Cleanup efforts near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill have been halted temporarily to allow crews to evacuate in the face of an oncoming tropical storm. The evacuation comes a few days before the storm is expected to hit because of the time it takes to gather and relocate equipment and people.
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The National Guard is sending 1,200 citizen-soldiers and airmen who will serve alongside federal agents for one year as an augmentation force. The troops will work to prevent illegal immigration and drug trafficking north of the border, as well as to counter weapons and cash smuggling going south, Alan Bersin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency commissioner, said today at a Pentagon news conference.
“We’re very pleased to be in support of our interagency partners,” Air Force Gen. Craig R. McKinley, National Guard Bureau chief, said. “Our ramp-up will be over time, and we’ll make sure that all our soldiers and airmen are well qualified, well integrated and well briefed on the mission at hand.”
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By Dr. Monique Moore
Clinical Research Psychologist
Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (DCoE)
According to Department of Defense data, psychological health concerns caused more hospitalizations among U.S. troops in 2009 than any other reason. DCoE is working to help minimize the psychological stress endured by troops by discovering the best methods for them to become more resilient. We’ve recently begun investigating the practice of mindfulness as a technique to help our nation’s warriors combat the effects of war.
During fiscal year 2008, DCoE directed $5 million in funding for research on complementary and alternative medicine, or integrated health practices. This research shows potential value and promise in certain techniques and methods for helping warriors.
Mindfulness, an example of an integrated practice, is a mental state in which one gives full attention to present-moment experience without judgment, elaboration, or attachment. Mindfulness promotes a state of “cool and calm” that can be used to achieve greater situational awareness as well as greater self awareness.
U.S. Army Sgt. Tiffany Dalagelis, left, and Marsha Michel, right, U.S. Agency for International Development field officer, meet with women participating in the Women’s Gabion Basket Weaving Project in Farah, Afghanistan, July 08, 2010. Dalagelis is a Provincial Reconstruction Team Farah civil affairs member and Female Engagement Team non-commissioned officer in charge. Michel is the engagement team coordinator for the reconstruction team.
U.S. Air Force photo by 2nd Lt. Christine A. Darius
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