2002 DHS OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

Outreach Team Joins Members of the Veterans of Foreign Wars
and its Ladies Auxiliary

At the 103rd national convention, more than 15,000 delegates of the VFW and Ladies Auxiliary met in Nashville, Tennessee, August 24th -30th. Members of the Deployment Health Support outreach team spoke with approximately 1,500 delegates. Topics discussed included support to servicemembers and their families during Operations Enduring Freedom and Noble Eagle; access to benefits following military service; and VFW support initiatives including its job assistance, adopt-a-unit, family support, homeless assistance and emergency financial aid programs.

One of the first veterans service organizations, the VFW traces its roots back to1899 when veterans of the Spanish-American War (1898) and the Philippine Insurrection (1899-1902) founded local organizations to secure rights and benefits for their service. Today, nearly 2.7 million people comprise the VFW and its Ladies Auxiliary.

USS Power crewmembers reunion

Michael E. Kilpatrick, M.D., deputy director for Deployment Health Support, met on August 20th with about 20 USS Power crewmembers and their families at the ship's annual reunion held this year in Annapolis, Maryland. In early 1965, the crew assigned to the ship participated in a classified shipboard hazard and defense (SHAD) test known as Copper Head. Following the publication of the Copper Head fact sheet with declassified medically relevant information last year, crewmembers invited DHSD to participate in their reunion.

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Outreach team attends American Legion Convention

A Deployment Health Support outreach team joined 13,000 members of the American Legion at their annual convention in Charlotte, North Carolina, August 23-27, 2002. Major presentations at the conference included status reports from the services and an update on the recovery of service members missing in action. Rear Admiral Craig Quigley, deputy secretary of defense for public affairs, gave a detailed talk on DoD’s progress in the war against terrorism. The American Legion is the nation’s largest veterans’ support organization, with nearly three million members.

31st Annual EANGUS National Conference and Exhibition

The Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States held their 31st Annual National Conference and Exhibition in Niagara Falls, New York, August 17-22, 2002. A Deployment Health Support outreach team met with the 2,000 attendees. With the growing numbers of deployments, the EANGUS membership was eager to receive information from the office. Some guardsmen still had questions about health concerns they have from their service in the Gulf War. Others asked about what could be done in preparation for any future deployments. Attendees were also asking about deployment preparation issues, family readiness issues and TRICARE information. EANGUS maintains a full-time staff to represent its interests in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. It is the only association dedicated to serving the Enlisted men and women of the National Guard 100% of the time, year after year.

58th American Veterans National Convention

Members of the Deployment Health Support Directorate met with the attendees of the 58th American Veterans national convention held in Louisville, Kentucky, August 10-17, 2002. The outreach team met with the 2,500 attendees and answered their general questions about the office. Several members asked about Project SHAD and wanted to know what information was available. Other areas of interest for the AMVETS members included Agent Orange and what kind of assistance DHSD can offer with VA claims. Several veterans' service officers requested information to take back to their states and said they were already familiar with our office. AMVETS is a veterans' service organization dedicated to preserving freedom, supporting veterans and active military and providing community services.

Outreach team meets with members of the Disabled American Veterans

A Deployment Health Support outreach team met with the 3,000 attendees at the Disabled American Veterans and Auxiliary 81st national convention held in Dallas, Texas, August 9-15, 2002. The members' primary areas of interest included medical record-keeping, assistance with Gulf War veterans' claims, Project SHAD/112 information, and force health protection measures. With approximately 1.3 million members, the DAV is the official voice of America's service-connected disabled veterans, their families and survivors.

Dr. Chu stresses improvements, cooperation at medical symposium

In his keynote address to a military medical symposium in San Antonio, the Defense Department's undersecretary for personnel and readiness described military medical care as a "world-wide system and world-class system." Dr. David S.C. Chu, speaking at the third annual symposium sponsored by the Association of the United States Army, said the quality is evidenced in patient satisfaction surveys, civilian accreditation reviews and efficiency analyses.

Remarks at the National Gulf War Resource Center annual conference

In remarks to attendees at the National Gulf War Resource Center's annual conference, Dr. Michael E. Kilpatrick, deployment health support director, provided an update of DoD's actions in support of Gulf War veterans and deploying servicemembers.