Sailor Serves With Marine Husband

By Marine Corps Cpl. Shannon McMillan 
1st Marine Logistics Group
CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, Jan. 27, 2011 - Most spouses of active duty military members have to endure the hardship of separation while their loved one is deployed, but one couple here serves together in the same unit.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chat Rice re-enlists for six more years in the Navy at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Jan. 21, 2011. Rice is deployed in the same unit as her husband of nearly eight years, Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jeff Rice. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shannon McMillan

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Chat Rice and Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Jeff Rice, both San Diego natives, are deployed together with 1st Marine Logistics Group.
Multiple deployments have separated the sailor and Marine for much of their seven-year marriage, and this is the first time the couple has deployed together.
"Having him here is very good for me," said Chat, 29, of her husband. "I can always go to him if I need someone to talk to, or just hang out and talk about our families and our son."
The couple met in August 2001 while stationed together in Okinawa, Japan. Then in 2002, Chat received orders to Camp Pendleton, Calif., so they maintained a long-distance relationship, she said. While they were still dating, Jeff deployed twice with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. They were married Feb. 8, 2003.
Since they've been married, Jeff has deployed five times –- this is his eighth deployment overall -– and this is Chat's second deployment. In 2008, the only year Jeff wasn't deployed during their marriage, the couple's son, Seth, was born.
"As you can see, it took us a while to have a child, because he's always deployed," Chat said of Jeff's multiple deployments.
During their current deployment, Jeff and Chat work in the same compound, but have very different jobs. Chat works as a patient tracker for the Health Services Support Element. Her responsibilities include globally tracking all 1st Marine Logistics Group patients from their point of injury to their final destination and providing their status to command leaders.
Jeff serves as the logistics group's radio chief and spectrum manager. He plans and supervises the installation, operation and maintenance of all single-channel radios as the radio chief, and as the spectrum manager, he answers frequency requests and provides call signs to all group units.
Although they work long hours, the couple tries to spend as much time together as they can while deployed.
"We try to eat chow together as much as possible," said Jeff, 29, originally from Warsaw, Ohio. "So I would say we get to hang out a lot due to the fact that not too many people get to deploy with their spouse."
They also turn in their laundry together, Chat added. "I know it's kind of funny," she said, "but that's another way to spend time with him."
The military lifestyle can be difficult for any marriage, especially when both are on active duty, but Jeff said he is thankful to have his wife around for moral support, especially since they are both separated from their young son.
"It is a blessing being deployed together, but also very hard, because our son is back home with his grandparents," he said.
Although the parents are thousands of miles away from their son, they try to video chat with Seth as often as they can.
"Once a week, we Skype with our son," Chat said. "That's our way of having quality time with the family."
Along with supporting each other during challenging moments of the deployment, the Rices support each other's accomplishments, the most recent being Chat's Jan. 21 re-enlistment ceremony, in which she signed on for another six years in the Navy.
"It was nice to witness the ceremony and be a part of it," Jeff said. "I haven't had a chance to be at a lot of her ceremonies, since we have jobs and commitments. I was proud of her, because she loves the Navy. She really tries to strive to be the best sailor."
Jeff said he also is proud of his wife for being named the Regional Command Southwest sailor of the quarter this month.
"She goes above and beyond what is expected of her," Jeff said. She sets the bar high."
As their eighth wedding anniversary approaches, the Rices look forward to celebrating the occasion together, albeit a bit differently from previous years.
"Oh, it will definitely be different than spending it back home," Chat said. "We usually like to have a fancy dinner somewhere in Coronado or La Jolla, but here, we'll be enjoying some good chow hall meal. But seriously, we are both happy to spend our special day together."  ---000--- 

Chaplain Shines as Beacon of Faith

By Army Sgt. Luther L. Boothe Jr. of Task Force Currahee PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 28, 2011 - His daily ritual consists of stopping by and checking in. "Hello, how is everybody?" "Hope all is well!" "God bless you," he says, his words reflecting kindness, appreciation and his southern accent. Army Chaplain (Maj.) Randal H. Robison lights the Advent candles during a Catholic Mass at the Frontline Chapel at Forward Operating Base Sharana, Afghanistan, Dec. 24, 2010. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Luther L. Boothe Jr.  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. His energy and ear-to-ear smile can brighten even the darkest situations, the soldiers here say, describing him as sincere and caring, loving to all and judgmental to none. Army Chaplain (Maj.) Randal H. Robison has committed his life to answering his calling and is happy being a source of optimism and positivity for soldiers during deployment. "I look at the position I hold as the brigade chaplain as a calling," said Robison, brigade chaplain for the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat Team in Task Force Currahee. "I believe I am here, appointed by the Lord, to be present to provide pastoral care ministry and to be present for the services of our soldiers and for our chaplains."His responsibilities include oversight of six religious support teams that cover all of Paktika province and beyond, working with his Afghan counterpart and fulfilling his staff officer duties. But it is going above and beyond those roles with a sense of humility that separates him from others. "I enjoy what I do. I treasure the role of the chaplaincy very much," the Grand Prairie, Texas, native said. "I wholeheartedly embrace it. Bringing God to soldiers and soldiers to God is very much at the basic core of my identity. I want to do to everything I can to encourage soldiers, to let them know that even in their difficult moments with the challenges they face, God is with them." His Christian beliefs are at the core of who he is, yet for many soldiers, his ability to care and make time for others is what sets him apart. "My favorite thing about Chaplain Robison is even when he is extremely busy, if you need to talk, he will stop what he is doing and listen to you," said Army Pfc. Genevieve A. Harms, paralegal specialist with the brigade's Headquarters and Headquarters Company. "He remembers your problems, and the next time he sees you, he makes sure everything has worked out. He actually cares about soldiers and their families." Caring about soldiers is just something he does not because he has to, but because he wants to, the chaplain said. "I want all soldiers to know that I do care and I, at the end of the day, am a soldier just like the most-junior private we have," he added. "If I see them, I want to engage them and encourage them, knowing they have a story. "I want to know how they are doing and how their families are doing," he continued, "because I truly feel, deeply, that our soldiers are America's finest. They are willing to serve and to be away from their families and face the hardships and challenges. Therefore, they deserve our best. Every soldier deserves the best from the soldier next to them, so that we can be able to get our mission accomplished. I want soldiers to know that they are cared for, to nourish them for who they are." Chaplains at the battalion level have an opportunity to interact more with troops, he said, noting that the role is different at the brigade level. "But it is still embracing the spirit and kissing the soul of the soldiers and letting them know that you do care and that God cares for them, too," he added. Robison has a knack for making soldiers feel as if they are talking to an old friend. "When I talk to him, he makes me feel like I am talking to someone I have known my whole life," said Harms, a Tacoma, Wash., native. "He knows where I am coming from, and he does not judge me based on the decisions I have made. "When I see him walking toward me," she added, "I get the feeling that everything is going to be OK. Even if I only come across him for just one second, it makes my day better." Ultimately, Robison said, it's about duty, country and honoring God through his service. "I want to know I made a difference, that my service was not just signing up and going through the motions, but that I made a difference in the lives of those who I have been able to meet because they have made a difference in mine," he said. "With every soldier, I think if I can know them, that maybe somehow I could make a difference in their life." Robison said he tries to start every day on his knees in prayer. "Part of my prayer is to place my life and the lives of my soldiers in Christ's hands and for his guidance, wisdom and understanding, and I try to rest in that -- to know that God's keeping hand is upon us for all Currahees," he said. The chaplain said his personal faith drives what he does. "It defines who I am as a Christian pastor," he said, "and in my role as a Christian chaplain, it just compels me to it. I try to do it with a sense of joy."

Related Sites: NATO International Security Assistance Force

CMC has been chosen to host Workshop

Dr. Bedi before media 

Ludhiana: The CMCH (Christian Medical College & Hospital)  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”.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.

Dr HS Bedi & Dr Masih with cardio vascular team

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.

Dr. Bedi talking to media

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 S Samuel. 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. Officiating Director Dr.Kim Mammen, Medical Superintendent Dr.Kanwal Masih were also present on the occasion.Dr.Bedi can be contacted at 98140-60480 for any clarification.:-Rector Kathuria

Marines in Afghanistan Test New Concussion Care

Posted on Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 1:34 AM By Cheryl Pellerin of American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2011 - A new concussion care program being fielded by the Marine Corps in Afghanistan is giving psychiatrists, physicians and even chaplains and sergeants a better way to treat those with the No. 1 battle injury, military combat medicine experts said today. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James F. Amos speaks with sailors and Marines at the Concussion Restoration Care Center at Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan, Dec. 23, 2010. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Brian A. Lautenslager  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution imageavailable. Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Charles Benson, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force psychiatrist and 1st Marine Division's deputy surgeon, and Navy Cmdr. (Dr.) Keith Stuessi, director of the Concussion Restoration Care Center at Camp Leatherneck in Afghanistan, spoke with Pentagon reporters in a video teleconference. The Navy-Marine Corps effort, launched in August and called the Operational Stress Control and Readiness Program, or OSCAR, has two parts, Benson said. "The first part [includes] psychiatrists and psychologists who we field with the combat team," Benson explained. "These are organic embedded assets in the division's regiments and battalions. They live with the troops, train with the troops and get out in the field with them." Such an arrangement, he added, "allows the Marines to come forward to the psychologists and psychiatrists [and] kind of breaks down the barriers and allows the [providers] to become very effective at ... delivering mental health care." The second part of the program offers special training to medical officers, corpsmen, chaplains, religious personnel and key leaders at the sergeant and first sergeant level so they can deliver basic mental health care to troops in harm's way. "Those folks constantly monitor their Marines," Benson said, "helping them with simple issues and understanding at what point [a Marine with an injury] needs to be referred back for more comprehensive care." Together, the programs "have generated quite a bit of success out here in Afghanistan," the psychiatrist said, treating concussions and musculoskeletal injuries -- the No. 1 nonbattle injuries of the war. Stuessi, a sports medicine doctor, described a typical Concussion Restoration Care Center success story. "I first saw Lance Corporal Smith on Jan. 3, three days after he was medevaced to Bastion Role 3 hospital because of injuries suffered from [device roadside bomb] blast while on a routine convoy," he said. Smith was discharged from the hospital and referred to the outpatient concussion center, where he completed a questionnaire about the blast and his symptoms, and went through a neurologic exam and a neurocognitive test. "Lance Corporal Smith and I discussed the symptoms -- a constant headache, dizziness, trouble concentrating and sleeping, moderate low-back pain and occasional nightmares, along with repeated thoughts of the blast," Steussi said. "Over the next 11 days, all these symptoms were addressed by our specialists, who are located under one roof." Smith saw a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a psychologist, and then Steussi used acupuncture to treat Smith's headaches and insomnia. Between appointments, Smith stayed with other Marines at a wounded warrior facility. "During his last visit," Steussi said, Smith "was completely asymptomatic" and returned to his unit. Although concussion is a physical injury, Benson said it's related to mental health. "When folks have a mild traumatic brain injury, sometimes their symptoms have a psychiatric flavor," the psychiatrist said. "They might have difficulty sleeping or nightmares and anxiety along with that. And sometimes folks who have straight-up psychiatric symptoms like depression might also have insomnia and problems that look a mild traumatic brain injury. "There's an awful lot of overlap and symptomatology between the two entities," he added. "We think it's important to work on these as a team and address both issues at the same time to try to get a Marine back on his feet and heading in the right direction." Having psychiatrists and psychologists embedded in regiments and battalions gives troops who might not naturally turn to a mental health provider a range of ways to seek help, Benson said. "Most of the best OSCAR and OSCAR Extender Program outreach happens when it's not really a formal sort of thing," he added. "It's like when you're sitting at breakfast eating your toast and a Marine sits across from you and says, 'Hey, Doc, you got a moment?' And then you start chit-chatting. "Or you might be waiting in line or something and they know you because they see you out there in the field," he continued. "They understand that you can relate to what they're going through, and they feel more comfortable coming to chat with you." Ultimately, Benson added, the program should help to reduce the stigma attached to seeking mental health care. "When you're in combat, when you're deployed, you're going to have feelings," he said. "Things are going to come up. It's best if you talk about them and seek out help." Steussi said center providers have treated and returned to full duty about 320 concussion patients, collecting data on each case along the way. "We're in the process of reviewing the data so that in the future we can better treat Marines and sailors," he added, "and use the information to [develop] policies for treatment here, out at [forward operating bases] and in the field."

Related Articles:  Study Ties Problems to Post-traumatic Stress  Policy to Mandate Head Injury Evaluations

First Lady Michelle Obama Visits Fort Jackson

Posted on Fri, Jan 28, 2011 at 4:59 AM

By Susanne Kappler of Fort Jackson Public Affairs Office FORT JACKSON, S.C., Jan. 27, 2011 - First Lady Michelle Obama paid a visit here today to learn from Army leaders about how childhood obesity and physical inactivity affects military readiness and what the Army does to combat these effects. Army Pvt. Rudolph Buchanan, a recruit in Basic Combat Training with the 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment, talks with First Lady Michelle Obama during her Jan. 27, 2011, visit to Fort Jackson, S.C. U.S. Army photo by Susanne Kappler  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. The first lady's first stop was the Drill Sergeant School, where she was briefed by Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, the deputy commanding general for U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's initial military training, and the command's health and fitness programs. Obama founded the Let's Move campaign, which focuses on overcoming the challenge of childhood obesity. Before the briefing, Obama said she was excited to learn how the military deals with those challenges. "The military can model so many wonderful solutions," Obama said. "And I am excited about making the rest of the country aware of not just the challenges we face, but the work you do to get these young recruits and trainees back on track, because a lot of people around the country could use the same kind of support." Hertling said that 75 percent of America's youth are ineligible to join the military for a variety of reasons. Out of those ineligible, 17 percent are disqualified because of obesity. He outlined the problems obesity creates in recruiting new soldiers and the challenges physically unfit recruits face during basic training. "Our challenge is to fix it quickly," Hertling emphasized. Last August, the Army introduced new physical training guidance, which aims to improve physical conditioning while reducing the risk of injury. In addition, the Army has started the soldier fueling initiative, which emphasizes healthful nutrition habits for soldiers. Hertling told Obama the new program has been effective. "What we're seeing is, the choices of the soldiers are changing in basic training and they're feeling better, and we get a lower attrition rate," Hertling said. Obama observed the results of the nutrition initiative first hand, when she visited the 2nd Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment's dining facility. As part of the program, dining facilities changed their menus with a focus on performance-focused menu items and healthful beverage options. In addition, a new labeling system at the dining facilities helps soldiers identify optimal food choices. Obama also met with drill sergeants and soldiers before speaking at the graduation of 1st Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, on Hilton Field. "I'm especially thrilled [to be] with the extraordinary men and women who are graduating today," Obama told the audience. "On behalf of myself and my husband and a grateful nation, I want to start off today by saying congratulations on all that you've achieved, and, of course, 'Hooah!'" Obama also praised Army initiatives that ensure new soldiers are physically fit to serve. "You've learned something that is also near and dear to my heart -- and I know that some of the moms here would probably agree with me on this one -- through the new Fueling the Soldier initiative here at Fort Jackson, you learned how to make better choices about what you eat," she said. The first lady also praised the families of friends of the graduating soldiers for encouraging their loved ones to serve. "Thank you for holding these men and women tight for all those years, but most of all, thank you for letting them go, so that they can serve this country and protect and defend this great nation that we all love," Obama told the families. "In these soldiers -- your sons and daughters, your spouses, siblings and parents -- we see the very best America has to offer."

Biographies: First Lady Michelle Obama

Royal Thai Army Gen. Suraphan Wongthai

 Royal Thai Army Gen. Suraphan Wongthai, center, the coordinator of Royal Thai Military Forces for Cobra Gold 2011; U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Mark A. Brilakis, left, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, III Marine Expeditionary Force; and Brig. Gen. Craig C. Crenshaw, right, the commanding general of 3rd Marine Logistics Group, prepare to board Military Sealift Command dry cargo ship USNS 1st Lt. Jack Lummus (T-AK 3011) to observe a maritime prepositioning force training evolution during exercise Cobra Gold 2011 in the Gulf of Thailand Jan. 23, 2011. The evolution demonstrated the amphibious assault capabilities of the Marine Corps. Cobra Gold is a regularly scheduled joint/combined exercise designed to ensure regional peace and strengthen the ability of the Royal Thai Armed Forces to defend Thailand or respond to regional contingencies. (DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Alejandro Pena, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)

Carries an injured Afghan man

U.S. Marine Corps Cpl. Jose Aguilarmendez, a machine gun team leader with 1st Platoon, Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 2, carries an Afghan man who was injured by an improvised explosive device during a security patrol in Sangin district, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Jan. 12, 2011. Marines conducted security patrols in partnership with the International Security Assistance Force to combat insurgent activity and gain the trust of Afghan civilians. 








(DoD photo by Lance Cpl. Jorge A. Ortiz, U.S. Marine Corps/Released)