Minimally Invasive Surgery to Rescue of Patients

Mini Sternotomy Thymectomy CMC

Master Sanjay Kumar - 9/M - S/o Mr Karam Raj – a factory worker of Hisar–suffered from a serious malady called myasthenia gravis in which the muscles of the body get tired very fast. This can have serious consequences as the patient may be unable to breathe at all. The cause is an auto-immune disorder in which the body produces a poison against its own muscle receptors.  In a number of such cases cure can be got by removing a tumour called a thymoma which is present in most of these patients. The surgery requires a long cut in the front of the chest and can be quite a cosmetic problem for the patient.

In such cases a unique surgery has been devised in the Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Department of the Christian Medical College & Hospital. Dr Harinder Singh Bedi – Head of CVTS – said that instead of a long midline cut and a complete division of the breast bone – an alternative is used. Here the cut is a small transverse one and the bone is cut only partially. The completeness of the surgery is not compromised in any way. The tumour was completely removed. Sanjay is now a happy boy.  His scar is not visible at all.

Such keyhole surgeries increase the acceptance of surgery in some patients esp young ladies who tend to avoid even life saving therapies in fear of perceived cosmetic disadvantage. Dr Bedi – who is a world leader in minimally invasive cardiac surgery with his name in the Limca Book of World Records for the Worlds first keyhole cardiac surgery using a cath lab in OT – told that the same technique can now be applied to other cardiac surgeries also .The other members of the team are Dr.Allen Joseph, Dr.Arun Gupta, Dr.Muneesh, Dr.Viju Abraham, Dr.Pranay Pawar and Dr.Richa.

Dr Abraham G Thomas – Director of CMC & H – said that it was a matter of great pride for Punjab as the Limca recorded World first surgery had been developed in Punjab itself. He told that the CMC was always committed to be in the forefront of any technology which will help the patients of this region.       Report by --Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria 

Top Enlisted Leaders Focus on Families

By Elaine Sanchez  American Forces Press Service CHICAGO : Building resilience in families and ensuring they have access to effective support programs are just a few of the steps the services are taking to ensure a high quality of life for troops and their families, the services' senior enlisted leaders said during a town hall meeting here yesterday. Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlton W. Kent addresses an audience of family support professionals during a senior enlisted advisor town hall meeting at the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 28, 2011. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez  "At the end of the day, we as a nation don't do well promoting resiliency ... that ability to bounce back," Sgt. Maj. of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III said. "If we can instill [resilience] in our soldiers and in families ... we believe we're going to have a stronger force, and we need a stronger force to get through these challenges." Chandler was joined by Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West, Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlton W. Kent, Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy and Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt for the meeting at the 2011 Family Resilience Conference, hosted by the Defense and Agriculture departments. Their wives also attended the meeting, with the exception of West's wife, who is working for the Navy in Afghanistan. The leaders stressed the importance of leadership when working to build resilience in servicemembers and their families. "It starts at the top and has to work itself down," West told the packed audience of family support professionals. Marines often are reluctant to get help, Kent noted, which underscores the importance of strong leadership. "Marines see the horrors of combat each and every day," Kent said. However, he added, many Marines believe they'll be considered weak if they ask for help. "But if they're hearing from the leadership and up, the families and the Marines will come forward," he said. "We're breaking that mould right now; we're getting away from that stigma. If you've got a problem, come forward. We're going to get you fixed and keep you in the fight." Kent's statements were met by a round of applause. Chandler lauded his service's Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program, which is designed to build resilience in soldiers and family members through tools such as an online assessment and modules tailored for specific needs. Building on that program's success, the Air Force has adopted a version called Comprehensive Airman Fitness, Roy said. The Air Force also is looking at its support programs to see which ones are effective and which aren't working, he added. Roy acknowledged concerns about support programs being cut due to budget constraints. "I will tell you, on behalf of all of us ... we're out to protect some of those things, too, because we know how important they are," he said. "But the fact of the matter is, we're not going to be able to protect everything," Roy continued. "We've got to select the right programs for our people -- military members and the family members. We've got to ... make sure those programs are sustainable throughout time." West said he's often spoken to families who are "overwhelmed with support." Chandler agreed, noting it's an issue he often runs into in his meetings with families. "There's so much information ... and where do you find it?" he said. "How do we have a clearinghouse where you go to one place that you can get to all the information, that it's easily navigable? What's out there and how do I get access to it?" While too much support is better than not enough, West noted, the services, particularly in this time of "jointness," need to work together to consolidate support programs. "[There are] some things that we can't bring together -- they're service specific. But where we can we will," he said. "We're going to look at our programs and utilize the ones that will be good for our families as we go forward." The senior leaders and their wives took several questions from the audience during the session, which ranged from the need to spread the word about family support professionals to the importance of reaching out and connecting to geographically separated families. Roy's wife, Paula, lauded the White House's new "Joining Forces" military family-support campaign, which emphasizes everyone can do something, whether individuals, communities or organizations. "We all can send an email, make a phone call, we all can do something," she said. One audience member asked the leaders what they believed were military families' most pressing challenges. Kent said he's concerned about the impact of post-traumatic stress on troops and their families. His wife, Liz, said she most often hears concerns about quality child care, education, the time lag to get a medical appointment and difficulties finding doctors off-base who accept TRICARE. Spouse employment is another pressing issue across the services. The leaders wrapped up the session by reiterating their commitment to military families. "We recruit Marines but we retain families and that's a fact," Kent said. "They are important because they sacrifice so much." (Issued on:April 29, 2011)

Biographies: Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III  Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West Sgt. Maj. of the Marine Corps Carlton W. Kent  Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy  Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt  Related Sites: Video Blog With Rick D. West Family Matters Blog Conference to Spotlight Military Family Issues

Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick D. West addresses an audience of family support professionals during a senior enlisted advisor town hall meeting at the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 28, 2011. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez  Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution Sergeant Major of the Army Raymond F. Chandler III and his wife, Jeanne, address an audience of family support professionals during a senior enlisted advisor town hall meeting at the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 28, 2011. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy, with his wife, Paula, by his side, addresses an audience of family support professionals during a senior enlisted advisor town hall meeting at the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 28, 2011. To his right are Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Michael P. Leavitt and his wife, Debbie. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution Audience members enjoy a senior enlisted town hall meeting during the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 28, 2011. Nearly 2,000 family support professionals from around the world attended the conference. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez  Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution

Amnesty International Condemns Public Executions

Amnesty International Media Release 
Thursday, April 28, 2011 

Amnesty International Condemns Sharp Rise in Public Executions as Iran Executes First Juvenile Offenders in 2011

New York: Amnesty International has condemned a sharp rise in the rate of executions in public in Iran – which have included the first executions of juvenile offenders in the world this year. 
Since the start of 2011, up to 13 men have been hanged in public, compared to 14 such executions recorded by Amnesty International from official Iranian sources in all of 2010. Eight of those executions have taken place since April 16. 
On April 20, two juvenile offenders – identified only as "A.N" and "H.B" - were among three individuals hanged in public in Bandar Abbas, southern Iran, after being convicted over a rape and murder committed when they were only 17. A fourth man was hanged at the same time for rape. 
"Yet again, Iran has distinguished itself by being the only country this year to execute juvenile offenders. No more juvenile offenders must die at the hands of the state," said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, deputy director of Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa Program. 

"Not only were these young men executed for crimes committed when aged under 18, but their executions were carried out in public. Public executions are not only a violation of the right to life, but are a gross affront to human dignity which cannot be tolerated." 

On April 16, three men were also hanged in public in Shiraz for murder, armed robbery and kidnapping. A fourth man was hanged on the same day near Kazeroun in Fars Province after being convicted of four counts of murder. 

Public executions in Iran are usually carried out by cranes which lift the condemned person by a noose around the neck. They are advertised in advance. 

Iran is one of the only countries that still imposes the death penalty on juvenile offenders - those convicted of an alleged crime committed before they were 18 - and was the only country known to have executed a juvenile offender in 2010. Executions of juvenile offenders are strictly prohibited under international law. 

United Nations human rights experts have made it clear that executions in public serve no legitimate interest and only increase the cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of this punishment. 

"It is deeply disturbing that despite a moratorium on public executions ordered in 2008, the Iranian authorities are once again seeking to intimidate people by such spectacles which not only dehumanize the victim, but brutalize those who witness it," said Sahraoui. 

There was a sharp rise in the rate of executions in Iran in December 2010 and January 2011, with at least 86 people executed in January alone. The rate fell significantly in February 2011, after international condemnation of the rise, but has risen again since the end of the Iranian New Year holiday in early April. 

According to official sources, at least 135 people – ten in public - have been executed so far this year. Credible reports suggest over 40 others - three of which were said to have taken place in public in Salmas, north-west Iran, in February – have also taken place, which have not been acknowledged by the authorities. 

United Nations human rights bodies have also stressed the need for states which carry out executions to be transparent about their use of the death penalty. The U.N. General Assembly has passed three resolutions calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions. 

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied. 

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With the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team

U.S. Navy Fire Controlman 2nd Class Roger Bailey, with the visit, board, search and seizure (VBSS) team assigned to guided missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94), prepares to search for contraband after boarding the guided missile frigate USS Thach (FFG 43) from a rigid hull inflatable boat during a training exercise with Thach off the coast of Brazil April 24, 2011. Nitze and Thach were deployed in support of Southern Seas 2011. Southern Seas is a U.S. Southern Command-directed operation designed to strengthen relationships with regional partner nations and improve operational readiness for all assigned units. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Stuart Phillips, U.S. Navy/Released)

Face of Defense: Surgeon Slated for Training Post

By Donna Miles  American Forces Press Service LANDSTUHL, Germany, April 27, 2011 - The top trauma surgeon who oversees the care of the most severely wounded warriors at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here soon will take his experience and expertise to train other Air Force medical personnel in trauma care at the Baltimore Shock Trauma Center. Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Raymond Fang, director of trauma at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center,Germany, for the past seven years, will share his experience in training others at the Air Force's Center for the Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills program in Baltimore. DOD photo by Donna Miles  Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Raymond Fang, director of trauma at Landstuhl for the past seven years, will serve as director of the Air Force's Center for the Sustainment of Trauma and Readiness Skills program –- known as "C-STARS" -– which is affiliated with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and Medical Center. The state-of-the-art center admits more than 7,000 trauma patients and performs more than 8,000 surgeries per year. It's the longest-standing of three C-STARS programs the Air Force Expeditionary Medical Skills Institute runs in conjunction with civilian hospital trauma centers. The others are at St. Louis University and the University of Cincinnati. The Army and Navy have similar programs, Fang noted. The Army runs its program through the Army Team Training Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center in Miami. The Navy Trauma Training Center is affiliated with the Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center. The Air Force's C-STARS program started about 10 years ago, when the military saw very few trauma patients, and with only a few exceptions, looked to civilian trauma centers to treat military trauma patients. "So in order to maintain trauma care experience, the military knew it had to engage with civilian centers that are busy," Fang said. Now through C-STARS, Air Force physicians, nurses and medical technicians rotate through these trauma centers, working side by side with civilian medical staff as they provide hands-on trauma patient care under the supervision of military and civilian staff. "They embed a team of Air Force personnel who on a daily basis take care of trauma patients and sick patients to maintain that experience," Fang said. The Cincinnati program is dedicated to training medical professionals for the critical care air transport team mission that treats the most critical patients during aeromedical evacuations. But in Baltimore, Fang will take his vast experience gained treating service members evacuated from Iraq and Afghanistan to prepare other Air Force medical personnel to follow in his footsteps. Civilian trauma patients typically suffer from blunt trauma from a car or motorcycle accident or a penetrating trauma from a gunshot or stabbing, he explained. Combat wounded troops frequently suffer both, he added, as well as blast injuries. "With these blast injuries, you get the blunt part of the concussive wave, you get the penetrating part of the fragment, you get the heat part with the burns," he said. "You also get the blast component: the shock wave, the pressure wave of the blast itself. So we have four mechanisms in one. It's our most common mechanism of injury here." Fang said the C-STARS program helps to pass critical trauma-care skills to Air Force medical staffs. "As other Air Force members prepare to go downrange, they come and rotate with you, and you give them an immersion experience in how to take care of this patient population," he said. "We take our own personal experience, we take real patient situations and we try to let the people who rotate with us learn from what we have all learned already, rather than relearn things or make things up on their own."

Related Sites: Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

Gordon Cites Need for Expanded Family Support Networks

By Elaine Sanchez American Forces Press Service CHICAGO, April 27, 2011 - The Defense Department is working to expand and integrate its network of military and civilian helping professionals to ensure military families receive the support and care they need for years to come, the DOD official who oversees family programs said here today. Robert L. Gordon III, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, addresses the nearly 2,000 family-support professionals attending the 2011 Family Resilience Conference in Chicago, April 27, 2011. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez  "History has shown that by combining our resources, we can meet any challenge, in any circumstance. ... It's our greatest strength," Robert L. Gordon III, deputy assistant secretary of defense for military community and family policy, said. Gordon touched on the importance of collaboration in military family support during his remarks to nearly 2,000 family-support specialists attending the opening session of the 2011 Family Resilience Conference, hosted by the Defense and Agriculture departments. The joint conference is fitting, Gordon noted, since the Defense and Agriculture departments share a common goal of improving the health and well-being of "those we serve." "Our coordinated efforts are important not only to our military families, but to all citizens in our local communities," he said. Promoting the well-being of military families is more important now, in these "unprecedented, challenging times," than ever before, Gordon said. "In the past few weeks alone, our military communities have experienced natural disasters –- earthquakes, tsunamis, wildfires, blizzards, floods and tornadoes," he said. "Add to this the nature of military living, current fiscal concerns and the everyday realities of life. "I am absolutely confident that together we will support, serve and strengthen our military families," he continued, "not only to navigate the unique aspects of military life, but also to thrive in the wake of life's uncertainties." Gordon said Americans can learn a great deal from military families. In a recent blog post, he asked military spouses what they wanted potential employers to know about them and received this response: "We have a deep pride in being military spouses and being the support behind our service member. [With] every challenge that we face, we become better and stronger through it." "How can we take that type of resilience and translate it for use by other vulnerable populations?" Gordon said. "How can we capture, develop and advance the ability to overcome adversity and to thrive?" These are just some of the questions the conference participants can address this week, he said, expressing his confidence in the potential results. "The answers to the problems we face are in this room and in our communities," Gordon said.

Biographies: Robert L. Gordon III  Related Sites: Conference on Twitter Conference on Facebook Family Matters Blog Conference to Spotlight Military Family Issues

Landstuhl Provides Advanced Care for Wounded Warriors

By Donna Miles  American Forces Press Service LANDSTUHL, Germany, April 27, 2011 - The pace never slows at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here, the largest U.S. military medical facility outside the United States and the first stop for wounded troops evacuated from the war zones. More than 61,000 U.S. and coalition service members, civilian employees and contractors have been flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, since January 2004.              DOD photo by Donna Miles  More than 61,000 U.S. and coalition service members, civilian employees and contractors have been flown here since January 2004, public affairs officer Chuck Roberts reported. And with operations beginning to escalate in Afghanistan as spring sets in, the pace sees no sign of letting up. About 12,700 of Landstuhl's patients since 2004 have been battle-injured, about that same number have been able to return to duty "downrange" after treatment here, Roberts said. But for the vast majority of patients who arrive here, Landstuhl serves as a way point on the trip from the war zone to higher-level medical care in the United States. This en route hub, where patients receive the most advanced "Level 4" medical care, is critical in the process of continually moving combat wounded to ever-increasing levels of care, Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Raymond Fang, director of trauma care here, told reporters. "Downrange, they have limited holding space, so they have to move people," he said. "If they don't move people quickly, they will quickly be overwhelmed." Most combat casualties arrive here within three days of being wounded, Fang said, noting that Landstuhl has "the luxury of keeping people a little longer and being able to surge for a little bit longer." The goal, he explained, is to stabilize patients until it is safe to move them to the United States or, in the case of coalition forces, their home country, for continued care. "We try to ensure people don't move from our facility until they are truly ready to be safely moved," typically within about three days, Fang said. "We look at them, we make sure no injuries are missed, ... [and] we keep them until we feel from our experience that it is safe for them to move onward." Experience is one of the most important qualities Landstuhl's 3,000-member staff brings to the mission. Unlike in the combat theater, which experiences constant personnel turnover as medical staffs regularly deploy and redeploy, Landstuhl's staff members typically serve at least three years. "We take our role very seriously, acting as the corporate memory [and] corporate knowledge," Fang said. After seven years as trauma director here, Fang brings a nearly unprecedented level of expertise to the table as he oversees the care of the most seriously wounded incoming patients. That's critical at a time when Landstuhl is seeing some of the most severely wounded patients of the war, based on the Injury Severity Scale index used in civilian trauma centers. "In the past year or so, our average ISS score for our [intensive care unit] patients -- who we really focus on, because they are the most significantly injured –- have been the highest in the war," Fang said. "These patients are young, they are fit and they have the best protection available right now, but their injuries are very severe," he said. Civilian trauma patients typically suffer from blunt trauma from a car or motorcycle accident or a penetrating trauma from a gunshot or stabbing, Fang explained. Combat wounded troops frequently suffer both, he added, as well as blast injuries. "With these blast injuries, you get the blunt part of the concussive wave, you get the penetrating part of the fragment, you get the heat part with the burns," he said. "You also get the blast component: the shock wave, the pressure wave of the blast itself. So we have four mechanisms in one. It's our most common mechanism of injury here." Despite the severity of their wounds, Fang reported an amazing survivability rate among wounded warriors who arrive at Landstuhl. "You have a greater than 99 percent chance of survival if you can make it to us," he said, citing 2010 statistics. "That is really unprecedented." Most of the fewer than 1 percent who have died after arriving at Landstuhl suffered nonsurvivable injuries, but were brought to Germany to reunite with their families, he added. Fang attributed the striking survival rate to a well-developed medical system that gets battlefield casualties medical treatment faster and closer to the point of injury than ever before and moves them to progressively more-advanced care facilities. That, he said, is an important factor. "These patients, by our grading scales, are much more injured, and yet they are doing well," Fang said.

Related Sites: Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

Celebrate clearing of a test

 Iraqi police students celebrate passing a building clearing test at a police academy in Basra, Iraq, April 20, 2011. (DoD photo by Spc. Jared Forsyth, U.S. Army/Released)

Face of Defense: 9/11 Memories Motivate Officer

By Paul Taylor Pentagon Force Protection Agency WASHINGTON, April 26, 2011 - For Zelma Owens -- then a uniformed officer with the Defense Protective Service -- the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attack on the Pentagon set in motion a career path that has led to her current position as an antiterrorism officer with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Zelma Owens serves as an antiterrorism officer with the Pentagon Force Protection Agency's antiterrorism and force protection directorate. DOD photo by Paul Taylor  "It was a loud boom, and the building shook," she recalled. "I thought somebody had pushed one of those big safes and knocked it over, and I thought 'Why would somebody do that?' Then everybody started coming out of their offices screaming, 'We've been hit! We've been hit!'" For Owens, the attack began a long series of days with little rest as she helped to secure the site, establish a force protection perimeter and manage the massive influx of investigators, rescuers and others involved with the recovery effort. Today, Owens still works for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, but she has traded in her uniform for civilian attire, serving in the agency's antiterrorism and force protection directorate, working with managers of Defense Department-leased facilities in the national capital region. "We advise them on their antiterrorism plans," she explained. "That means helping them conduct vulnerability assessments, threat assessments and criticality assessments. For me, it's actually helping people to go through the process of determining how they are going to respond to certain types of emergencies. That's what I like about the job." In addition to developing and maintaining antiterrorism and force protection plans for more than 20 leased facilities, Owens also represents her directorate for table-top exercises with the agency's training directorate. "Zelma is one of my budding superstars," said Jim Pelkofski, antiterrorism and force protection director. "The more I get to know her and the more I learn her talents, the more I lean on her, and the more tasks and responsibilities I push her way. "I've very much placed her in an operational role within the organization, because I see that kind of talent in her," he added. "I really think highly of her. She has a great attitude. She has a great level of knowledge." Owens began gathering that knowledge with the Pentagon police in 1997. Before 9/11, she was a liaison from the police to the antiterrorism and force protection directorate. "That was my first experience with [the directorate], and my interest grew," she said, especially in 9/11's immediate aftermath. "We had to identify guard positions, define how many officers were going to work each post, what their hours would be, and we had to do it quickly," she said. "That was my first experience in helping to develop mitigation measures for an [antiterrorism] plan." She earned two promotions in the Pentagon police department, attaining the rank of lieutenant and becoming responsible for "random antiterrorism measures" -- security measures that routinely change their look and type to make it difficult for terrorists to predict challenges they would face in an attack -– on the Pentagon reservation. She was hired into her current position in 2006. Owens said it's easy to understand why she's passionate about her job. "Saving lives," she said. "I'm in the business of saving lives."

Related Sites: Pentagon Force Protection Agency

First Lady Aims to Improve Military Families' Lives

By Elaine Sanchez American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, April 25, 2011 - First Lady Michelle Obama stood tall behind a podium in the White House's East Room, her husband close at hand, as she addressed a packed audience of high-ranking military and government officials. First Lady Michelle Obama greets a member of the Camp Lejeune community during the "Joining Forces" campaign kickoff at the Goettge Memorial Field House at Camp Lejeune, N.C., April 13, 2011. The White House launched the campaign to raise awareness about the challenges facing military families and to urgeall Americans to support them. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Damany S. Coleman  Although it was a high-powered crowd, the first lady wasn't there for the officials or for the star-studded brass. She was there to speak for military families. As the flashes of hundreds of cameras lit the room, the first lady unveiled an unprecedented initiative intended to draw the entire nation together in support of military families. This is about "the extraordinary military families who serve and sacrifice so much every day," Obama said. One Marine wife, tightly gripping her husband's hand, wiped away tears. The event marked not only the launch of the "Joining Forces" campaign, but also the culmination of a long journey to improve military families' lives. Over the past two years the first lady, with Dr. Jill Biden at her side, has traveled to bases -- stateside and overseas -– to meet with military spouses and to advocate for funding on their behalf. "This is the moment that we've been working toward for such a very long time," she said. For Obama, it's a journey that began even before her husband took the oath of office. Just over two years ago, she hit the campaign trail and met with working women to discuss the challenges of balancing work and family while "staying sane." During those talks, she heard from a segment of society she hadn't heard from before, the first lady told American Forces Press Service in a recent interview. "They were military moms and grandmothers and sisters who were handling all of the stresses that we were handling, only adding on the multiple deployments, multiple transfers, trying to finish education," she said. Obama heard from mothers who were trying to keep their children settled as they moved from base to base, and from spouses who were having trouble with job certifications. She recalled one military couple that was trying to adopt. Each time they moved, they had to fill out new paperwork, needlessly drawing out the process. The first lady was taken aback by what she'd heard. Growing up in Chicago, she'd had little contact with military families. Her father had served in the Army, but that was before she was born. She had little knowledge of the challenges associated with military life, including the frequent moves and school transfers, and multiple deployments. The stories she heard "took my breath away," Obama said, and also sparked a passion for military family support. "One thing I vowed on that campaign trail as I got to know these women –- and some men, of course –- [was] that if I had the privilege of serving as first lady, I'd use this platform to shine a light on these issues," she said. Obama said she was thrilled to find out that the vice president's wife shares her passion. Biden is part of a military family with first-hand knowledge of the challenges they face. Biden's son, Beau, is a member of the Delaware Army National Guard and, as a military mom, she had her own struggles when he deployed to Iraq a few years ago. "The first time we met, I asked her what she wanted to work on, and it was military families," the first lady recalled. Obama and Biden together set out to first "shine a light" on military families, then to call on the nation to take steps to increase the support offered to them. Just last week, Obama and Biden embarked on a two-day, nationwide tour to promote military family support. They made stops in Colorado, Texas, North Carolina and Ohio during their whirlwind trip. They attended a math and science competition and an employment event, and stopped by a celebration for pregnant military spouses. At an event in Ohio, the first lady talked about the impact of frequent moves on spouses seeking jobs. "We see them trying to build seniority at their jobs, but seeing that they have to keep starting over every time that they move to a new duty station," she said at a national retailer's distribution center. "And that's not easy, particularly when so many employers see a resume with multiple jobs as a red flag, rather than as a reality of military life." To assist, Obama is calling on businesses to recruit and hire military spouses and veterans, and asking them to make their workplaces more military-spouse-friendly, with flexible work schedules and portable jobs. In Colorado, the first lady focused on education at the Fountain-Fort Carson High School in Colorado Springs. She spoke of a national math and science initiative that's working with the Defense Department and partners in the private sector to expand a program called the "Initiative for Military Families." This program, she explained, provides advanced placement courses in math and science to schools and areas with high military populations. Military life equips children with special skill sets such as responsibility and flexibility, she noted at the event. "And when you use that knowledge alongside with what you'll be learning in these math and science courses and other classes, there's no telling what you guys will be able to do and what you'll be able to achieve," she told the students gathered there. Their last stop was in Columbus, Ohio, where they hosted a concert-style event for local military families and community members. First up was teen idol Nick Jonas of the Jonas Brothers, followed by the cast of Sesame Street. Both were tough acts to follow, especially with an audience of primarily children and teens. But their introduction by Elmo was met by a thunderous round of applause. As in their other stops, the first lady asked the audience a few simple questions. "Jill and I believe that everyone -- everyone -- can do something, even boys and girls. Everyone can do something to support a military family. And everyone can ask themselves, 'What can I do? How can I give back?'" Following her remarks, the first lady stepped off the stage and into the crowd to mingle with military families. She shook hands and shared hugs, taking time to greet each person with a warm smile and a few words of gratitude. Their aim, Obama said, is to connect troops and their families -– who make up only 1 percent of the nation –- with the other 99 percent of Americans. "I think that most Americans are like I was -- not aware," she said. "But I believe that if we're made to be aware, that we step up." Obama said the best way to raise awareness is to pass on military families' stories. She cited a few that have remained at the forefront of her mind. One young woman she met stepped up to care for her family after her father was severely burned. While her mother tended to her father, the 15-year-old girl cared for her younger brothers and sisters. She cooked, cleaned and helped them with their homework, the first lady said. That young woman is now in college, she said, marveling at "the strength and maturity that it took for her to change her life." "She did it because, in her own words, 'My family needed me,'" the first lady said. In another family, a sister gave up her career as a nurse to move in with her brother and take care of him after he was injured and lost both of his legs, she said. And many of these families are serving not just in the military, but in the community as well, Obama said. "They're the coaches, they're the heads of PTA, they're the ones leading the bake sales, they're the ones supporting each other," she said. "In addition to all the burdens they already have, they're finding ways to reach out and be the best Americans that this country has to offer." Obama said she's touched by the stories she's heard, but now it's time for the rest of the nation to hear them. "These aren't stories of sadness," she said. "They're stories of success, triumph and coming together and unifying. These are the stories the country needs to be motivated by." In the coming months, companies, businesses, nonprofit groups and individuals will be rolling out new initiatives and programs for military families to assist them with everything from employment and education to mental health and wellness. Federal agencies also will continue to pursue the nearly 50 commitments they made earlier this year through the Presidential Study Directive 9, a governmentwide effort to improve military families' lives. And Obama will continue to showcase the nation's efforts to improve military family support. The first lady said she would like to weave her efforts into the fabric of the nation so "when we're long gone and the next president has taken office, this is just something we do, that all sectors of society will have figured out how to incorporate this into their mission now and forever." Above all, Obama wants military families to know their nation will support them over the long haul. It's "making sure that you know that from the president of the United States on down, we're behind you," she said. "Hopefully, families will see they live in a nation that truly cares."

Related Sites: Special Report: Joining Forces  Joining Forces Campaign

First Lady Michelle Obama greets National Guard and local families during a "Joining Forces" community event in Columbus, Ohio, April 14, 2011. The national initiative she launched with Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, calls on all sectors of society to honor and support military families. DOD photo by Elaine Sanchez  Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution First Lady Michelle Obama urges all Americans to show their support for service members and their families during the launch of "Joining Forces," an initiative to raise awareness about the challenges facing military families, April 12, 2011. DOD photo by Linda Hosek Download screen-resolution Download high-resolution

Protection Agency Keeps Pentagon Safe

By Paul Taylor  Pentagon Force Protection Agency WASHINGTON, April 25, 2011 - It is said that a successful terrorist only has to get it right once, while successful antiterrorism and force-protection professionals must get it right all the time –- 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year, without fail. Left to right, Joseph Odom, facility antiterrorism officer, meets with Pentagon Force Protection Agency antiterrorism integrated vulnerability assessment team members Walter Jones and Howard Gillespie, along with Linwood Barrett, PFPA's facility antiterrorism officer, to discuss vulnerabilities of the Pentagon executive motor pool, March 23, 2011. DOD photo by Shannon Giles  It can be a daunting task for anyone concerned about protecting themselves and their property from a terrorist attack. So imagine being responsible for protecting a 280-acre complex in the heart of one of the world's busiest urban centers that is perhaps one of the most iconic symbols of American power and already has been the target of one of the most audacious acts of terrorism in history. One of the organizations charged with protecting that complex -- the Pentagon Reservation -- is the Pentagon Force Protection Agency's antiterrorism and force protection directorate. In addition to the Pentagon Reservation, the directorate also aids in protecting the more than 100 Defense Department-leased facilities in the national capital region, as well as the soon-to-open Mark Center in Alexandria, Va., which eventually will house more than 6,000 DOD workers. According to Jim Pelkofski, director of antiterrorism and force protection for the Pentagon Force Protection Agency, DOD officials consider antiterrorism force protection as an operational mission area. "And with a mission comes an attitude: 'I'm going to create a hard target, I'm going to be well-armed, I'm going to be visible, and I'm going to give a perennial show of force so that anybody looking from the outside-in realizes that this one's too hard -- this is not the target for me,'" he said. PFPA's Pentagon police directorate ultimately bears most of the agency's burden, he added. "[The Pentagon police are] the muscle of this agency –- they are the hard target," he said. "We help them with aspects of their mission; help them to build their muscle with things like the random antiterrorism measures program, force protection measures and others." Pelkofski's directorate hosts monthly meetings of a threat working group made up mainly of representatives from PFPA directorates, but also including interested organizations such as Washington Headquarters Services, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, Defense Intelligence Agency and others, who work together to evaluate and respond to threats in a timely manner. "We share threat information, go over what we know, and keep the working group warm so that in the event of a crisis or incident, the players know each other," Pelkofski explained. "They're not looking around and asking, 'Who are you?'" An antiterrorism working group meets quarterly to coordinate larger resource and program issues. Pelkofski said it is not threat-driven, but rather is more about discussing antiterrorism and force-protection requirements or vulnerabilities that may require resources or work. In addition to answering to PFPA's chain of command, the directorate also is U.S. Northern Command's antiterrorism and force-protection point of contact for the Pentagon and DOD-leased facilities in the national capital region. The directorate also oversees what officials call random antiterrorism measures -- security measures that routinely change the look and type of force-protection measures. Their random nature is designed to reduce certainty about overall force protection measures, defeating surveillance attempts and making it difficult for terrorists to predict challenges they would face in an attack. One of Pelkofski's top priorities, he said, is updating the comprehensive antiterrorism plan for Pentagon facilities in the region. "We've been working to update it for the last year," he said. "And after we've reviewed and thoroughly updated it to 2011 standards, we'll update it annually to make sure it remains current." Surveillance detection is a mission that recently moved into the directorate's purview. "Rik Kirchner and his team conduct surveillance detection for the Pentagon Reservation –- they're looking for who's looking -– and his program has been recognized during a Joint Staff integrated vulnerability assessment and by other outside assessors as the best they've seen," Pelkofski said. The directorate also conducts vulnerability assessments and program reviews for DOD-leased facilities. This includes not only looking for areas that can be improved, but also providing advice and guidance on how to achieve increased readiness. The plans and programs division head Rob Abramowitz said it's a wide-ranging task. "We're charged with drafting, writing, revising, and coordinating the [antiterrorism and force-protection] plans and program elements for all existing DOD-leased facilities," Abramowitz, said, noting that for newly leased or built facilities, there's even more work to be done. "We evaluate potential sites and, once a site is selected, generate specific requirements for things like site layout, security access, and entry control points," he said. "We also develop concepts of operations that integrate all the [antiterrorism and force-protection] technology solutions. We build the occupant emergency plan, which is the 'nuts and bolts' of what to do in an emergency. "You get to a 90-percent solution when the facility is occupied," he continued. "Then, after they've been in the facility a while and you know the work flow of the building, you test the plans, you evaluate all the things that you've conceptualized, and when it works, you sign it and you have an [antiterrorism and force protection] program." Once the plan is complete, Abramowitz added, policy requires a comprehensive annual review. The directorate also conducts antiterrorism and force-protection training for everyone who works in the Pentagon and DOD-leased facilities. It sounds like a lot, and it is, Pelkofski said, but he and his team are able to succeed because of the support of the rest of the PFPA team. "It's collaborative -- it's teamwork," he said. "What I saw when I got here was that the directorate is stocked with extremely knowledgeable, dedicated professionals, and I was proud to join them. That goes for [the antiterrorism and force-protection directorate], and it goes for PFPA overall. "We have 17 different directors," he added, and [our directorate] is integrated throughout the agency because we touch every piece of it. The dedication level in this agency approaches what I saw in the Navy while in command of my ship, and that is the highest compliment I can pay to any organization –- just totally dedicated to the mission, totally dedicated to protecting this facility."

Related Sites: Pentagon Force Protection Agency

The exercise focused on proper weapons handling

U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Shaun Atencio, assigned to Bravo Company, Marine Corps Security Forces Battalion, Bangor, aims an M16A4 rifle during a squad movement training exercise at Naval Base Kitsap, in Bangor, Wash., April 20, 2011. The exercise focused on proper weapons handling, strategic movement and enemy engagement. (DoD photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Lawrence Davis, U.S. Navy/Released)

Scores Killed in Syria as 'Great Friday' Protests are Attacked

Scores Killed in Syria as 'Great Friday' Protests are Attacked, Says Amnesty International

New York: At least 75 people have been killed today in Syria during mass protests, local human rights activists told Amnesty International, as the government launched its deadliest crackdown yet on demonstrators calling for political reform. 

Security forces fired live ammunition at demonstrators who had gathered across the country following Friday prayers. 

Thirty were killed in the southern town of Izzra’, 22 in Damascus, 18 in the Homs area and the rest in other towns and villages, activists said, in what is the deadliest day so far during weeks of protest. 

Two boys aged 7 and 10 years old were among those killed in Izzra’ as was a 70-year-old man. 

"The Syrian authorities have again responded to peaceful calls for change with bullets and batons. They must immediately halt their attacks on peaceful protesters and instead allow Syrians to gather freely as international law demands," said Malcolm Smart, Amnesty International’s Middle East and North Africa director.  "They must also immediately launch an independent investigation into what happened and ensure that any security forces found to have carried out these killings are brought to justice.” 

Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.    (Issued on Friday, April 22, 2011)

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