Vol. 27 No. 3 www.cnic.navy.mil/bethesda/ January 22, 2015

Inside:

‘American Sniper’ StarVisits NSAB...........Pg.3

Nurse AnesthetistsWeek.........................Pg.3

Safe Harbor HelpsSailor ContinueCareer......................Pg.4

Small Gland PlaysBig Role in OverallHealth.......................Pg.5

By Gail CuretonNorthern RegionalMedical Command

Public Affairs

In a gymnasium filled withSoldiers, family, civilians andfriends, Col. Dana S. Tankinssaid farewell to the unit he ledfor nearly two years when herelinquished theWarrior Tran-sition Brigade-National Capi-tal Region (WTB-NCR) flag toBrig. Gen. Robert D. Tenhet,Northern Regional MedicalCommand commanding gen-eral, during a change of com-mand ceremony Jan. 15.Tankins officially passed

the mantle of command toCol. Christopher Boyle, whoassumes command of one ofthe Army’s largest and mosthigh-profile warrior transitionunits headquartered near theDepartment of Defense’s flag-ship hospital--Walter ReedNational Military MedicalCenter--and just a few milesfrom the nation’s capital.“This command has taught

me what it means to fierce-ly advocate,” said Tankins.“WTB-NCR Soldiers under-stand what it means to roll uptheir sleeves, dig in, commitand resolve issues.”During his farewell speech,

Tankins fought to hold backtears as he told an emotionalstory of his first few weeks ofcommand when he attendeda meeting with caregivers.“They shared their pain, anger,hardships, battles, disappoint-ments, struggles and concerns.That meeting transformed me,and helped shape my com-mand philosophy,” he said.“Advocating for the Soldierand their caregivers is our toppriority.”“What we do or fail to do

impacts the rest of someone’slife,” Tankins added.During his tenure as bri-

gade commander, the WTB

has found new ways to deliversupport to recovering Soldiersthat allow them to focus ontheir mission, which is to healand transition. Tankins imple-mented a Special Compensa-tion for Assistance with Activ-ities of Daily Living Programboard to resolve 140 cases, in-creased enrollment in the Ca-reer and Readiness EducationProgram from 30 to 90 percent,decreased Soldier and fam-

ily complaints by 90 percent;established a brigade-levelArmy Family Action Plan com-mittee giving all WTB familiesa voice, and initiated a Care-giver Recognition Program tothank caregivers for the rolesthey play in helping the WTBaccomplish its mission.Tankins will retire soon af-

ter 27 years of Army service.Boyle, who was most recent-

ly assigned to Headquarters,

Department of the Army asG-3/5/7 division chief, prom-ised to ensure that the WTBcontinues to fulfill its impor-tant mission.“I am proud to be a part of

a unit and a profession thatcares so much about its peo-ple,” Boyle said. “I look forwardto working with a team that isdedicated to serving our mostprecious resource — our Sol-diers and their Families.”

Warrior Transition Brigade Leadership Changes Hands,Important Mission Supporting Soldiers Continues

Photo by Gail Cureton

Brig. Gen. Robert D. Tenhet presents the Warrior Transition Brigade-NationalCapital Region’s flag to incoming Commanding Officer Col. Christopher Boyleduring the change of command ceremony Jan. 15.

2 Thursday, January 22, 2015 The Journal

Published by offset every Thurs-day by Comprint Military Publi-cations, 9030 Comprint Court,Gaithersburg, Md. 20877, aprivate firm in no way con-nected with the U.S. Navy,under exclusive written con-tract with Naval Support ActivityBethesda, Md. This commercialenterprise newspaper is an autho-rized publication for members of themilitary services. Contents of The Journalare not necessarily the official views of, norendorsed by, the U.S. Government, theDepartment of Defense, or the Departmentof Navy. The appearance of advertising inthis publication, including inserts or supple-ments, does not constitute endorsement bythe Department of Defense or Comprint,Inc., of the products or services advertised.Everything advertised in this publicationshall be made available for purchase, useor patronage without regard to race, color,

religion, sex, national origin,age, marital status, physicalhandicap, political affiliationor any other non-merit fac-tor of the purchaser, user,or patron. Editorial contentis edited, prepared and pro-vided by the Public AffairsOffice, Naval Support Activ-

ity Bethesda, Md. News copyshould be submitted to the Pub-

lic Affairs Office, Building 17, first floor,across from PSD, by noon one week pre-ceding the desired publication date. Newsitems are welcomed from all installationsources. Inquiries about news copy will beanswered by calling 301-295-1803. Com-mercial advertising should be placed withthe publisher by calling 301-921-2800.Publisher’s advertising offices are locatedat 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md.20877. Classified ads can be placed bycalling 301-670-1700.

Naval Support Activity (NSA) BethesdaCommanding Officer: Capt. David A. BitontiPublic Affairs Officer: Ronald D. InmanPublic Affairs Office: 301-295-1803

Journal StaffStaff Writers MC1 Christopher Krucke

MC2Ashante HammonsAndrew DamstedtSarah MarshallKatrina SkinnerSharon Renee Taylor

Managing Editor MC2BrandonWilliams-ChurchWRNMMC Editor Bernard Little

NSABethesdaFleet And Family Support Center 301-319-4087

Walter Reed National Military Medical CenterOffice of Media Relations 301-295-5727NSAB Emergency Information Line 301-295-6246

NSAB OmbudsmanMichelle Herrera 240-370-5421

NSAB Chaplain’s Office 301-319-4443/4706

Sexual Assault ResponseCoordinator Hotline 301-442-2053

Visit us on Facebook:Naval Support Activity Bethesda page:https://www.facebook.com/NSABethesda

Walter Reed National Medical Center page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Walter-Reed-National-Military-Medical-Center/295857217111107

Uniformed Services University of the HealthSciences page:http://www.facebook.com/pages/Uniformed-Services-University-of-the-Health-Sciences/96338890888?fref=ts

Employment, Education FairAn employment and education

fair is scheduled for tomorrow from10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Bldg. 17, atriumand gymnasium. For more informa-tion, call Naval Support ActivityBethesda’s Fleet and FamilySupport Center at 301-319-4087 orvisit FFSC.events@med.navy.mil.

MLK Jr. ObservanceThe Walter Reed Bethesda Multi-

Cultural Committee will host a pro-gram observing the birthday of Dr.Martin Luther King Jr., on Jan.29 at 11:30 a.m. in Bldg. 19, firstfloor, lobby/piano area. Everyoneis invited. For more informationcall Hospital Corpsman 2nd ClassBuddhika Abeyratne at 301-295-4265.

Nursing Grand RoundsA Nursing Grand Rounds focus-

ing on Management of the ComplexPatient/Family Relationship isscheduled for Jan. 29 from 11:30a.m. to 1 p.m. in Clark Auditorium.One hour of Continuing NursingEducation for attending the eventis offered.

Navy Exchange InventoryEarly ClosuresThe Main exchange closes at 3

p.m. Monday Jan. 26 for inventory.Food vendors, Navy Federal CreditUnion and all services will also closeat 3 p.m. All services will re-openthe following day at normal businesshours. Tuesday Jan. 27, the Mini-Mart Lodge, the Mini-Mart and theuniform shop will close at 4 p.m. forinventory and will re-open for nor-mal business hours the following dayat normal business hours.

Bethesda Notebook

Our People are Our Foundation

We do three things at Walter ReedBethesda: Accomplish our mission;take care of our people; take care ofour families. Mission - People: Goodleaders find ways to do both. Despitechanges and transformations, Mis-sion - People endures.

We begin the New Year by launch-ing our 2015-2018 Walter Reed Na-tional Military Medical Center Stra-tegic Plan. Our new icon summarizes our wayahead — One Priority: An extraordinary pa-tient experience for every patient, every time;two foundations: Our People; Stewardship &Accountability; and Four pillars: Quality; Readi-ness; Education; Research.

Our patients are in the center. Our people areat the top. So, this article focuses on our prior-ity and this foundation. Please join ourFebruary and March town halls tolearn more about our strategicplan.

The extraordinary pa-tient experience — timely,patient friendly access tohigh quality health careand compassion — will bethe centerpiece of our stra-tegic plan.We are privilegedto serve America’s heroes —service members and theirfamilies; our retirees and theirfamilies.We must understand thatour patient’s perception is their reality.Each and every one of our people, regardless ofposition, role or responsibility, is critical to theextraordinary patient experience.

Our people — civilians, contract, servicemembers and volunteers -- are at the top of ouricon for a reason. Our people are committed toour mission. We must be committed to our peo-ple. Our people deserve engaged, trusted leader-ship; a climate of dignity and respect; educationand training; and the opportunity to prosper:personally, professionally, spiritually, and intheir family/relationships. Without our people,we have no strategic plan.

The four domains of our prosperity plan:Personal, Professional, Spiritual, and Family/

Relationships provide a frame-work for how we take care of our-selves and support each other.Our Prosperity Plan Workbookand quarterly Prosperity PlanFairs are designed for each of usto specify goals, develop a plan toreach those goals, and work hardto achieve them.

We will work to create condi-tions to prosper in each domain.But, leadership at all levels, be-

ginning with me, must actively create condi-tions for our people to develop professionally.Thus, our focus as we launch our strategic planwill be on the professional domain.

Capt. Clarence Thomas, our director for ad-ministration, and Mr. David Rohrbaugh, ourcivilian advisor to the board of directors and tothe director (me), lead this foundation work

group. Their goal: develop, encourage,and recognize our people. Among

their initiatives:• Professional Development

Portal with links to career de-velopment courses and to theGS Civilian Individual De-velopment Plan site.

• Organizational positionsthat allow career develop-ment for all of our people, to

include our civilian staff.• Processing time for staff

awards.• Clinical data systems efficiency

(AHLTA, CHCS, Essentris).Capt.Thomas,Mr. Rohrbaugh and their work

group welcome your input and involvement andinvite you to join their team as we develop, en-courage, and recognize our people.

Please be as proud of who we are, what we do,and most importantly, how we do it as I am toserve with you. As always, thank you and mayGod bless.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey B. ClarkMC, USA, DirectorWalter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center

Commander’s Column

The Journal Thursday, January 22, 2015 3

By Mass CommunicationSpecialist 2nd Class

BrandonWilliams-Church

NSAB Public Affairsstaff writer

It was a bittersweet occasionfor more than 200 service mem-bers, their families and staff, asthey attended the screening forthe movie “American Sniper” inNaval Support Activity Bethes-da’s (NSAB) Warrior Café, Jan.15. The on-screen protagonist ofthe film, Bradley Cooper, portray-ing Chris Kyle, and wife of the re-al-life protagonist, Taya Kyle at-tendedthe screening and sharedtheir sentiments towards veter-ans with the crowd of attendees.

“It’s a surreal time to be hereright now,” said Cooper. “It wasan honor to work with Taya, shewas transparent in giving overwhat their relationship was like,what he was like, and for mepersonally it changed my wholelife to walk in those shoes forseven months.”

The movie focuses around theNaval career of the late ChiefPetty Officer Chris Kyle, formerU.S. Navy SEAL, and his lifeon and off the battlefield. Afterserving four tours in Iraq, andbeing confirmed as the most le-thal sniper in U.S. military his-tory, Chris himself was gunneddown by a fellow service mem-ber seeking his guidance.

Although a rough subject tobe a part of, Taya was graciousin spending some time with ser-vice members on base and hon-oring them for what they do. “Ithank you for your service andI will never forget you for whatyou do every day,” said Taya.“You have my gratitude andI truly love you.” NSAB Com-manding Officer Capt. DavidA. Bitonti thanked Cooper andTaya for taking the time out oftheir busy schedules to comeonboard and share their experi-ences with Chris.

In bringing the movie toNSAB, Cooper and Taya hoped

the biopic was a way for servicemembers, past and present, tothink back on their careers andto be able to relate to a fellowfallen warrior.

“The goal is to be here in frontof you right now,” said Cooper.“We worked with veterans andwe said ‘this is why we do this,is to be able to take this filminto places like this and for youto be able to relate to it.’ Maybeit can help with making you feelnot so alone, your healing, andfor those who have no idea whatyou go through, see this movieand pay respects to all veterans

they see, help them with theirgroceries, babysit their kids orspend some time with them andnot just say thank you for yourservice, take it a step further.We continue to help carry Chris’message.”

A veteran himself, Sgt. AdamKeys was in attendance for thescreening, and felt the movie dida great job of showing the strug-gles between being downrangeand returning home to peoplewho largely don’t understandwhat it’s like.

“A screening such as thisis very powerful for everyonehere,” said Keys. “This was the

first modern war movie I’ve seensince being injured, it touchedon things that made me lookdown and several times tear up,but I loved it. It showed thingsas they are for many servicemembers and I’m grateful theydid such a great job of it. Also,the film shows civilians andsome of what [they] go throughto protect our country, it’s noteasy, but it is worth it.”

Keys thanked Cooper andTaya for being able to under-stand what service members gothrough and sharing their timewith service members at NSAB.

“The absolute best part of thevisit was Taya Kyle,” said Keys.“I’ve never worked with Chrispersonally but when [his] bookcame out, he came here andwanted to give out [some]. Thebooks didn’t show up on timeso he and Taya went out andbought some of their own to giveout. She remembered me some-how, I was wheelchair boundat the time, but when she sawme this time I was walking onmy prosthetics. She’s a tributeand strong role model to othermilitary wives about being re-silient. I’m glad she was hereto speak with Mr. Cooper beforethe screening and I was in aweof what they both had to say. Itwas a genuinely great day hereon base. Everyone should see‘American Sniper.’”

‘American Sniper’ Star Visits NSAB

Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Brandon Williams-Church

From left, Walter Reed National Military Medical (WRNMMC) Center CommandMaster Chief Tyrone Willis, Bradley Cooper, Taya Kyle, WRNMMC Chief of StaffCapt. Sarah L. Martin and Naval Support Activity Bethesda Commanding OfficerCapt. David A. Bitonti stand for a picture outside of the Warrior Cafe Jan. 15.

By Mass CommunicationSpecialist 1st Class (AW)

Chris KruckeWRNMMC Public Affairs

staff writer

Nurse anesthetists have beenproviding anesthesia care in theUnited States for approximately150 years, making them the old-est nurse specialty group in theUnited States, according to theAmerican Association of NurseAnesthetists.

In addition, nurse anesthe-tists are the primary anesthesiaproviders to U.S. service mem-bers at home and abroad.

Because of their efforts inproviding the best health care,Certified Registered NurseAnesthetist Week (CRNA) is ob-served annually nationwide andat Walter Reed National MilitaryMedical Center (WRNMMC).This year the observance is Jan.25-31. There will be a both setup next Monday through Friday

from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. inthe America Bldg. lobby whereinformation concerning nurseanesthetists will be available.

Walter Reed Bethesda (WRB)currently has 15 military (eightArmy, seven Navy) and 13 civil-ian CRNAs.

Throughout the military,CRNAs are advanced practiceregistered nurses board-certifiedand specializing in the deliveryof all forms of anesthesia and

care of patients pre-operatively,intra-operatively and post-op-eratively. They work in vary-ing roles across all health-carepopulations (surgical, trauma,obstetric, pediatric, etc.) wherethey are either independentpractitioners or work in collabo-ration with physician colleagues.In addition, CRNAs serve inde-pendently overseas, on ships,and while deployed to remoteareas. They have been providing

expert anesthesia care to themilitary since the Civil War andcontinue to do so today.

Some of the accomplishmentsof CRNAs include:

• Catherine S. Lawrence wasamong the first American nurs-es to provide anesthesia duringthe American Civil War between1861 and 1865.

• In 1877, the first recognizednurse anesthetist was SisterMary Bernard, a Catholic nunwho practiced at St. Vincent’sHospital in Erie, Pa.

• Founded in 1909 by AgnesMcGee, the first school of nurseanesthesia was formed at St.Vincent Hospital, Portland, Ore..The seven month course includ-ed anatomy, physiology, phar-macology and administration ofcommon anesthetic agents.

• Art Womble, a certifiednurse anesthetist and Army Re-serve Soldier from the formerWalter Reed Army Medical Cen-ter, took part in supporting the

first kidney transplant in theCo-operative Republic of Guy-ana on July 12, 2009.

Army Maj. James B. Hacker,WRB staff nurse anesthetist,explained requirements to be-come a CRNA have becomemuch more stringent since Mc-Gee established the first schoolof nurse anesthesia in 1909. Hesaid the minimum requirementto attend anesthesia trainingnow is to be a registered nursewith a recommended one-to-twoyears of experience working in acritical care environment. Hack-er also said to become a CRNA,the nurse needs a Master’s ofScience in Nursing. “In recentyears, most programs are con-verting to a Doctorate of Nurs-ing practice degree as the newentry level to the profession.”

Navy Lt. Cmdr. Eliot Spen-cer, assistant chief nurse anes-thetist at WRB said in order to

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetists Week Observed, Jan. 25 - 31

Photo by Biomedical Photography Department

Nurse anesthetists at Walter Reed Bethesda practicein every setting in which anesthesia is delivered at themedical center.

See NURSE page 7

4 Thursday, January 22, 2015 The Journal

By Andrew DamstedtNSAB Public Affairs

staff writer

The prognosis was bleak forNavy Sailor Information Sys-tems Technician 1st Class EricCampbell after sustaining asevere traumatic brain injurywhile stationed at a NATO(North Atlantic Treaty Organi-zation) command in Naples, It-aly in 2012. Doctors didn’t knowwhether he’d survive, let alonerecover after his fall.

But now, after more than twoyears of treatment, Campbell isset to leave Naval Support Ac-tivity Bethesda and continue hismilitary career at the Center forInformation Dominance in Pen-sacola, Fla.

“When he had his accident, hewas in Italy and when we werenotified, we weren’t sure he wasgoing to make it,” his mother,Annette Campbell said. “But tosee where he was and how he istoday, is a tremendous change.He was a fighter all along.”

She said when her son firstawoke, he didn’t know who shewas and he didn’t remember hehad been in an accident.

“His brain injury affectedhis frontal lobe where he didn’tknow who anybody was; hedidn’t remember the accident –he just didn’t know,” she said.“Once he started healing, itcame back to him little by little.He had to learn how to walk andwrite all over again. It was likegoing from a toddler to back tohimself within two years.”

Eric, 29, came to Walter ReedNational Military Medical Cen-ter (WRNMMC) for treatment.Because of Navy Wounded War-rior Safe Harbor assistance, hismother was able to stay by hisbedside until he was transferredto a Richmond, Va., hospital forongoing therapy. Eric said theSafe Harbor program “intercept-ed him” after finding out abouthis accident and has helped himsince he first arrived. Safe Har-bor’s mission is to provide tai-lored non-medical assistance forseverely ill or wounded Sailorsand Coast Guardsmen duringthe recovery, rehabilitation andreintegration phases.

“I would like to say NavySafe Harbor was there with usevery step of the way,” Annettesaid. “Master Chief (Anthony)Edwards was always there

whenever we needed a place tostay – he arranged everythingfor us. He got us the right kindof help financially and he wasour connection to a lot of thedifferent phases that Eric wentthrough. He was our liaison,which I know is what his job is,but if not for him, I would havebeen lost.”

Eric said he might have beenfrustrated at the start of his re-covery process, especially whenhis mom told him about hisshort-term memory loss.

“I’m like, ‘What do you meanshort term memory issues?’” hesaid. “I disagreed with her fora while and then after I cameback here and they put it in theforefront and in my face andthey made it more aware to me… what short term memory lossshe was talking about. It‘s notlike [that I] can’t remember lastweek, two weeks or a year ago,she meant I can’t remember 30seconds ago or five minutes ago.”

After a stint at a hospital inJohnstown, Penn., Eric cameback to WRNMMC in the springof 2013 for medical evaluation tosee whether he could return toactive duty.

“So they did the tests, evalu-ations and they decided theydidn’t want to return me to ac-tive duty at that time,” Ericsaid. “So they had me do moretherapy, speech and languagepathology, occupational therapy

for cognitive reasons. Physicaltraining wasn’t an issue for me.I passed that in like a month.”

Master Chief Anthony Ed-wards, Navy Wounded Warrior

Navy Safe Harbor Helps Sailor Continue Military Career

See SAFE page 6

Photo by Andrew Damstedt

Information Systems Technician 1st ClassEric Campbell

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The Journal Thursday, January 22, 2015 5

By Bernard S. LittleWRNMMC Public

Affairs staff writer

January is ThyroidAwareness Month. Ac-cording to the AmericanAssociation of ClinicalEndocrinologists (AACE)and American Collegeof Endocrinology (ACE),an estimated 30 millionAmericans suffer fromthyroid disorders and ap-proximately half of themdon’t know it.

“The thyroid gland isa small, butterfly-shapedgland located in the baseof the neck just below theAdam’s apple,” explainedArmy Col. (Dr.) Henry B.Burch, of EndocrinologyService at Walter ReedNational Military Medi-cal Center. Burch is alsothe endocrinology consul-tant to the Office of theU.S. Army Surgeon Gen-eral, as well as Endocri-nology Division chair andprofessor of medicine atthe Uniformed ServicesUniversity.

The thyroid glandplays an important rolein the body, influencingthe function of the heart,brain, liver, kidneys andskin, Burch explained.Ensuring that the thyroidgland is healthy and func-tioning properly is essen-tial to the body’s overallwell-being, he added.

According to Dr. Jef-frey Garber, a Harvardendocrinologist, The thy-roid is like a car’s engine,setting the pace at which

the body operates, accord-ing to Dr. Jeffrey Garber,a Harvard endocrinolo-gist. Like a car’s engineproduces energy to helpit move, the thyroid glandmanufactures hormonesto prompt cells to per-form. These hormonesmaintain the rate atwhich the body uses fatsand carbohydrates, con-trols body temperature,influences heart rate andregulates the productionof protein and properbrain function.

Iodine from one’s diet,is “fuel” the thyroid needsto produce hormones,Garber added. “Whenoutside influences suchas disease, damage to thethyroid or certain medi-cines break down com-munication, your thyroidmight not produce enoughhormones,” he continued.“This would slow down allof your body’s functions, acondition known as hypo-

thyroidism or underac-tive thyroid.

“Your thyroid couldalso produce too muchhormones sending yoursystems into overdrive, acondition known as hy-perthyroidism or overac-tive thyroid. These twoconditions are most oftenfeatures of an underlyingthyroid disease,” Garbersaid.

Of the nearly 30 mil-lion people suffering froma thyroid condition, mosthave hypothyroidism, ac-cording to AACE and ACE.

Symptoms associatedwith hypothyroidism in-clude pervasive fatigue;drowsiness; increasedsensitivity to cold; con-stipation; sore muscles;weight gain and fluidretention; puffy face; dif-ficulty with learning; dry,brittle hair and nails; dry,itchy skin; increased fre-quency of miscarriages;

forgetfulness; and unex-pected weight gain.

Those with hyperthy-roidism may experienceheart palpitations; anxi-ety; irritability; beingargumentative; trem-bling hands; intoleranceof warm temperaturesand increased likelihoodto perspire; loss of scalphair; muscle weakness;

loose and frequent bowelmovements; prominent“stare” of the eyes; protru-sion of the eyes; insomnia;poor concentration andmemory; increased like-lihood for miscarriage;nervousness; insomnia;and sudden weight loss,despite no drastic dietary

Thyroid Awareness Month

Small Gland Plays Big Role in Overall Health

Courtesy photo from CDC.gov

Physicians check the necks of patients tohelp determine if there is a concern for thy-roid disease.

Courtesy graphic from CDC.gov

See THYRIOD page 6

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Train online in healthcare, technology,or administration and prepare to earn

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6 Thursday, January 22, 2015 The Journal

Safe Harbor non-medical care manager,said at times he believed it was “far-fetched” for Eric to stay in the Navy.But, he said, Eric never wavered on hisgoal to recover and continue his service.

“He could’ve taken the easy way andI mean he could’ve simply said ‘I wantto get out,’” Edwards said. “I had in-ternships lined up for him. I explainedto him: ‘Here’s two courses of action wecould take. It’s up to you.’He decided hewanted to stay in. If not we could’ve gothim into internships that would’ve pre-pared him for separation as well.”

Edwards kept him informed of dif-ferent activities he could participate in,such as attending a USO (United Ser-vice Organizations) gala and going to aprofessional military leadership courseat Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

While he’s happy to see Eric’s prog-ress, Edwards said he is sorry to see

him leave. Eric’s become an ambassa-dor for the Safe Harbor program andbecame a mentor to junior Sailors, Ed-wards said.

“I wish we could keep him here fora little longer, but he has to get backout there so he can stay competitive,”Edwards said.

While the plan during recovery wasto stay in the Navy, Eric wasn’t alwaysset on a military career. He joined theNavy on Feb. 28, 2005, and attributedhis time in Italy where he was frockedto a first-class Petty Officer, as part ofthe reason he wants to stay in the Navy.Some of the credit goes to the Safe Har-bor program because, he said, it openedup his desire to help junior Sailors.

“Since I’ve been here with SafeHarbor and [the] Wounded Warriorprogram, it’s widened my aspect andknowledge of helping people – especial-ly being here at a hospital,” Eric said.

Another draw is his desire to get sta-tioned in Italy or somewhere in Europeagain.

And what does he think of his odds?“Maybe, maybe not,” he replied.

SAFEContinued from page 4

changes. As with hypothyroidism, thosewith hyperthyroidism may develop agoiter, according to AACE and ACE.

Burch explained the best way to de-termine if one has a thyroid condition isby having a TSH (thyroid-stimulatinghormone) test performed. A TSH testmeasures the amount of thyroid stimu-lating hormone (TSH) in the blood. Healso recommends people perform a self-neck check, looking for bulges or pro-trusions in your neck while swallowingwater (http://www.thyroidawareness.com/neck-check).

Garber notes that because thyroid dis-ease often runs in families, examinationsof family members and a review of theirmedical histories may reveal other indi-viduals with thyroid problems. He addedthyroid disorders are most common inwomen.

Another condition that can affect thethyroid is cancer, which is one of the fast-est growing cancers in America, accord-ing to AACE and ACE officials. It is alsoone of the most curable, they add. Five-year survival rates are 97.8 percent inthe United States, according to the Na-tional Cancer Institute.

For more information concerning thy-roid disorders, visit www.thyroidaware-ness.com, and http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/thyro.html.

THYROIDContinued from page 5

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The Journal Thursday, January 22, 2015 7

be re-certified, CRNAs must obtain aminimum of 40 hours of approved con-tinuing education every two years, doc-ument substantial anesthesia practice,maintain current state licensure andcertify that they have not developedany conditions that could adversely af-fect their ability to practice anesthesia.

Spencer, who has been active duty for22 years in the Navy, said his favoritepart about being a CRNA is having theopportunity to take care of one patientat a time and giving them the best anes-thetic experience possible. “I genuinelycare about each patient and treat themas if they were a member of my family.I strive to utilize all of my knowledge,skills and experience to guide my careand keep my patients safe and comfort-able,” he said.

Hacker, who has been active duty forthe past 17 years, said, “I most enjoy theautonomy of my work and being ableto serve the finest patient populationthere is. It’s wonderful to be able to fo-cus solely on the case at hand and givethe patient the confidence they need toget through a stressful situation.”

Hacker has worked as a staff CRNAat Madigan Army Medical Center atJoint Base Lewis McChord while serv-ing as the sole CRNA and Commanderof the 758th Forward Surgical Team. “If

becoming a CRNA is what you reallywant to do, you’ll have to persevere,” hesaid. “It is not easy to meet the require-ments to enter school, but once youachieve it then nothing can stop you. Ifyou are in the military already and areapplying then you have a chance to goto one of the two finest schools in thecountry. Both are rated in the top fivenationally and prepare us to deliver thebest care to our Soldiers and Sailors inany environment.”

Spencer said he found out aboutCRNAs in nursing school when he hadthe opportunity to work with a NavalReserve CRNA during his first clinicalrotation at the Veterans’ Administra-tion Hospital in Columbia, S.C. “Afterworking with her for two weeks, I knewthat is what I eventually wanted todo with my life and was excited that Icould serve my country doing the job Iloved as well,” he explained.

“If you think you might be interestedin becoming a CRNA, please come andtalk to one of us,” Spencer said. “You canshadow with us in the OR, see if youlike what we do, and [we can] then talkto you about the Nurse Anesthesia pro-gram, working hours/lifestyle and ser-vice-specific deployment realities andpotential duty stations/ assignments.”

For more information, con-tact Lt. Jacqueline Price, CRNAWRNMMC Anesthesia Department, atJacqueline.e.price2.mil@mail.mil.

NURSEContinued from page 3

Google Launches Virtual USSConstitution Tour Experience

U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Michael Mui

Google Maps published a complete 360-degree virtual experience ofUSS Constitution Tuesday. Using Street View technology, GoogleMaps photographed the ship in fall 2014 to create an online 360-degreevirtual experience of touring Constitution in preparation for the ship’sscheduled dry dock restoration period, which begins in March 2015.

T6619030

Rockville

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2014 Mercedes-Benz ML 350 Sport Utility