DoDLive | Tag Archive | Military Health System

Episode #127: Weekly News Roundup for March 16, 2012

Filed under DoD News, Emerging Media by Ian Graham on March 16, 2012 at 1:15 pm {no comments}

In “This Week in the DoD” for March 16:

The Military Health System may be undergoing some significant changes, including the creation of a new agency to absorb the TRICARE Management Activity, under the DoD budget request for fiscal 2013.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta hosted a townhall meeting at Camp Leatherneck, in Afghanistan. There, he lauded the cooperation among coalition forces and the successes NATO troops have had in the area despite recent violent incidents in the country.

The soldier suspected of leaving his post and killing 17 Afghan civilians, including women and children, as been moved from Afghanistan to a military detention facility outside of Afghanistan, Defense Department Spokesman Capt. John Kirby confirmed in an interview.

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho shared a message with soldiers about brain injuries and the Army’s efforts to treat and care for brain injury patients.

Listen to the podcast here.

Episode #122: Weekly News Roundup for February 10, 2012

Filed under DoD News, Emerging Media by Ian Graham on February 10, 2012 at 4:39 pm {2 comments}

In “This Week in the DoD” for Feb. 10:

The Secretary of Defense visited troops in Germany to discuss the realignment of American forces in Europe. He also met with NATO and other European leaders in Brussels and Munich.

The Department of Defense is launching a wide-reaching initiative to encourage better nutrition and combat obesity among servicemembers and military families. The Military Health system hopes that through updated nutritional standards, the services will better maintain fitness and readiness.

Army Lt. Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of International Security Assistance Force Joint Command in Afghanistan, briefed the Pentagon press corps on the status of the ISAF mission there. He said there will be a hard fight, but troops in Afghanistan have the momentum and strategy to win.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little hosted the DoD’s first Twitter Townhall, taking questions from users using the #AskDoD hashtag. Topics ranged from benefits for gay and lesbian service members to the official DoD stance on Iran.

Henry Ossian Flipper overcame incredible odds. He was the first black man to be commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Army, and the first to graduate from the United States Military Academy at West Point.

Listen to the podcast here.

New Campaign Aims to Improve Troops, Families’ Health

Filed under DoD News, Medical Monday by jtozer on February 10, 2012 at 9:00 am {3 comments}

By Elaine Sanchez, American Forces Press Service
From www.defense.gov

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Defense Department has launched a “groundbreaking” obesity and nutrition awareness campaign aimed at improving the health and well-being of troops, retirees and their families across the services, DOD’s top health affairs.

Dr. Jonathan Woodson, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs and TRICARE Management Activity director, joined First Lady Michelle Obama at Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., Feb. 9, to unveil the campaign, which involves improving nutrition standards militarywide for the first time in 20 years.

“The Department of Defense is making a groundbreaking commitment to the health of our troops and their families,” the first lady said in a news release yesterday. “And in doing so, they’re not just sending a powerful message throughout the military community, they’re sending a message to our entire country.”

The campaign, developed by the Military Health System, will rally all of the services to encourage people to make better nutritional choices and to take a more active role in their personal health, Woodson said in an interview at the Pentagon Wednesday.

“America has a growing problem,” he said, noting the pun is intended. “We have an issue of increasing obesity within the civilian population, [and] a history of poor nutritional choices, both in the civilian and military populations, that’s affecting readiness.”

Nearly 30 percent of potential military candidates ages 17 to 24 can’t qualify for the military because they’re overweight, Woodson noted. Additionally, the military discharges about 1,200 entry-level candidates each year due to their inability to meet fitness and weight standards.

“This is really a national security issue if we’ve got a population of youth that could serve in the military, but can’t serve because of weight standards,” he said.

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Military Health System: You Are Not Alone

Filed under DoD News, Mental Health Month by on May 4, 2011 at 8:37 am {no comments}

To honor Mental Health Month, Military Health System has compiled a list of useful resources for service members and their families to address their mental health needs. The list of resources includes DCoE, TRICARE, and resources across the services, for veterans, and military families.

The list can be found on Health.mil, and DoDLive will be highlighting some of these readily available and helpful resources throughout Mental Health Month.

Medical Monday: Cancer Awareness Day, A Survivor’s Story

Filed under DoD News by Ian Graham on February 7, 2011 at 11:00 am {no comments}

By Dann Pickens

First and foremost I am a cancer survivor. I was born at Fort Lawton, Wash., where parts of “An Officer and a Gentleman” was filmed. I am a son of an Army corporal so I guess that is where my Army career starts. I am a retired infantry sergeant first class with 24 years total time in the Army, and I was among the last draftees being drafted Jun 20, 1972. After my retirement from the Army was official, I was hired by the Department of the Army working at Fort McNair in Washington DC. We have been with DoD as a civilian family, still stationed at Fort McNair for an additional 14 years bring our combined service to just a hair over 38 years.

Wikipedia defines a cancer survivor as an individual with cancer of any type, current or past, who is still living. That would be ME!

My trek began officially on my birthday in 2008 with confirmed diagnosis of esophageal cancer (adeno-carcinoma, stage 4). Metastasis had occurred with growths in each lung, the liver and throughout the lymph nodes of the torso. At that point in time, my prognosis was rather dim and I was not a candidate for either radiation or surgical treatment of the myriad of tumors so we went into chemotherapy right away.

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