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2003 DHS OUTREACH ACTIVITIES

125th National Guard Association of the United States General Conference

Outreach team members from the Deployment Health Support Directorate attended the 125th National Guard Association of the United States General Conference, September 14-16, 2003 in Biloxi, Mississippi. During the conference, they met with National Guard members, veterans and their families. Team members answered individual questions about deployment related issues. They also provided copies of the newest Deployment Quarterly and demonstrated the DeploymentLINK, GulfLINK and Medsearch Web sites.

The Air Force Sergeants Association

The Air Force Sergeants Association held its international convention in Las Vegas, Nevada, Aug. 17 - 21. In addition to hosting the international convention portion, AFSA also played host to this year's Worldwide First Sergeants Conference, the ANG Recruiting and Retention Superintendents Workshop and the CEPME Worldwide Commandants Conference. Approximately 1,500 AFSA members and family members attended the conference. A large majority of the active duty contingent were senior NCOs with the majority of them being first sergeants. The DHSD team members spoke with senior NCO's about deployment health support issues and provided informational handouts. All who stopped by were given a Deployment Quarterly magazine, 800-hotline card and a DeploymentLINK bookmark.

Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States

The Deployment Health Support Directorate sent an outreach team to the 32nd annual conference of the Enlisted Association of the National Guard of the United States held in Toledo, Ohio, August 17-20, 2003. Throughout the conference team members answered deployment related questions from the EANGUS membership and their families. Many guardmembers had either just returned from a deployment or were preparing to deploy. They had general questions about health assessments, transition issues and benefits. Visitors to the display were shown the DeploymentLINK, GulfLINK, and Medsearch Web sites. They were also shown a demonstration of the joint medical workstation.

Joint Service Open House

Outreach team members from the Deployment Health Support Directorate attended the Joint Service Open House at Andrews AFB, May 16-18, 2003. During the three day event, they met with servicemembers, veterans and civilians from the local community. Team members answered individual questions about a wide variety of deployment related issues including immunizations and the pre- and post-deployment health assessments. They also demonstrated DeploymentLINK, GulfLINK, Medsearch and the new medical surveillance capabilities.


Kilpatrick speaks at symposium hosted by LSU Health Sciences Center

Michael E. Kilpatrick, M.D., the deputy director, Deployment Health Support, presented two briefings at a workshop dealing with deployments and the military family hosted by the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans, La. The first briefing was geared towards mental health providers, Louisiana employee assistance program personnel and other hospital staff. These professionals are among the first to see the impact of a deployment on family members, significant others and friends left on the home front. The second session was less formal and provided an opportunity for military family members and the members of the community to learn what services are available to them at the local and national levels. Following each session, the panelists answered questions from the audience.

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National Guard Association conventions of Texas and Oklahoma

Outreach teams from the Deployment Health Support Directorate attended the state National Guard Association conventions for the states of Texas and Oklahoma. The National Guard Association of Texas held their 44th annual convention in Waco, Texas, March 27-30, 2003. Oklahoma City hosted the 46th annual convention of the National Guard Association of Oklahoma, March 28-29, 2003. DHSD teams at both events answered a variety of questions from guardmembers, family members and retirees. They provided information on pre- and post-deployment health assessments, the military immunization program and the improved Department of Defense medical surveillance capabilities.


82d Airborne Division Operation Enduring Freedom After Action Review

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs' top priority is protecting the health of those who deploy. To assure current force health protection policies and implementation are optimal, the Deployement Health Support Directorate, the operational support for OASD (HA), works to understand the experiences of those who are deploying and re-deploying.

On March 3, 2003, at the invitation of Greg Rathbun, Chief, AMEDD Lessons Learned, at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas, representatives from DHSD traveled to Fort Bragg and participated in an After Action Review (AAR) with soldiers from the 82d Airborne Division. The soldiers had recently returned from the Operation Enduring Freedom deployment to Afghanistan. Representatives from the Army Medical Doctrine Center and the Army Physican Assitant's course also attended.

The soldiers interviewed were from the medical platoons of the 1st Battalion 504 Infantry, 3rd Battalion 505 Infantry, 1st Battalion 319th Field Artillery, 82D Aviation Battalion, and the 82D Forward Support Battalion. The team also had the opportunity to interview senior leaders and senior Non Commissioned officers. Some of the insights gained from these interviews included suggestions about the nature of the 91W medic training program and the need for enhanced NBC training for field medical personnel. This AAR and similar reports can be found on the AMEDD lessons learned Web site.

The visit to Fort Bragg was a valuable opportunity for Health Affairs to gain immediate feedback on the impact of Medical Force Health Protection policies at the unit level. Based on information gained during this visit, DHSD is working with senior leadership to make improvements to their NBC training for medics and the overall medic training program.