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.
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.
By Lt. Amit Sood, staff dietitian, Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton, Calif. Lt. Sood is a Registered Dietitian and a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics. He currently has served in the Navy for 6 years and has given over 500 sports nutrition related lectures to over 20 commands and institutions across the DoD.
Have you ever noticed the magazine rack while going through your local Commissary or Exchange checkout line? You’ll see advertisements like, “Get Ripped in 10 Days with Just One Pill!” or “Lose the Belly Fat while Eating Anything You Want!” These catch phrases are very appealing and attract today’s young muscle-minded military crowd. It’s tough to resist opening these magazines, especially at a time when physical fitness is becoming increasingly vital to a military member’s career.
As a result, many of our young sailors and marines are pushed, pressured, and led to use supplements that claim to help achieve unrealistic or superhuman results.
Basic knowledge and reliable resources are needed to make an informed decision on how and when to use supplements in a safe manner. There are many types of dietary supplements on the market, everything from your simple multivitamin to the most complex blend of herbals, botanicals, enzymes, and even animal extracts.
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Dr. Jack Smith, Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Clinical and Program Policy, TRICARE Management Activity
With the holidays quickly approaching, healthy eating habits are often wrapped up into a nice gift box and tossed in the closet. Many of us tend to forget about our health and diet, and succumb to the temptation of holiday goodies –over-indulging in everything within arm’s reach.
Everywhere you go this time of year, there is likely to be someone waiting with a slice of cake, a box of chocolates or a bag of holiday cookies. This season can be particularly trying for those living with diabetes. Much of the traditional holiday food is rich and loaded with calories and carbohydrates that can cause all sorts of problems for diabetics. But did you know that those extra pounds you put on year-after-year may increase your risk of developing diabetes?
In recognition of American Diabetes Month in November, we want to remind you while enjoying the holidays, to be mindful of the types and amount of food you eat.
Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that 1 in 10 adults or about 24 million Americans have Type 2 diabetes. And this number may climb to 33 percent of the adult population within a few decades.
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The military health system has launched a new website that provides a single source for military health news and resources. Check it out at http://www.health.mil
See more DoD videos at http://dodvclips.mil
An United States Air Force C-130J Hercules cargo aircraft from the 146th Airlift Wing, California Air National Guard, conducts flare training off the Ventura County coast. The flares are used as tactical infrared countermeasures to confuse and redirect heat-seeking missiles.
(U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Dave Buttner)
Famed Yankees pitcher “Lefty Gomez” once remarked “I’d rather be lucky than good,” but for one Tuskegee Airman, luck and good combined to make him one of the most successful combat pilots of World War II.
During the summer of 1944, 2nd Lt. Clarence D. “Lucky” Lester was flying the P-51 Mustang over the skies of Italy’s Po Valley providing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers with cover support on their way to attack airfields in southern Germany.
Lester was assigned to the 100th Fighter Squadron, a part of the 332nd Fighter Group, and had earned the nickname “Lucky” “because of all the tight situations from which I had escaped without a scratch or even a bullet hole in my aircraft.”
Read the story of a flight that helped Lester earn his nickname here.
The only African-American ace of World War II, and a former Tuskegee Airman, went on to have a career in the Air Force, as well as success in the business world.
Lee A. Archer joined the Army in 1941 with high hopes of becoming a pilot, but was initially denied because of his race. When the Army’s policy changed about a year later, Archer was accepted to the training program for black aviators at the Tuskegee Army Airfield in Alabama.
Archer is best known for a day in late 1944 when he was involved in a series of dogfights over German-occupied Hungary. Flying a P-51 Mustang fighter, Archer shot down three German fighters. He would go on to add two more German fighters to his credit to become the first and only African-American ace of the war.
As a civilian, Archer enjoyed even greater success, serving as vice president for urban affairs with General Foods, as CEO of North Street Capital Corp. and chairman of Hudson Commercial Corp. He also served on the board of directors of Beatrice International Foods and the Institute for American Business.
Read the rest of his story here.
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