September 2021 Newsletter

News from MHCE 

SEPTEMBER 2021 EDITION 

Monthly Newsletter 

WWW.MHCE.US 

Soldiers Have 3 Months 

to Get COVID Vaccine 

or Face Discharge, with 

Few Waiver Options 

Active-duty soldiers have three 

months to be fully vaccinated 

against COVID-19 or face a possible 

discharge from the force, the Army 

announced Tuesday. 

The 485,900 soldiers on active duty 

must be vaccinated by Dec. 15. But 

the 336,500 National Guard and 

189,800 Reserve troops have until 

June 30, 2022, to be fully inoculated. 

As of Tuesday, about 80% of activeduty 

soldiers had received at least 

one vaccine dose, according to an 

Army spokesperson. However, the 

National Guard and Reserve don’t 

have accurate numbersfor how 

much of their forces are vaccinated, 

given many of those troops receive 

vaccines outside of the military. 

"This is quite literally a matter of 

life and death for our Soldiers, their 

families and the communities in 

which we live," Lt. Gen. R. Scott 

Dingle, the U.S. Army surgeon 

general, said in a statement. "Case 

counts and deaths continue to be 

concerning as the Delta variant 

spreads, which makes protecting the 

force through mandatory vaccination 

a health and readiness priority for the 

total Army." 

The military's largest branch issued 

its mandate after the other services 

announced similar timelines. 

For now, only Pfizer-BioNTech's 

coronavirus vaccine has received full 

approval from the Food and Drug 

Administration and, as such, is the 

one officially mandated. But troops 

are allowed to seek out the other 

available vaccines if they prefer. 

That means that if troops receive 

one of the two-shot varieties of the 

vaccine they will need to have had 

their second shot and passed the two- 

week post vaccine waiting period 

before the December deadline. 

Along with other vaccines, the 

Defense Department has a long list of 

health-related mandates for troops. 

Service members being unvaccinated 

can cause many complications for 

commands, as they may become 

undeployable. 

Soldiers who refuse vaccinations 

will be counseled by their chain of 

command. Such counseling typically 

involves starting a paper trail and 

having a discussion with the service 

member about the orders they are 

violating; it isn't always followed by 

a punishment. 

But continued failure to comply 

with the order "could result in 

administrative or non-judicial 

punishment -- to include relief of 

duties or discharge," according to a 

statement from the Army. 

Commanders will request a General 

Officer Memorandum of Reprimand, 

which are largely seen as career 

killers, to be initiated for any soldier 

who refuses inoculation without an 

exemption. 

A discharge can cost a soldier their 

benefits, including the GI Bill. 

Military.com recently reported on 

a Marine corporal who refused to 

comply with an order that mandated 

unvaccinated troops wear a mask 

indoors. She was kicked out of the 

force within a week of violating the 

order and given a general discharge 

under honorable conditions. 

Those seeking waivers to avoid 

immunization essentially have 

two options: medical or religious 

exemptions, according to Sean 

Timmons, an attorney with the 

Houston-based law firm Tully 

Rinckey. 

The military is a relatively young, 

healthy community whose members 

already have received numerous 

vaccines, so most people are "not 

going to have the ability to be granted 

a medical waiver," Timmons said. 

A religious exemption may be 

more likely, he said, if the person 

can demonstrate that their religious 

practice compels them to be morally 

opposed to vaccination. However, no 

major religion has come out against 

the COVID-19 vaccine or vaccines 

in general. 

Joe Seiner, a professor at the 

University of South Carolina School 

of Law, said soldiers will need to 

demonstrate that the vaccine conflicts 

with a sincere religious belief or have 

received prior waivers. 

"You'd probably want to show 

them that you haven't gotten certain 

vaccinations or, if you are new to the 

service, that this would be consistent 

with your prior history," Seiner said 

during an interview. 

Still, if a religious exemption request 

is denied by the military, the rejection 

may provide a basis for a lawsuit, 

Timmons said. 

"It's possible for attorneys to work 

with an admission to say there's a 

good faith objection," he explained. 

Timmons said his firm has been 

approached by service members 

expressing interest in filing lawsuits 

against the mandate. 

Seiner said he expects lawsuits to 

be filed but warned troops who are 

hesitant about the vaccine not to 

expect any immediate injunctions 

or temporary rulings to halt the 

program. 

"There's no guarantee a judge will 

do that,” he said. “For a judge to 

actually issue that order, it has to be 

a lawsuit that is likely to succeed, at 

least in the federal judge's mind."

2 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us SEPTEMBER 2021 EDITION

WWW.MHCE.US Monthly Newsletter | 3


WWW.MHCE.US Monthly Newsletter | 5 

Focus on Oversight a Key for Success at 

CoreCivic 

In the corrections industry, maintaining high standards of 

operation is imperative to meeting the needs of the individuals 

in our care. That's why CoreCivic adheres to a stringent set of 

guidelines set forth by our own standards, as well as those of our 

government partners and the American Correctional Association 

(ACA). 

Founded in 1870, the ACA is considered the national benchmark 

for the effective operation of correctional systems throughout 

the United States. To become accredited, a facility must achieve 

compliance with ACA mandatory standards and a minimum of 

90 percent non-mandatory standards. CoreCivic facilities adhere 

to ACA standards, and in 2020, CoreCivic earned an average 

ACA audit score of 99.6 percent across all facilities. 

Key ACA audit areas include facility personnel, resident reentry 

programs, resident safety, health care, and more. 

holds our facilities and staff to a high standard. To be able to 

represent our facility and receive reaccreditation in person is an 

honor." 

Adhering to ACA standards is only one part of CoreCivic's 

commitment to robust oversight. When government partners 

utilize CoreCivic's services, we are held not only to our own 

high standards and those of the ACA, but we are often held to 

the same or higher accountability of our public counterparts 

through stringent government contracts, unfettered access to 

our facilities for our partners, and hundreds of on-site quality 

assurance monitors. 

We provide access to our government partners, with most of 

our facilities having government agency employees known as 

contract monitors who are physically on-site to ensure we are 

operating in line with partner guidelines. 

Recently, the ACA held in Nashville, Tennessee, its 151st 

Congress of Corrections, an annual convention that brings 

together corrections professionals from across the country. In 

addition to various workshops and events at the convention, the 

ACA Commission on Accreditation also held panel hearings to 

award accreditation to correctional facilities that meet the ACA's 

rigorous requirements. Listed below are the seven CoreCivic 

facilities that earned reaccreditation this year, with mandatory/ 

non-mandatory scores: 

• Bent County Correctional Facility - 100/99.0 

• Citrus County Detention Facility - 100/100 

• Eloy Detention Center - 100/100 

• Lake Erie Correctional Institution - 100/99.3 

• Saguaro Correctional Center - 100/99.8 

• Stewart Detention Center - 100/100 

• Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility - 100/100 

"The accreditation process is very important," said Warden 

Fred Figueroa from Eloy Detention Center, one of the seven 

CoreCivic facilities that was awarded reaccreditation. "ACA 

To maintain our own high standards, annual on-site audits covering 

all operational areas are administered to ensure compliance with 

contractual and regulatory obligations and corporate-mandated 

requirements. Each CoreCivic Safety facility is audited by our 

internal quality assurance division, which is independent from 

our operations division. Facilities are expected to be audit-ready 

year-round, maintaining continuous compliance with numerous 

applicable standards. 

CoreCivic employs 75 staff members dedicated to quality 

assurance, including several subject matter experts with extensive 

experience from all major disciplines within our institutional 

operations. 

"A lot of hard work goes into preparing for these audits," 

Figueroa said. "Once they're complete, the staff can see their 

accomplishments and feel proud." 

Having multiple levels of oversight helps CoreCivic maintain 

a safe environment for those in our care. By holding ourselves 

accountable to our own high standards, along with our 

government partners' and ACA's standards, CoreCivic continues 

to be a trusted partner working to better the public good.


WWW.MHCE.US Monthly Newsletter | 7



TO ADVERTISE 

contact Nathan.Stiles@mhce.us 

VISIT OUR 

WEBSITE AT MHCE.US

10 | MHCE - News www.mhce.us SEPTEMBER 2021 EDITION 

TO ADVERTISE 

contact Kyle.Stephens@mhce.us


Mandatory COVID 

Testing for 

Unvaccinated DoD 

Civilian Workers to 

Start This Fall 

The Pentagon will begin regular mandatory COVID-19 testing 

of unvaccinated civilian workers this fall, its next step in fighting 

the disease after requiring troops to get the shots, Deputy Defense 

Secretary Kathleen Hicks said Wednesday. 

Hicks said the department is adding stricter monitoring of 

its massive workforce of about 700,000 civilians, and also 

is considering how to deal with contractors, after President 

Joe Biden announced in July his intention to test all federal 

employees. 

"We're working closely across the department and with 

interagency colleagues on the right approach for our contractors 

who are present on a routine basis on defense installations to 

make sure we have the right strategy for them," Hicks said 

during a virtual defense conference. 

Civilian employees will be required to provide an "attestation 

of testing," meaning they must supply proof of vaccination, or 

undergo testing to monitor for the disease, which has killed 436 

people in the Defense Department. 

More than half of the reported deaths -- 282 -- were civilians. 

COVID-19 has killed 96 contractors and 40 service members, 

according to the department. 

But only about half of the civilian workforce, or 310,669 

employees, has been fully vaccinated, the department's data 

shows. 

The Pentagon is the largest federal agency and one of the largest 

civilian employers in the U.S., making its switch to mandatory 

testing significant. Businesses, states and health care facilities 

across the country also have mandated regular testing. 

Last month, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered all activeduty 

troops to be vaccinated, and the military services are in 

the process of rolling out rules and timelines. The Pentagon 

has said the vaccine mandate is a lawful order and troops face 

repercussions for refusing, though it remains unclear whether 

it would result in judicial punishment or separation from the 

military. 

Biden announced the federal employee testing requirement July 

29 in an effort to ramp up lagging national vaccination rates as 

the Delta variant of the coronavirus first took hold. 

"Anyone who does not attest to being fully vaccinated will be 

required to wear a mask on the job no matter their geographic 

location, physically distance from all other employees and 

visitors, comply with a weekly or twice weekly screening testing 

requirement, and be subject to restrictions on official travel," the 

White House announcement said.


Join Our Team! 

Embark on a new career 

with Central New York 

Psychiatric Center! 

Our Team Promotes 

Hope, Resilience and Recovery! 

Central New York Psychiatric Center is seeking 

candidates to fill the following positions; 

TO ADVERTISE 

contact Kyle.Stephens@mhce.us 

Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Nurse Practitioners, 

Psychologists, and Registered Nurses. 

These positions are available at our Inpatient 

Forensic Hospital in Marcy, New York, as 

well as our Corrections Based Satellite Units 

across the State. 

Benefits Include: 

• NYS Pension 

• Competitive Salaries 

• Comprehensive Health Insurance 

• Flexible Spending Accounts for 

Healthcare & Dependent Care 

• Generous Paid Time Off 

Contact Us: 

315-765-3375 or by e-mail 

CNpersonnel@omh.ny.gov


College-age dependents enrolled in the Tricare Young Adult program will 

see an increase in their monthly premiums; however, the amounts vary, 

depending on which option they are covered under. For those using Tricare 

Young Adult Select, the monthly payment will go from $257 to $265, and 

those using Tricare Young Adult Prime will see the monthly payment increase 

from $459 to $512. 

Tricare Rates Increasing in 

2022 for Reservists, Young 

Adults, Others 

If you are a reservist, young adult or transitioning service member enrolled 

in Tricare or a transition health insurance plan, you will probably soon be 

paying more for your health insurance. 

Recently discharged members with temporary health insurance under the 

Continued Health Care Benefit Program (CHCBP) will see their premiums 

increase by the largest amount. Enrollees in that program pay premiums every 

three months, or quarterly, instead of monthly. That means their premiums 

will go from $1,599 to $1,654 for a single person and from $3,605 to $4,079 

for a family. 

While these rates may seem high, they pale in comparison to what civilians 

pay for health insurance. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the 

average monthly health insurance premium for single coverage in 2020 was 

$622; for family coverage, it was $1,778. 

Tricare just released the 2022 rates for the Tricare Reserve Select (TRS) and 

Tricare Retired Reserve (TRR) programs, as well as for the Tricare Young 

Adult and Continued Health Care Benefit programs. Like almost everything 

else, the prices will mainly be increasing. 

Reservists enrolled in the Tricare Reserve Selectprogram are the lucky ones 

in the group and will see their premiums actually go down next year. The 

monthly premiums will decrease from $47.20 to $46.70 for single coverage 

and from $238.99 to $229.99 for family coverage. 

Retired reservists who haven't turned 60 and are covered under the Tricare 

Retired Reserveprogram will see the monthly premiums for a single member 

increase from $484.83 to $502.32 each month, and those with family coverage 

will see an increase from $1,165.01 to $1,206.59.


One Elite Business School, 

Multiple Modes of MBA 

Delivery 

MBA programs at the Harbert College of Business are not 

business as usual. 

Our accredited programs prepare you for real-world 

challenges and strengthens your skills in leadership, critical 

thinking, and analysis. You’ll graduate as a globally minded, 

ethically conscious professional prepared to inspire business. 

delivers a unique learning experience that offers the best of 

both worlds. No GMAT requirement for this program. 

PHYSICIANS EXECUTIVE MBA 

This executive MBA is tailored to practicing physicians, 

preparing them to manage the business of healthcare and 

move into positions of leadership. It offers the flexibility of 

online courses blended with short on-campus residencies, 

a learning model preferred by busy physicians. No GMAT 

requirement for this program. 

Wherever you are in your career, the Harbert College of 

Business has an MBA to fit your needs. 

We offer multiple highly ranked MBA programs: online, 

full-time, executive, and physicians executive. The 

programs vary in structure, duration, and requirements, but 

all culminate in the same distinguished degree. 

Chart your trajectory in the way that works best for you: 

FULL-TIME MBA 

Our renowned program—hosted at our world-class business 

complex—provides an immersive learning experience 

tailored to career starters. 

ONLINE MBA 

THE HARBERT COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MBA 

ADVANTAGE 

Globally Distinguished 

The Harbert College of Business is accredited by the 

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business—an 

honor held by fewer than 5% of business schools worldwide. 

Our most flexible program, the online MBA is a self-paced 

alternative for business professionals unable to put their 

careers on hold. This program offers the same exceptional 

curriculum as the full-time MBA. Our 30 years of online 

learning experience and expertise make it one of the top 

online MBA programs in the nation. 

EXECUTIVE MBA 

A blend of online and on-campus learning, the executive MBA 

is structured to accommodate mid-to-late career business 

professionals. Primarily delivered online for flexibility, this 

program also offers students a shared learning experience 

through short on-campus residencies. This combination 

VISIT OUR WEBSITE 

AT MHCE.US


When the practice of medicine 

becomes the business of medicine. 

You spent years studying medicine. 

But what about the business side of 

your practice? 

It’s easy to get started. 

Take the next step toward a 

Physicians Executive MBA 

and contact us: 

auburn-military.mba 

334-844-4060 

Auburn MBA


Pentagon 9/11 

Attack Survivors 

Grappled With 

Wounds that 

Defined an Era of 

War 

Army Lt. Col. Marilyn Wills was in a second floor conference 

room at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, unaware of the 

tragedy unfolding 205 miles to the north in New York City. 

At 9:37 a.m., American Airlines Flight 77 slammed into 

the Pentagon's west side, driving deep into the outer row of 

offices known as the "E-Ring" and exploding in a fireball that 

killed 184 nearly instantaneously and wounded 160 more, 

including Wills, who was knocked across the room, hair 

ablaze, ears ringing and brain rattled from the blast wave. 

"I don't remember any of it," Wills said in an interview. "I 

know I was constantly talking, trying to assure us that we 

would get out of there. Over the years, you talk to people who 

were there, the nurse who attended me, and learn, but I just 

don't remember." 

Wills earned the Soldier's Medal for her heroism that day, 

crawling through inky toxic smoke, using her sweater to 

shield her face, sharing it with others to protect their lungs 

from the scalding air and, at one point, carrying a person on 

her back to reach a window on the building's courtyard. 

Then, she helped lower people safely to the ground. 

Thirteen days later, after spending time at hospitals for smoke 

inhalation and burns, Wills returned to the building. She 

didn't realize it then, but she also had suffered at least a mild 

traumatic brain injury from the shock wave and later would 

develop post-traumatic stress disorder. 

"Looking back, I was not ready physically, I wasn't ready 

psychologically," Wills said. "The place was still crackling. 

The worst part was the smell -- stinky, smelly. It was the 

smell of death, of dead bodies, of fuel." 

Twenty years after 9/11, Wills and 105 others injured at the 

Pentagon still bear the effects of TBIs, lung damage, burns, 

musculoskeletal injuries and missing limbs. At least several 

have been diagnosed with PTSD or depression. 

They were the first of the 9/11 generation to experience what 

later were identified as the signature wounds of Iraq and 

Afghanistan, mainly brain injuries and post-traumatic stress 

disorder caused by roadside bombs -- often the enemy's 

weapon of choice in those insurgency wars. 

By 2020 -- 19 years after 9/11 -- more than 408,000 service 

members had suffered traumatic brain injuries, according to 

Reuters, including roughly 8,200 with severe or penetrating 

wounds, at least a quarter of whom also reported symptoms 

of PTSD. 

The injuries existed before the last two decades of conflict, 

but those long-running wars meant wide exposure to bomb 

blasts and burn pits that have left an indelible mark on the 

force. 

TBIs can cause memory loss, depression, and changes in 

personality and focus. PTSD leaves sufferers fighting similar 

symptoms, part of what has made diagnosis challenging 

and contributing to the difficulty many veterans face when 

coming home to lives put on hold during deployments. 

Deeply intertwined with those conditions has been the plague 

of suicide that has struck the military community since the 

wars in Iraq and Afghanistan began. 

But improvements in medical care in the years after 9/11 

allowed more wounded service members to survive and 

make it home, part of what medical experts such as Dr. Art 

Kellermann, former dean of medicine at the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences, call the "greatest 

developments in combat casualty care the world has ever 

seen." 

"The conflict started on Sept. 11, and the reality is the first few 

years, the outcomes weren't nearly what was achieved later 

in the conflict," said Kellermann, who now works as CEO 

at the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System in 

Richmond, Virginia. "Those first few years, military medicine 

was reinvented." 

Since 9/11, 6,710 U.S. service members have died and 52,441 

have been wounded in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere as part 

of the Global War on Terrorism, not including the injuries and 

deaths at the Pentagon. 

While each combat death is tragic, the numbers would have 

been significantly higher if not for medical innovations and 

lessons learned that started at the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 

medical experts say. 

"It's actually one of the brightest stories of these long-running 

conflicts that haven't ended nearly the way our country would 

have hoped they would, but the advances that were made, and 

how they were made, are as profound as anything American 

medicine ever achieved," Kellermann said. 

HEAD INJURIES 

Traumatic brain injury and PTSD would become incredibly 

common but were still little understood at the outset of the 

9/11 wars. 

The first is physical, the result of blows to the head or pressure 

waves sweeping across the brain. The second is categorized 

as a mental health condition. Years of research have led 

experts to conclude they are connected, but no causal link 

has been proven. 

Wills and retired Army Lt. Col. Brian Birdwell, the only 

survivor from the portion of the Pentagon's E-Ring where the 

plane hit, both suffered concussive blasts. 

Wills recovered and so did Birdwell, who is now a Texas state 

senator.


"I was injured on the first day of the war," Birdwell told 

Military.com. "In the military, we do chaos well. This is what 

we have been doing -- adapt, improvise and overcome." 

In the oily thick blackness, Birdwell said he came to the 

"reconciliation that he was dying," thought of his wife and 

12-year-old son, and told God he was ready. 

"The battlefield is an inherently toxic, dirty atmosphere," 

Szema said. "There's definitely an opportunity to improve 

how we treat those who live and work in these environments." 

Both say the road has not been easy. Birdwell has treatable 

short-term memory loss, and both admire how far American 

medicine has come in recognizing the impact of concussion 

on brains and the approach now taken to ensure that those 

affected recover. 

"I had a huge contusion on the back of my head, and because 

I had suffered oxygen deprivation, I had mild cognitive 

impairment, but long term, I'm quite healthy," said the 

59-year-old Birdwell, who despite his injury could name 

every single person who treated and helped him from his 

evacuation from the Pentagon to his release from the hospital 

at Christmas, more than three months later. 

It took several years, but in 2006 the Military Acute 

Concussion Evaluation was added to the list of tools to screen 

casualties. And while that assessment is based on subjective 

questioning, the Defense Department continues to invest in 

sensors and medical devices to detect mild brain injuries. 

"Fortunately, our capacity to help wounded warriors recover 

is substantially better than when the U.S. entered Iraq and 

Afghanistan ... those of us who are privileged to work with 

these patients and their families remain determined to help 

them advance in their recovery," wrote Dr. Paul Pasquina 

and others in the book, "Out of the Crucible: How the U.S. 

Military Transformed Combat Casualty Care in Iraq and 

Afghanistan,” co-edited by Kellermann and published by the 

Department of Defense. 

MENTAL HEALTH 

An estimated 20% of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have 

symptoms of PTSD, according to Rand Corp. Two years after 

9/11, Wills found herself short-tempered with her children, 

irritable and angry. 

Likewise, Birdwell dealt with flashbacks to the blast, the 

memories of those in his office who perished, and the pain 

and trauma of suffering third-degree burns. 

Wills, who has a masters degree in counseling, relied on her 

own training at first but later saw a professional, which she 

said helped. Birdwell turned to religious counseling and his 

own deep faith to get him through the surgeries, the recovery 

and the agony of his extensive injuries. 

In the early 2000s, Wills said, she feared the loss of her 

security clearance and her job if she admitted that she was 

struggling mentally. She said that fear continues to exist 

today even as Army leaders promote mental health treatment. 

"I had to reach back into my box of tools," Wills said. "If I 

didn't, I knew I couldn't move forward. I will always share 

with young service members ... and senior ranking officers, 

my experience and how I was able to deal with it. For leaders 

to say 'I understand what you are going through ... you need 

to get help.' It helps a lot." 

Since Sept. 11, 2001, 5,116 active-duty service members 

have died from suicide -- a reflection of the stress of combat, 

with roughly 50% of those having deployed to war. But it 

also reflects the increase in suicides among young people in 

the United States. 

And more than 114,000 U.S. veterans have died by suicide in 

the past 20 years. The Pentagon and Department of Veterans 

Affairs both have struggled to reverse the upward trend, 

emphasizing the importance of mental health treatment for 

those who need it, offering therapies and alternative care for 

struggling personnel, and attempting to destimagize the need 

for care. 

Birdwell leaned on his faith, religious leaders and spiritual 

counseling for the help he needed. He seeks to reassure 

veterans dealing with PTSD or injuries that leave them in 

constant pain. 

"There's a lot of life to be lived," Birdwell said. "Even with my 

scars, the things Mel [my wife] and I have seen together, that 

laying in that burn center and laying in that ICU wondering if 

she would see them as a widow ... we have seen as husband 

and wife. There's just a lot of life left." 

BURNS AND LUNG DAMAGE 

Birdwell was six steps from the men's restroom at the 

intersection of the E-Ring and the 4th corridor when the 

Boeing 757 struck the Pentagon. 

He was knocked to the ground, his clothing, hair and skin 

on fire, his lungs filled with jet fuel. One of his eardrums 

ruptured, and his brain was rattled by the blast wave. 

"In my sinful, impatient human nature, I was like, 'OK, Lord, 

I'm ready, let's get on with this thing,'" Birdwell said during 

an interview Wednesday. "But that feeling of the soul leaving 

the body didn't come." 

So, Birdwell, with burns across 60% of his body, got up and 

walked while feeling for the wall and following the only 

visible light, which was a reflection of ceiling lights on the 

corridor's terrazzo flooring. 

Fifty-one surgeries later, Birdwell is a skin graft recipient 

who has "more pig skin than a football, has coached burned 

post-9/11 veterans, and reflects on the miracle that his lungs 

somehow function, despite having been drained of jet fuel on 

arrival at Georgetown. 

"I couldn't smell anything in the ER room, but apparently, it 

was like a gas station,' Birdwell said. 

The lung damage of both Birdwell and Wills, which now 

manifests itself in shortness of breath and a susceptibility 

to lung infections, compares with the veterans of Iraq and 

Afghanistan who were exposed to burn pits and dust and also 

suffer from pulmonary dysfunction. 

"I just have a cold all the time. I may be at, what, 80% lung 

capacity?" Wills said. 

"I try to take the stairs in the Texas State House. But more 

than often, I take the elevator. I get really winded," Birdwell 

said. 

Anthony Szema, a researcher and professor at the Donald and 

Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell in 

Hempstead, New York, studies the lung effects of battlefield 

pollution such as burn pits, jet fuel, and dust contaminated 

with heavy metals and chemicals. 

The lung damage among Pentagon victims and first 

responders, as well as those close to the collapse of the World 

Trade Center towers, is similar to veterans exposed to burn 

pits and other contaminants in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Advance Your Nursing Career 

Move Beyond 

Patient Care 

Become a 

› Medical Case Manager 

› Forensic Nurse 

› Legal Nurse Consultant 

› Nurse Death Investigator 

Earn a Professional Certificate ONLINE 

from the prestigious University of California. 

Discover how to grow your nursing career 

online at www.extension.ucr.edu/nurse 

or call (951) 827-5104. 

The U.S. military has needed more capacity to treat severe 

burns during the 9/11 era. The Defense Department in 2012 

established a premier burn center at Joint Base San Antonio- 

Fort Sam Houston, one that treats service members who 

suffer burns and inhalation injuries. 

The purpose, said then-Army Lt. Col. Louis Stout, an Army 

nurse who worked in San Antonio at the time,, was to ensure 

that medical expertise, like treating severe wounds, were not 

lost during peacetime. 

"These are perishable skills that are not easily, or quickly, 

mastered and must be maintained," Stout said at the center's 

inauguration. 

Birdwell and others who have been severely injured would 

have died or had lower quality of life without treatment from 

top burn specialists and skills being taught at San Antonio, 

such as using maggots to clean burns. 

"The Lord's nastiest, if not His least creation, knows only to 

eat the dead cells, not the living cells," Birdwell said. "If not 

for them, my liver might have shut down. The next step would 

have been to amputate my arms to protect from infection. I 

still have my arms." 

Kellermann, the former dean of medicine, worries about the 

future of military medicine after the U.S. military withdrew 

from Afghanistan and fewer troops are deployed in combat, 

and whether it will be ready if someday another war comes. 

"I'm really worried that we will have another one of these 

learning curves and we'll pay for it in lives," Kellermann said. 

The system and the advancements of the past 20 years must 

be preserved, he said. 

"They cut the battlefield death rate in half to the lowest 

level of world history, while they took care of millions of 

beneficiaries at home," Kellermann said of the military's 

post-9/11 doctors and nurses. "And that is one of the most 

astonishing achievements in the history of American 

medicine."


VA Implements 

Coronavirus 

Vaccine Mandate 

for Medical Staff 

When it comes to treating patients and 

using technology, military healthcare 

workers have been there and done 

that -- sometimes with missiles flying 

overhead and supply lines under threat. 

No wonder medical service personnel 

have such bright and varied career 

prospects once they leave the military. 

Valued Backgrounds 

In the healthcare job market, where 

demand continues to outpace supply, 

the armed forces are viewed as a 

font of high-quality talent. Military 

healthcare providers are in demand, 

says Ted Daywalt, president of VetJobs 

in Marietta, Georgia. "Their work 

environment is much more hostile 

and demanding than at a US civilian 

hospital," he says, so they're able to 

hit the ground running after military 

retirement. 

Healthcare organizations readily 

recognize the value of candidates' 

military backgrounds. "Employers 

don't question the ability of military 

people to deal with high-stress 

environments," says John Harol, a 

partner at Lighthouse Recruiting in 

Avon, Connecticut. Harol, a staff 

sergeant in the Massachusetts Air 

National Guard, was on active duty 

for eight months in Iraq, where he 

set up satellite communications for a 

hospital. 

Military medical personnel have also 

seen it all when it comes to patient 

care. "In the Navy, I saw thousands 

of patients," says Michael Wood, a 

military optometrist who retired in 

1992 after 20 years to open a private


optometry practice in Greenville, South Carolina. 

"You actually get stranger eye diseases in the 

Navy -- more difficult than anything you would 

encounter in a civilian practice." 

Translating Healthcare Skills 

When making the transition to the civilian 

workforce, military medical workers face many 

of the same challenges other armed services 

professionals do. However, "military healthcare 

workers have an easier transition into civilian 

lifethan do other servicemen and women," Harol 

says. 

Why is that? "Federal standards and patient load 

are the same in the military as in civilian life," 

Daywalt explains. 

Also, medical jargon stays the same, as do most 

of the procedures and protocols defining the 

healthcare professions. "Only job titles and the 

names for policies and procedures are different," 

Harol notes. 

As all retiring service members must do, 

healthcare workers need to mind their language 

in resumes and cover letters, as well as in face-toface 

interviews, which they should drill for. For 

example, a serviceman retiring as a Laboratory 

NCOIC (Noncommissioned Officer in Charge) 

would be known as a blood-bank supervisor in 

civilian healthcare. The Transition Assistance 

Program, available to all armed forces members, 

can help soldiers, sailors and Marines overcome 

this language barrier. 

Wide Range of Opportunities 

Although many former military healthcare 

workers make the transition to civilian hospitals, 

there are other choices. "In optometry, you can go 

into commercial, private or institutional practice 

or research," Wood says. "Retiring from the 

military, you're prepared for any of those areas." 

Veterans who are medical professionals find 

employment in settings ranging from stand-alone 

clinics to doctors' offices, rehabilitation centers, 

nursing homes, and private or public research 

laboratories. 

There are also varied healthcare career 

opportunities at the Veterans Health 

Administration. Jobs are available at VA hospitals 

and other veterans healthcare facilities across 

the country. Current openings include those 

for physical therapists, pharmacists, radiologic 

technologists, social workers, registered nurses, 

licensed practical nurses, respiratory therapists 

and medical technologists.


VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT MHCE.US


Lawmakers Try to Ban 

Dishonorable Discharges 

for Troops Who Refuse 

Mandatory COVID-19 

Vaccines 

House lawmakers have 

backed legislation prohibiting 

dishonorable discharges for 

troops who refuse the COVID-19 

vaccine, as the Navy gave its 

sailors 90 days to get the shot 

this week and the Army and Air 

Force were poised Thursday to 

enforce their own timetables. 

Legislation sponsored by Rep. 

Mark Green, R-Tenn., an Army 

veteran, requires only honorable 

discharges for anyone who is 

separated from the military over 

refusing to be vaccinated. It was 

added to the fiscal 2022 defense 

authorization bill, passed by 

the House Armed Services 

Committee on Thursday. 

"No American who raises their 

hand to serve our Nation should 

be punished for making a highly 

personal medical decision," 

Green said in a statement after the 

committee vote. The U.S. Food 

and Drug Administration fully 

approved the Pfizer-BioNTech 

vaccine in August after allowing 

emergency use beginning in 

December 2020, saying it is safe 

and effective for those 16 years 

old and over. 

spokesman John Kirby said 

during a briefing with reporters 

Thursday. 

But troops who refuse to be 

inoculated may not necessarily 

face dishonorable discharge, or 

even separation, according to 

Kirby. 

The Pentagon has repeatedly 

stopped short of saying it will 

boot troops for refusing the shot. 

Commanders will have a range 

of options that stop short of 

punishment under the Uniform 

Code of Military Justice, Kirby 

said. The services also will allow 

religious exemptions to the 

vaccine. 

"The secretary expects that 

the department leadership will 

implement these mandatory 

vaccines with skill but also 

... professionalism and 

compassion," Kirby said. "When 

an individual declines to take a 

mandatory vaccine, they will be 

given an opportunity to talk to 

both medical providers as well 

as their own chain of command 

so that they can fully understand 

the decision they are making." 

The House legislation barring 

dishonorable discharges now 

must go to a vote in the full 

chamber. The House version of 

the massive, must-pass defense 

authorization bill also must 

be reconciled with the Senate 

version in conference, where 

controversial measures often are 

eliminated. 

In any case, the bill is unlikely to 

be signed into law until months 

after all the military services 

are enforcing COVID-19 

inoculations. 

Military.com reported on a 

Marine corporal who said she 

was discharged for refusing to 

wear a mask, possibly the first 

service member to be pushed 

out of the military in connection 

with COVID-19 rules. 

According to the Pentagon, 

roughly 63% of all U.S. forces 

had received at least one dose 

or were fully vaccinated against 

COVID-19 as of Aug. 18. 

Creating a Culture 

of Caring 

Offering master’s 

and doctoral 

degrees for 

Registered Nurses 

Specialties Offered: 

Nurse-Midwife 

Family Nurse Practitioner 

Women’s Health Care NP 

Psychiatric-Mental Health NP 

The Navy became the first 

service to enforce a timeframe for 

vaccinations in a series of memos 

on Tuesday and Wednesday 

following the FDA approval and 

an order by Defense Secretary 

Lloyd Austin for all troops to 

be vaccinated. The Army and 

Air Force are expected to give 

soldiers and airmen a deadline 

"very, very soon," Pentagon 

Learn more at frontier.edu/military



TO ADVERTISE 

contact Kyle.Stephens@mhce.us


College of Nursing 

Visit www.southalabama.edu/colleges/con 

251-445-9400 

5721 USA Drive North, Mobile, AL 36688 

High Quality 

Programs 

Available Online 

and on Campus 

On Campus: 

• Pre-Licensure BSN 

• Accelerated BSN 

Online OptiOns Offered: 

• RN to BSN 

• RN to MSN 

• MSN 

• DNP 

• Post Graduate Certificates 

areas Of speCializatiOn: 

• Clinical Nursing Leader 

• Nursing Administration 

• Nurse Practitioner 

(multiple tracks) 

• Clinical Nurse Specialist 

• Nursing Informatics 

sub-speCialties: 

• Cardiovascular 

• Oncology 

• Palliative Care 

• Nursing Education 

• Lipid Management

September 2021 Newsletter

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?