Dec. 17, 2010 Comprehensive Airman Fitness: Mental health through military fitness The holidays are a time to celebrate, but can be very stressful. Waiting in line, heel-to-toe for the perfect gift, hoping it's not sold out. Jumping from flight to flight and having to put up with the long lines and airport security. Red holiday lights -- could be a reminder of bumper to bumper
Dec. 1, 2010 Airman saves wingman from halfway around the world Police officials are crediting the quick actions of a security forces Airman here with saving the life of a former Airman living halfway around the world.Senior Airman Jordan Gunterman, a 379th Air Expeditionary Wing fly-away security team leader, led authorities to his the former coworker's Florida
Dec. 1, 2010 Fight against holiday depression The holiday season is viewed by many celebrants as a time of "peace on earth" and a sudden influx of packages through the post office.But for some servicemembers deployed during the holidays, peace and packages might be hard to find, or replaced entirely by depression or even thoughts of suicide.
Nov. 23, 2010 DOD center tracks health, illness in U.S. forces A new Defense Department agency employs combined medical expertise to track health, illness and injury across the military services, the center director said.Army Col. (Dr.) Robert F. DeFraites heads the Maryland-based American Forces Health Surveillance Center, which serves servicemembers, family
Nov. 8, 2010 CMSAF visits Andrews, discusses Air Force issues More than 900 Airmen from Joint Base Andrews gathered to hear the Air Force perspective from the highest ranking enlisted Airman.Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy spoke to JB Andrews Airmen about joint readiness, deliberate development and building resiliency during an enlisted call
Nov. 8, 2010 Air Guard adds psychological health directors Air National Guard leaders have created a new, wing-level position to provide mental health support to Airmen and their families before and after deployments."The Air Guard is the only service component that does not have military members who are mental health professionals or technicians," said
Nov. 2, 2010 Q and A with Lt. Gen (Dr.) Charles B. Green This interview with the AF/SG appeared in the September/October 2010 edition of SERGEANTS Magazine. It appears here with the publisher's permission.Q. How is the Air Force medical community bridging medical treatment for all Airmen? How does the Air Force "team" with the Department of Veterans
Nov. 1, 2010 The Enlisted Perspective: Even one suicide is too many An alarming trend is happening in our Air Force, and we need your help. We've had a drastic increase this year in the number of suicides among our total force Airmen - active duty, guard, reserve and civilians. Last year we lost 84 Airmen by suicides; this year, we've nearly reached that number, and
Nov. 1, 2010 VA officials taking life-saving campaign to streets Nearly 1,200 life-saving advertisements are going up on city buses, bus shelters, rail and subway stations across the nation displaying a message of hope for those who have served their country and may be facing an emotional crisis. Department of Veterans Affairs officials are advertising the VA
Nov. 1, 2010 Flu shot options are many for TRICARE For Life beneficiaries TRICARE For Life beneficiaries have a wealth of options when it comes to staying protected during the fall and winter flu season. Influenza vaccines are covered by Medicare at no cost to TFL beneficiaries as long as they are administered by a Medicare provider who agrees to accept the
Sept. 15, 2010 More focus needed to end suicides, Mullens say A silent killer is rapidly infiltrating the military, claiming lives at an alarming rate each year.It does not discriminate, taking aim at the young and old, male and female -- from the battle-hardened Soldier to the new recruit."It's an area that can't get enough focus right now," said Navy Adm.
Sept. 10, 2010 "Creed for a Comrade" video promotes asking for help In support of Suicide Prevention Month, the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury have created a video to promote DCoE's "Creed for a Comrade," a twist on the Service's creeds. The focus of the creed is that the best answer when having a hard time is to
Sept. 9, 2010 CAIB, IDS improve Air Force quality of life Two important groups continually work to improve the Air Force quality of life. They are the Community Action Information Boards and Integrated Delivery Systems, which operate at Air Force, major command and installation levels.The CAIB focuses on identifying and resolving issues impacting Air Force
Sept. 3, 2010 Direct communication between Airmen key to suicide prevention More than a decade in the making, the culture of the "wingman" approach to suicide prevention is still evolving as risk factors and causes of suicide are becoming more widely understood. The wingman concept should be very familiar to most Airmen. Suicide prevention training has been incorporated
Aug. 26, 2010 Mental health clinic works to help Airmen, families Members of the 673rd Medical Group Mental Health Flight here have been working hard to meet the mental healthcare needs of military members and their families.The military life can be a stressful one, said Maj. Alexsa Billups, a member of the 673rd MDG. "It's up to the individual people to come to
Aug. 26, 2010 Ask the question When Tech. Sgt. David Bales got the call that an Airman he supervised was drunk and talking about "ending it all," he immediately drove to the dormitory. He'd been around too many successful and attempted suicides to just attribute "ending it all" to a case of drunken rambling. As an intelligence
Aug. 26, 2010 Life is precious Two weeks ago, I began a journey leading the 4th Space Operations Squadron through a tragedy. This was not something I ever wanted to do, but there were many lessons learned for me, our squadron, and, I hope, for all of you reading this commentary. On July 19, I was informed that one of my squadron
Aug. 23, 2010 CMSAF shares perspective about readiness, development, resiliency The Air Force's top NCO spoke at the Air Force Sergeants Association Professional Airmen's Conference Aug. 17, citing readiness, deliberate development and resiliency among Airmen and their families as his main focuses.Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force James A. Roy said statistics of 40,000 Airmen
Aug. 16, 2010 A year later, H1N1 flu and your summer travel plans Last summer, talk of the H1N1 flu virus dominated the news. It was described by World Health Organization officials as the first pandemic of the 21st century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that between 7,880 and 16,460 H1N1-related deaths occurred between April 1 and Dec.
Aug. 16, 2010 Therapeutic horseback riding helps battle PTSD J.B. Barnett was a high school athlete who could have had a bright future in football. Capt. Mike Lawlor was a military personnelist assigned to convoy duties in Afghanistan.Although the two seem different, they both now have something in common. After J.B. suffered brain damage and subsequent