Plotting Points

 

Army Specialists Julian Marsh-Patterson, left, and Hunter Broome, both assigned to the 518th Sustainment Brigade, plot points on a map during the land navigation course at Fort McCoy, Wis., Aug. 21, 2020. The course is part of the Army Reserve's Operation Ready Warrior, which is an exercise designed to allow soldiers to maintain proficiency at warrior tasks as well as overall readiness while maintaining COVID-19 health and safety protocols from the Defense Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

School Day

 

Marines assigned to the 10th Marine Regiment, 2d Marine Division welcome students at Johnson Primary School at Camp Lejeune, N.C., Aug. 24, 2020. The Marines cheered as the students arrived at school for the first time in several months while adhering to COVID-19 guidelines. The Department of Defense Education Activity instructed parents and students to conduct daily health screenings and temperature checks before leaving their homes.

Hurricane Preps

 

National Guard soldiers reinforce exposed levees in Grand Isle, La., in preparation for Hurricane Laura, Aug. 24, 2020. The Guard is working around the clock to assist local and state agencies prepare for the storm.

Arlington Honors

 

Sailors participate in a memorial service for Navy Lt. Demarest Lloyd, who fought in World War II, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Aug. 24, 2020. Lloyd, a recipient of a Distinguished Flying Cross, Purple Heart and Air Medal, died on June 12, 1944, and was reported missing at sea.

DOD Seeks Reform in Delivering Improved Training, Education

 Aug. 26, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

Defense Department leaders in the fields of training and education discussed reform efforts the department is pursuing to more effectively and efficiently deliver various types of learning to its uniformed and civilian personnel.

Fred Drummond, deputy assistant secretary of defense for force education and training; Lora Muchmore, director of the Defense Business Systems Directorate, Office of the Chief Management Officer; Jim Seacord, acting director of the Human Capital Management Office, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence; and, Amy Rogers, chief learning officer for the civilian workforce, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, spoke today at a National Training and Simulation Association webinar on "Transforming DOD's Learning Infrastructure."

Muchmore said that the most critical element in designing a training or education system is to first determine the desired outcome and how that outcome contributes to the mission and readiness of the department.

Once the outcome is determined, the next step is to determine which training or education delivery system is most effective at achieving the desired performance metrics, she said, adding that the performance metrics have to be operationally defined.

However, effectiveness has to be balanced with training time and investment of dollars in learning technologies, so there's a trade-space involved in the process.

Other factors to consider besides learning technologies are the development of common languages and data standards across the department, ease of access and availability of learning systems, workforce culture and policies, Muchmore said.

Seacord said the culture shift has to involve everyone thinking about the DOD mission and how what they're doing can further that mission. A soldier, sailor, airman, Marine, civilian and contractor are all on one team and it takes an open mind to break out of the traditional parochialism mindset.

Rogers said many department personnel are not aware of the training and developmental opportunities that are available to them that would further develop a skilled and ready workforce.

Training and education opportunities should reflect competencies needed not just for the current mission but for the future missions, she said. 

A good idea is to collaborate and borrow from training and education that has proven effective and innovative, Rogers said. It should not be us versus them attitude.

Drummond emphasized the interoperability of training and education systems across all organizations within the department. He said they must all share the same languages and data standards so that interoperability is seamless.

Drummond, Rogers, Seacord and Muchmore are all members of the executive steering committee for the department's training and education reform effort, known as Enterprise Digital Learning Modernization. 

Taking Temps

 

Observer coach/trainers assigned to the first Army’s 181st Multi-functional Training Brigade check the temperatures of arriving soldiers before an Army Combat Fitness Test familiarization during the Operation Ready Warrior exercise at Fort McCoy, Wis., Aug. 23, 2020. Operation Ready Warrior, led by the 78th Training Division, was the Army Reserve’s first collective, small-scale training exercise since the start of COVID-19. The exercise was made up of partnerships from various units and organizations from the active and reserve component to include key support from the Fort McCoy Army installation that focused on COVID-19 mitigation efforts to train soldiers safely.

Dorm Leaders Safeguard Inbound Airmen

 Aug. 26, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE SENIOR AIRMAN NOAH SUDOLCAN

Relocating to a new military installation in another country can be stressful, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. With so many uncertainties involving the pandemic's impact on changing living standards, a special group of professionals provides initial solutions and comfort to new arrivals at Osan Air Base, South Korea.

Working around the clock, Osan's airman dorm leaders, or ADLs, strive to give new members the warmest welcome and meet essential needs during their two-week quarantine phase.

For Air Force Tech. Sgt. Toni Bellamy, an ADL serving as Osan's COVID-19 Command Center housing representative, being the first line of defense for inbound personnel is a challenging, but fulfilling experience.

''Knowing that we help keep the base safe by housing nearly 500 quarantine personnel at a given time and giving them their essential needs is a huge reward,'' Bellamy said. ''We work alongside the base first sergeants, Red Cross and the United Services Organizations to help supply personnel with toiletries and meals to make the quarantine residents stay more comfortable.''

To administer a smooth process, the ADLs proactively communicate with commanders, chiefs, first sergeants and supervisors to take care of inbound individuals. They're dedicated to ensuring six dorms and vacancies in the base hotel are readily available for occupancy.

''We take care of all residents from in-processing, meals, trash, grocery delivery and other orders to outprocess from quarantine,'' Bellamy added. ''I assign all inbound members to a living space and, once assigned, the list of projected arrivals is passed to the ADLs to ensure rooms are ready for incoming members.''

Free Wi-Fi is equipped in the quarantine dorms and the hotel to help with their needs during the 14-day period. Quarantined personnel are authorized and encouraged to bring items that may make their stay more comfortable such as blankets, televisions and computers. They're also allotted daily recreational time outside to get fresh air and exercise.

''It was nice knowing I had a team of ADLs dedicated to help smooth the transition process into the quarantine dorms,'' said Air Force Staff Sgt. Tiffany Wallace, an orthopedic surgical technician with the 51 Medical Operations Squadron. ''For me, being able to adjust comfortably and FaceTime my family was a huge bonus.''

New inbound members are also given resources on how to acquire additional necessities from the base exchange and commissary. They can also contact their leadership for additional needs.

''The biggest way to help our quarantine personnel is to stay in contact with them daily, asking them about how their stay is, from room maintenance to meals,'' Bellamy said. ''Another way to help is offering to bring your member a hot meal or forms of entertainment.''

Whether it's preparing dorm rooms 48 hours prior to arrival or maintaining open communication with all leadership and anyone with concerns about COVID-19, the ADL team is committed to their role.

''The biggest positive of this job is seeing how the whole base is coming together,'' Bellamy said. ''The augmentees are from all units around the base. We couldn't do it without all the organizations stepping up to provide us with bodies and supplies.''

(Air Force Senior Airman Noah Sudolcan is assigned to the 51st Fighter Wing).

Esper Shares U.S. Vision for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific Region

 Aug. 26, 2020 | BY JIM GARAMONE , DOD News

Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper arrived in Hawaii, beginning a trip to explain America's vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific and to honor the World War II generation that made a peaceful region possible.

The secretary will visit Hawaii, Palau and Guam.

The Indo-Pacific is the main focus of American national strategy. The region is crucial to the U.S. economy, and U.S. service members are crucial to maintaining peace and stability in the region.

The National Defense Strategy issued in 2018 said the return of great power competition with China and Russia is the main danger to the United States and the world.

''This is an opportunity for the secretary to really reinforce what we're doing to advance this vision for a free Indo-Pacific,'' said a senior defense official speaking on background. ''The vision is based on some broadly held principles — peaceful resolution of disputes; freedom of navigation; free, fair and reciprocal trade arrangements — the things that have kind of made the international system work.''

In the Indo-Pacific, China is challenging these principles. China is building and militarizing islands in the South China Sea and East China Sea. China is using its economic power to coerce nations around the world to its point of view. 

Esper will talk about what the United States is doing to reinforce and uphold the principles of the international rules-based order. 

During the visit, the secretary will visit ships involved in the semi-annual Rim of the Pacific exercise. The exercise has been scaled back due to COVID-19, but more than 5,000 personnel from 10 different countries are participating. The exercise allows the nations to test interoperability and cooperation across the spectrum of conflict. 

RIMPAC also highlights the alliance system in the Indo-Pacific. ''Even during the current pandemic, we're still able to operate in pursuit of common tasks,'' the official said.

Guam is a centerpiece of American strategy in the Indo-Pacific, and Esper will visit with troops and visit facilities that are being built.

The secretary will also participate in ceremonies marking the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II. He will visit Palau – the site of the bloody Battle of Peleliu in 1944 — and mark the end of the war during a ceremony aboard the USS Missouri. The Japanese signed the surrender documents aboard the Missouri in Tokyo Bay on Sept. 2, 1945.

World War II still resonates today. The experiences of the war – with millions killed, untold treasure destroyed and huge upheaval – was the impetus behind establishment of the rules-based international order as a means of preventing the type of great power competition that brought on the war. Those rules are still important 75 years later, officials said, and they need to be protected.

Uniform Inspection

 

Marine Corps Staff Sgt. Dominick Dickson, a squad instructor, inspects a student’s uniform at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., Aug. 24, 2020.

Hawaii Training

 

Soldiers conduct chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear training at Kahuku Training Area, Hawaii, Aug. 20, 2020.

Sailor Strike

 

Sailors prepare to man the rails on the flight deck of the USS Carl Vinson as the ship departs Naval Base Kitsap-Bremerton, Wash., Aug. 23, 2020.

Constitution Climber

A service member climbs the shrouds aboard USS Constitution in Boston, Aug. 24, 2020. Sailors stationed aboard USS Constitution provide free tours and offer public visitation to more than 600,000 people a year as they support the ship’s mission of promoting the Navy’s history and maritime heritage.

Chock Check

Air Force Airman 1st Class Elijah Turner fixes a tire chock during a walk around inspection of a C-17 Globemaster III at the Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station, Pa., Aug. 24, 2020. Walk around inspections are performed to ensure aircraft readiness.

 

Sports Heroes Who Served: From Coast Guardsman to Golf Legend

 Aug. 25, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

Sports Heroes Who Served is a series that highlights the accomplishments of athletes who served in the U.S. military.

Although his claim to fame happened decades ago, ardent golfers of any age know the name Arnold Palmer. He is considered one of the greats. He won 62 PGA tour titles from 1955 to 1973, making him one of the top five golfers of all time.

Many, particularly the older generation, know about Palmer the golf legend, but here is some of the story about Palmer, the Coast Guardsman.

Palmer, born in 1929, attended Wake Forest College in North Carolina on a golf scholarship. In 1950, his close friend and roommate Bud Worsham was killed in an auto accident.

Worsham's death affected Palmer deeply, he told Richard A. Stephenson, a historian with the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary, Feb. 28, 2013.

Palmer couldn't focus on his studies and decided he needed a change from the academic venue. So, in 1951, he joined the Coast Guard.

"I thought it was a great outfit that specialized in saving lives," he told Stephenson.

He served in the Coast Guard from 1951 to 1954.

After basic training at Cape May, New Jersey, which is still the basic training center for all enlisted Coast Guard recruits today, Palmer received nine-month orders to serve as a lifeguard for the center's recruits. While there, Palmer also taught the recruits physical education, including judo and how to use force when necessary.

His next duty station was at the 9th Coast Guard District Auxiliary, Cleveland, Ohio, working at the Cleveland East Pierhead Lighthouse, which looks out over Lake Erie. While there, he was assigned as a photographer taking military ID card photos for all the Coast Guardsmen in the district.

At the end of his enlistment, Palmer returned to Wake Forest to complete his studies. Regarding his golf course legacy, it is one for the history books.

"I'm very proud of the fact that I was in the Coast Guard," Palmer told Stephenson, regarding his time in service. "I think it's a wonderful outfit. Young people need the kind of training in one of the military outfits."

"The knowledge that I gained, the maturity that I gained in the Coast Guard made me a better person," he continued. "The military isn't just about restrictions, it's a learning experience and it's very important that young people have that opportunity to learn and to know themselves a little better, and I think the military helps put that in the right perspective."

More Stories of Sports Heroes Who Served

Linguists Translate COVID-19 Information

 Aug. 24, 2020 | BY Terri Moon Cronk , DOD News

From national security missions to disaster relief to COVID-19 testing, the right interpreter is vital to getting the message out in a way that can be understood. 

The National Language Service Corps is a Defense Department entity that provides the federal government with workers whose primary mission is to promote understanding — literally. 

Since March, NLSC interpreters have been called on by the White House Coronavirus Task Force and Federal Emergency Management Agency community-based testing sites to interpret virus-related questions for people whose first language is not English. 

Some 500-plus languages and dialects are offered by more than 10,000 NLSC interpreters. The top-three requested languages for FEMA's COVID-19 response are Spanish, Vietnamese and Arabic, an NLSC official said.

When a person who isn't English-proficient arrives at a FEMA-established COVID-19 testing site, a call goes out to an NLSC hotline that has an interpreter standing by for the specific language. 

These specialists are by the phone, ready to engage with the person who has limited English proficiency, the official said. "They're able to say, 'OK, here's the menu of languages that are available for you to get interpretation support.'" It's about making sure there's clear communication between the health care providers and the people being tested, the official added.

Eric Heuberger is one of about 70 NLSC interpreters assigned exclusively to pandemic work. He is in Brooklyn, New York, interpreting Spanish over the phone for FEMA's citywide system of COVID-19 testing sites. If Spanish-speaking people have questions about the virus or testing procedures, Heuberger is the one they ask and he translates for health care workers and for those being tested. In addition to health care settings; he also is involved with interpreting for educators.

"In New York, what we've seen is that the poor people are in the more crowded living circumstances, and they are more likely to get infected," Heuberger said. "So, where people are being infected is within their living spaces, and there's not much they can do about it."

"We anticipate that [the virus] is going to be here for a little bit. So we're going to be ready to support in whatever capacity is needed," the NLSC official said.

Stratofortress Scene

 

Two Air Force B-52 Stratofortresses fly over RAF Fairford, England, Aug. 22, 2020.

Shake Ace

 

Vito, an Air Force patrol explosive detector dog, shakes hands at Camp Zama, Japan, Aug. 21, 2020.

Soldier Swab

 

An Army medic paratrooper swabs a soldier for COVID-19 during Exercise Saber Junction at the Hohenfels Training Area, Germany, Aug. 20, 2020.

First Day

Air Force Staff Sgt. Jason Dieterle and his family head to the Aviano Elementary School building at Aviano Air Base, Italy, Aug. 24, 2020. It was the first time students were allowed back to the schools since they closed in February due to COVID-19. Parents were given the option to bring their kids to school or continue virtual education from home.

Combat King Care

 

An airman performs maintenance on an HC-130J Combat King II during Red Flag-Rescue 20-2 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz., Aug. 17, 2020. Airmen from several units across the country, including Guard and reserve units, participated in the exercise, designed to increase the Air Force's total force readiness.

Domestic Ops

 

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Estevan Jojola puts on a face shield during a training exercise in Albuquerque, N.M., Aug. 17, 2020.

DOD Partners With Agencies to Use AI for Disaster, Humanitarian Relief

 Aug. 20, 2020 | BY David Vergun , DOD News

The Defense Department is partnering with other agencies to develop deep-learning artificial intelligence algorithms to provide near-real-time data to improve the decision-making of first responders engaged in natural disasters and humanitarian assistance efforts.

Representatives from DOD and its partners — the Energy Department and Microsoft — along with a White House official, spoke yesterday during a virtual meeting.

Michael J. Kratsios, DOD's chief technology officer, said five consortiums have been launched to accomplish this goal, using the best AI technology talent from industry to respond to humanitarian assistance and to mitigate natural disasters by protecting property and lives, including those of first responders.

Cheryl Ingstad, director of the Energy Department's AI and technology office, said one of the most important aspects of this work is understanding first responders' needs and developing AI in such a way that they can easily understand and use it. She said she's confident the work will save lives and that additional partners may be added to the effort. 

Nand Mulchandani, acting director of the Defense Department's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, said DOD is working on this collaborative project because the department devotes significant time and manpower to responding to disasters and humanitarian assistance relief operations, and this work can contribute to that effort in a big way.

Research and development, he said, has been progressing for about a year, and it has progressed from being a concept to become something that can be used. "Software has unique and powerful properties," he said. "If you build it well with the right customer focus and architecture, the more you build, the cheaper it gets."

Susie Adams, Microsoft's chief federal technology officer, said the work not only will help first responders in the United States, but also will be shared with global partners.

"AI and machine learning enable solutions never thought possible," she said. "AI is a tool to augment human intelligence, not replace it. It's about getting data to the right people at the right time as quickly as possible so they can make better-informed decisions."

Adams noted that Microsoft has been working on AI for about 25 years and now has 1,000 researchers engaged in AI work.

Chris Liddell, White House deputy chief of staff, said the administration is excited about government and private partners using AI to save lives and fully supports the effort. 

Refueling Operations

 

A KC-135 Stratotanker refuels a Navy P-8 aircraft above the continental U.S., Aug. 18, 2020.

Storm Cleanup

 

Iowa Air National Guardsman Staff Sgt. Jerad Keegan uses a chainsaw to clear away downed trees in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Aug. 18, 2020. Extremely high winds uprooted trees causing widespread structural damage and power outages across southeast Iowa.

Former Army Nurse, 100, Recalls World War II Experiences

 Aug. 21, 2020 | BY Terri Moon Cronk , DOD News

World War II was raging in 1944. American troops were instrumental in the effort to take back France, including the beach landings in Normandy that caught the Germans off guard. American forces took possession of Rome, and a Soviet counterattack pushed Germany back into Poland. 

In the Pacific, Japan had gained more Chinese territory, but the communists' presence limited Japan's success. The Allies fought back by taking Saipan and invading the Philippines.

Meanwhile, in Philadelphia, 24-year-old nurse Regina Benson and three of her nursing school classmates joined the Army Nurse Corps right after graduation to serve their country. They were assigned overseas and remained lifelong friends.

Benson's three brothers were also serving, so for her, joining the Army as a patriotic duty was not unusual.

"She was kind of fearless," her daughter, Phyllis Benson, said in a recent interview.

Benson, of McLean, Virginia, is now 100 years old. She visited the Pentagon recently and was interviewed about her Army Nurse Corps service in Japan, Hawaii and Okinawa, from September 1944 until April 1946.

While in Hawaii, 2nd Lt. Benson met her future husband, Army 1st Lt. William Benson, who was a supply officer and a company commander. He stayed in the Army Reserve, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. When Regina left the Army in 1946, she became a civilian surgical nurse, her daughter said.

Benson had some harrowing experiences during her wartime service in the Pacific.

"We were on a ship going across the Pacific, and we hit a bad storm," Benson said. "So, the captain decided we would go down with the ship, and of course, everybody got on their knees and prayed and promised God many things. Then all of a sudden, the ship calmed down, and we went through the eye of the storm and everybody went back to what they were doing."

After the Japanese announced their surrender on Aug. 15, 1945, and formally signed an agreement Sept. 2, American service members were welcomed into the homes of Japanese, Benson said. "We ate dinner with them, talked to them and stayed in some of the Japanese homes," she said, adding that the Americans shared their rations with the Japanese.

She remembers well, the day the Japanese surrendered. "I was delighted, but the Japanese [troops] in the hills didn't know that World War II was over, and they came down [from the hills] shooting at us," she said. She said she jumped for joy when the war was over so she could return home, get married and work as a civilian nurse.

Benson believes "the United States is the greatest country in the world because of its freedoms and because people can carry out their dreams." If she could speak to younger generations today, she said she would tell them "to love their country, and remember the price [service members] paid for your freedom. Remain true to your country. We can pursue our dreams and hopes."

Regina Benson worked 12-hour shifts in Army hospitals in the Pacific; on wards and in operating rooms. She said the most important thing she did during the war was "to give comfort to those troops who were dying."

According to Benson, the most rewarding part of her Army nursing career was to be able to tell the mother of a young service member that their son did not die alone, because she was there with them.

Rapid Response Team Fights Pandemic at the Deckplates

 Aug. 21, 2020 | BY Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Taylor M Dimartino , USS Germantown

Sailors aboard the amphibious dock landing ship USS Germantown received nasal swab tests to determine whether or not they had contracted COVID-19, and within the week, all test results came back negative.

Much of the ship's success at fighting the pandemic can be attributed to its COVID-19 Rapid Response Team, or CRRT. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Clint Woods leads the team as Germantown's preventive medicine technician.

"I came up with the idea during our last underway period to start a rapid response team on board," Woods said. "We were juggling a lot of evolutions, and our relatively small medical team ensured that all COVID-19 risks were being mitigated. We had to properly sanitize everything."

In March, during the early phases of Navy COVID-19 policy development, Woods realized it would take more than just the ship's medical personnel to prevent COVID-19 from getting aboard the ship, he said .

"It was all about being available to be at more than one place at a time," Woods said. "I needed people I could train and trust to be an asset in the fight against the coronavirus, people willing to push back against the pandemic."

On April 6, Navy Cmdr. Christopher Causee, Germantown's commanding officer, designated 15 sailors, representing each shipboard department, to serve with the CRRT.

Woods said the Germantown's medical department spent more than a month training CRRT members on everything from proper personal protective equipment wear to disinfectant and quarantine procedures. They are also trained to help with COVID-19 testing and are certified under the Health and Insurance Portability and Accountability Act to handle patient records the same way a hospital corpsman might, he added.

"Each CRRT member has stepped up in such a big way," Woods said. "They have no problem dropping whatever they are doing for their regular work and hopping into an evolution to support all of the medical team's efforts. We made sure they were more capable than the average sailor of identifying COVID-19 related risks and carrying out the proper procedures when mitigating those risks."

Fighting COVID-19 on-ship, and keeping Germantown and our embarked crews safe and ready to take on our mission, is important. We are fortunate to have a team trained and ready."

Navy Lt. Kimberley Engols

It is now commonplace to see sailors wiping down surfaces around the ship with disinfectant two to three times each day. In addition to regular flight deck crews, members of the CRRT, equipped with handheld sprayers, now stand ready at the flight line to disinfect incoming supplies delivered by helicopter. Other members stand nearby, disinfectant solution in hand, ready to spray each wrapped pallet as it is brought off the flight deck.

"Our ship was underway when the COVID-19 pandemic started, and we had to come up with a plan to remain free of the virus, keep our crew safe and continue on with our mission," said Navy Lt. Kimberley Engols, the Germantown's dental officer and appointed "COVID officer."

"Our first few planning meetings consisted of gathering the limited available data of the virus and finding ways to adapt protocol to our unique shipboard environment," Engols said. "Working in confined spaces where distancing sailors is challenging, we realized how strict protocol needed to be in order to prevent COVID-19 from entering our ship."

Engols added that Germantown's protocol is adapted from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommendations to meet Navy operational requirements. It is continuously reviewed as new evidence emerges about transmission and disinfection, she said.

While his team's actions have not always been convenient for the Germantown's crew, Woods said, everyone understands the importance of setting a new routine for life aboard a warship during the pandemic.

Woods said the CRRT is responsible for implementing strict social distancing controls while underway by periodically shutting down the gyms and ship's store, limiting the number of personnel eating on the mess decks at any given time and maintaining a 6-foot distance between sailors in the chow line. The team also ensures that masks are worn properly by every member of the crew.

"Everyone on board recognizes how serious the virus has become," Woods said. "Even if these decisions are unpopular, they are necessary, and I have the CRRT members to thank for all of their incredible work enforcing these policies."

Engols said the CRRT has played a vital role in keeping Germantown's crew safe.

"The team continues to adapt to our mission and is ready to muster at any time of day, as needed, in response to any potential threat vectors," Engols said. "Fighting COVID-19 on-ship, and keeping Germantown and our embarked crews safe and ready to take on our mission, is important. We are fortunate to have a team trained and ready."

Woods said he agrees that the CRRT's goal is keeping everyone on the ship healthy.

"We haven't had a single case of COVID-19 on the ship, and I recognize that as evidence of how effective our team has been," Woods said. "If we can keep concern about coronavirus at the back of everyone's mind and allow sailors to focus first on all the hard work they are doing on a daily basis at sea, then I know we are on the right track to beat this virus. My team's ability to adapt and overcome has been phenomenal and has made all the difference in keeping our crew safe from coronavirus."

The Germantown, part of America Expeditionary Strike Group, is operating in the 7th Fleet area of operations to enhance interoperability with allies and partners, and serves as a ready response force to defend peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

Pathfinder Medical Technician Discovers Safer COVID-19 Swab Technique

 

Aug. 21, 2020 | BY AIR FORCE AIRMAN 1ST CLASS JENNIFER ZIMA

A medical technician at Royal Air Force Croughton, England, discovered a COVID-19 testing technique that needed to be changed, so he elevated the concern and affected testing procedures across the entire Defense Department.

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Steve Zavala, 422nd Medical Squadron medical operations flight chief and Trusted Care champion, along with three other medical technicians, have been testing patients for COVID-19 at the 422nd MDS using the same testing procedure used for the seasonal flu.

''The particular method to collect the COVID-19 swabs is called the nasopharyngeal swab,'' Zavala said. ''The training that we received is dictated down from [the Defense Health Agency]. The DOD Global Respiratory Pathogen Surveillance questionnaire lays out, step by step, how to do a nasopharyngeal swab.''

The questionnaire said that one of the steps when collecting a sample was to have patients blow their nose into a tissue. However, while watching COVID-19 testing on the news, Zavala noticed other medical professionals were not having their patients blow their noses before collecting samples.

''I was pretty confident we were doing something wrong here — something just didn't seem right to me.'' Zavala said. ''I did some research and finally came across a step-by-step guideline according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] on what you should do for nasopharyngeal swabs.''

Zavala noticed that the CDC procedures had no recommendation that patients have to blow their noses. He then searched the Air Force Medical Service Knowledge Exchange COVID-19 page and didn't find that recommendation.

''There’s this big push for medical Trusted Care, not only in the Air Force, but across DOD,'' Zavala said. ''We're trying to mirror the reliability that the nuclear industry and commercial aircraft have. ... Medical has been trying to adopt the principles that those industries have, and we call it Trusted Care.''

Trusted Care is not a program, but a type of culture focused on improved communication, he explained.

''It took us three years to get to the point where we're starting to see some of the positives from doing all of the Trusted Care work,'' Zavala said. ''Every department has their own daily huddle. That's the time to bring up any safety concerns — it's all safety driven. Every meeting that we have starts with safety moments and safety stories.

''It's hard for people sometimes,'' he continued. ''They just fix things on the fly — they don't think of things as a safety moment. The way that people learn the best is from stories. It's to get people to look at things in a different way, and maybe it will trigger that story in their mind when they see something else. In a hospital, anyone can find something that can be a huge issue.''

A Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation report is part of Trusted Care. It's a technique used in health care to facilitate communicating recommendations to improve patient care. ''You're recommending an action be taken,'' Zavala said. ''You're not just complaining about something wrong, but you're recommending up to the highest levels.''

Zavala sent a SBAR report to his leadership, explained the situation and asked for clearer guidance on testing procedures to have more accurate results. They sent the SBAR, and the recommendations to discontinue nose-blowing, to the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Trusted Care regional and head laboratories. From there, the report gained Air Force-level attention.

''The form that is DOD-wide is going to be changed to match the CDC,'' Zavala said.

Zavala shared some suggestions from his experience.

''Speak up if you see something that doesn't jibe with what you've been taught,'' he said. ''A big thing in Trusted Care is to exercise a questioning attitude. It's always good to ask people for a crosscheck — 'Hey, does this seem right to you?' It ties into our core value of excellence in all we do. Why are we taking the time to do this, if you feel it’s not the best method?''

(Air Force Airman 1st Class Jennifer Zima is assigned to the 501st Combat Support Wing.)

Space Command Leadership Changes Hands

Aug. 21, 2020 | BY TERRI MOON CRONK , DOD News

For decades, the world has enjoyed the freedom to operate in space, and today, billions of people worldwide rely on space-based capabilities. ''Yet we now find that space has become highly contested, and the gains the United States possesses are threatened,'' Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper said at the U.S. Space Command change-of-command ceremony in Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

Army Gen. James H. Dickinson succeeded Space Force Gen. John W. ''Jay'' Raymond as Spacecom commander, the 11th and newest DOD combatant command. Raymond, the chief of space operations, had also led Spacecom since its inception.

''[As] we continue to push the limits of science and innovation, we recognize that our competitors are seeking new ways to exploit our systems and to undermine our military advantage,'' Esper said. ''We know, for example, that China and Russia are weaponizing space through the development of anti-satellite missiles, directed energy, weapons and more — all designed to hold the United States and allied space systems at risk. They have turned a once peaceful arena into a warfighting domain.''

Space power will be essential in any future conflict. The National Defense Strategy underscores the importance of modernizing our space capabilities to effectively respond to this rapidly changing and complex security environment, the secretary said.

Fortunately, he added, Space Command has been in Raymond's capable hands, and that will continue with Dickinson.\

As Spacecom's top officer, Raymond pushed joint warfighting excellence in the space domain by focusing on the organization, training and equipping of our nation's finest space professionals, Esper said.

Dickinson, prior to becoming Spacecom's deputy commander, commanded the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, Army Forces Strategic Command and the Joint Functional Component Command for Integrated Missile Defense, a seminal experience that has equipped space operations in a joint environment, Esper said.

''Jim Dickinson is a man of enormous character. And in this particular job, he's going to need every ounce of that character, because he's going to have to continually render his best military advice to the secretary of defense and the president in times of crisis in good times and bad times,'' Army Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said.

''Jim Dickinson's foot will now be on the accelerator, pedaling,'' Raymond said of his Spacecom successor. ''Thank you for serving so closely with me over the past six months, and I couldn't be more excited. There is no one more qualified to serve as commander in chief of space operations.''

''I am truly humbled and deeply honored to assume command of your Space Command … I am thankful to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the secretary of defense, the president of the United States and our congressional leader for the trust and confidence they have placed in me to lead our nation's newest combatant command in its role to protect, defend and advance our nation's interest in space,'' Dickinson said.

Command Senior Enlisted Leader Assignment

 Aug. 21, 2020

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The Office of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (OSEAC) announced today the following assignment:

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Sheryl D. Lyon, currently assigned as the command senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Army Cyber Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia, has been selected to assume responsibility as the command senior enlisted leader for the U.S. Cyber Command and National Security Agency, Fort Meade, Maryland.