months. The Cheetah came to his outpost a day after his baby was born, and he was able to talk to his wife in the hospital. "Other stories like this one come back and make us feel real good," Montgomery said. For the first 13 Cheetah units dedicated to Marine use in Afghanistan, experts have tracked usage at about 3,500 phone calls and more than 8,600 Internet sessions per month, he said. Officials are looking to expand the unit's capability with more laptops. And the Marine Corps now sponsors a training component that offers a three-day course on operating the units to all services about four times a year, Montgomery said. The Cheetah program is part of an overall endeavor to increase Internet access across Afghanistan, Crespi explained, noting that troops already have access to more than 400 free Internet cafes in Afghanistan equipped with more than 4,000 personal computers and nearly 2,000 phones. The American Red Cross and USO also provide free Internet in their centers and canteens, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service offers a fee-based service to troops who want Internet access in their personal living areas.

Related Sites: Marine Corps Community Services Military Community and Family Policy

Marines in Afghanistan communicate with family and friends back home using morale satellite units nicknamed "Cheetahs." These units offer free Internet access and phone service to service members deployed to remote locations in Afghanistan. Courtesy photo

Super Bowl Mania Grabs Deployed Troops

By Donna Miles of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Feb. 4, 2011 - The 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team, which deployed to Afghanistan in August as part of the 30,000-troop surge, isn't going to let 7,500 miles and a 10-and-a-half-hour time difference keep its soldiers from doing exactly what they'd be doing back home at Fort Campbell, Ky.: cheering on their favorite team during Super Bowl XLV. Super Bowl mania is alive and well in Afghanistan, where members of the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team are gearing up to watch the big game live via American Forces Radio and Television Service. Here, Army Sgt. Kali Tackitt, left, and Army Staff Sgt. Todd Christopherson display their conflicting loyalties. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Matthew Graham  Excitement is mounting at Forward Operating Base Sharana as many "Currahee Brigade" soldiers lay plans to watch the big game live. The brigade will postpone all but the most critical of its regular nighttime meetings so troops can hit their racks early to get up to watch the game, reported Army Maj. Ali Johnson, the brigade public affairs officer. For troops in Afghanistan, the kickoff will be at 5 a.m. local time Feb. 7. Assembling around TVs being set up in morale, welfare and recreation tents and conference rooms around the base, they'll join their comrades in arms in 175 countries and aboard Navy ships at sea in an annual tradition that's as all-American as Thanksgiving and apple pie. American Forces Radio and Television Service has delivered the Super Bowl live since the game's inception in January 1967. Servicemembers at Joint Base Balad in Iraq, where it will be 2:30 a.m. at kickoff, are gearing up for the festivities, too, reported Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Lensch, a member of the Army Reserve's 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command's personal security team. Posters around the base are heralding the big event, and big flat-screen TVs will take center stage during myriad Super Bowl parties being planned. "I think there are going to be a lot of people up all night watching the Super Bowl," Lensch said. "A lot of people are going to be walking around like zombies the next day," he added with a chuckle. The Defense Logistics Agency has worked to make deployed troops' Super Bowl experience as down-home as possible, complete with all the chicken wings, pizza and chili they can handle, reported Nick Sistrun from DLA's Troop Support activity. In addition, DLA shipped almost 1,900 cases of mozzarella sticks, 1,300 cases of jalepeno poppers, 1,200 cases of meatballs and more than 1,500 cases of potato wedges to Iraq and Afghanistan, he said. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bradley Huber, a food service technician for the 103rd Expeditionary Sustainment Command in Iraq, plans to serve up a big selection of pizza and finger foods during the game. And in a special exception to policy -- one that Army Lt. Col. Gerard "Gerry" Schwarz, the unit's deputy support operations officer, emphasized is closely controlled -- the troops will get two beers each to drink during the game. "There's only one time in the course of the year in Iraq that we are allowed to have two beers: Super Bowl Sunday," he said. As the sustainers responsible for logistics distribution throughout Iraq, the 103rd tracked those deliveries just as closely as it monitors distribution of the Thanksgiving and Christmas meals, he said. "We're a 24-hour operation, so those who are finishing up the end of the night shift will be able to watch that game live and have their two beers and their pizza," Schwarz said. "And those of us that work during the day will have to wait until our shift is over and watch the rebroadcast, but we'll be able to go to the dining facility and have two beers and pizza." Because of the early morning kickoff time in Afghanistan, Task Force Currahee plans to provide a lumberjack breakfast rather than traditional Super Bowl fare, Johnson said. And instead of beer, the soldiers will wash down their chow with coffee and juice. Johnson called the opportunity to watch the Super Bowl live a huge morale boost for deployed troops. The Super Bowl, after all, represents a lot more than just good times and good food with family and friends, he said. "It represents a small piece or tradition of America," Johnson said. "Soldiers enjoy being able to cheer for their favorite teams, talk trash and enjoy the camaraderie of their fellow soldiers while being away from home with their military extended family. Any event like this that gives soldiers the opportunity to take a breather is always good for morale." Although they see themselves as a band of brothers in their combat mission, the Currahee soldiers exhibit some distinct differences in their team loyalties. Army Sgt. Kali Tackitt, a supply sergeant from Auburn, Calif., comes from a family of die-hard Green Bay Packers fans. In fact, Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, who earned most valuable player honors in the first two Super Bowls -- wrote her uncle a letter back when he was 9 years old, and it's been passed down through her family as a prized heirloom. Like many of her fellow Packers fans, Tackitt said she's suffered along with her team as it endured injuries and "unfortunate losses" over the season. "But we made it through, and it showed all the haters what we are all about," she said. "I will be a Packers fan in good times and bad times, and trust and believe I will be wearing my cheesehead hat and my Aaron Rodgers or Greg Jennings jersey on the night of the 6th. ... I am super excited for my team to be in the Super Bowl, and I cannot wait until they earn their ring!" Army Staff Sgt. Todd Christopherson, the brigade's public affairs noncommissioned officer in charge from Rapid City, S.D., feels as passionately about the Pittsburgh Steelers. "The Pittsburgh Steelers have been my team since I can remember watching the black-and-gold with my father, who is also a diehard fan, in the lean years back before the '70s," he said. "They played with heart and fire even when they were a losing team." Christopherson remembered watching his very first live football game at Pittsburgh's old Three Rivers Stadium. He thrilled to roar of the spectators, whom he called "those nuts -- my kind of people," many of them wearing no shirts despite the bitter cold. "It was a sight to see and hear," he recalled with pride. The experience Christopherson expects and that he and his fellow soldiers will enjoy this weekend, transcends football, he said. "It was not just about the game or the fans," he said. "It was about good old-fashioned American pride. You may win, but by God, you will know you were in a game and damn sure worked for it." Although mission requirements will prevent him from being able to watch the game live, Lensch called the chance to watch the Super Bowl live a great escape for troops thousands of miles from home. "It just takes you away," he said, comparing it to his experience as he sat with about 200 fellow soldiers during his last deployment to Iraq watching the "Ice Age 2" movie. "For that short amount of time, it feels like you're not here," he said. "You can forget about everything and just take all the weight off your shoulders." (Army Staff Sgt. Matthew Graham of the 101st Airborne Division's Task Force Currahee and Nick Sistrun of the DLA Troop Support activity contributed to this article.)

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