Volume 7, Issue 3 n February 6, 2012

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter
Sharon Willis

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Production Editor

Christine Creenan-Jones

Contributing Writer

Anne Allnutt

Layout and Design

Production

Editorial content is edited, prepared 

and provided by the USU Office of 

External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Pulse staff may 

include or exclude articles based 

upon news value, impact on the 

university and space availability.

Submissions

The Pulse will be published 

bi-weekly on Mondays. The 

deadline for submissions is at 4 p.m. 

Tuesday prior to the publication 

date. Submissions can be sent to 

usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or by 

calling 301-295-0895.

2 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

On the cover

2012 marks the 40th anniversary of the 

Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU). This logo is one of 

two logos created to commemorate this 

milestone. Over the next year, USU will 

hold a number of events and activities 

to mark this special observance. These 

logos are available for download online 

at http://www.usuhs.mil/vpe/

branding.html 

USU Holds First Town Hall in 2012

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the founding of the Uniformed 

Services University of the Health Sciences in 1972. A number of activities 

will be taking place throughout the 

year in celebration of this milestone, 

which will culminate in a three-day 

event in late September.

 “This year, 2012, is our 40th anniversary,” said USU President Charles 

L. Rice, M.D., during the Jan. 18 Town 

Hall meeting. “We intend to celebrate 

our history and accomplishments in big 

ways and small over the year.”

The main event will be held Sept. 

20-22, and will include the annual 

USU-HJF Symposium on Thursday, 

Sept. 20 at the Rockville Hilton. On 

Friday, Sept. 21, USU will celebrate 

its anniversary with special guests, 

lectures, showings of “Fighting for 

Life,” along with a host of other activities, ending with a 40th Anniversary 

reception and dinner in the evening. 

The USU Alumni Association will plan 

USU Celebrates 40th Anniversary

This logo is 

one of two 

logos used to 

commemorate 

this special 

anniversary. 

These logos 

are available 

online at 

http://www.

usuhs.mil/vpe/

branding.html

and host Alumni Weekend events on 

Saturday, Sept. 22. 

Two 40th Anniversary logos were 

created by USU’s Graphics Division 

staff to mark the celebration. Logos 

should be used on websites, powerpoint 

presentations, posters and other USU 

materials throughout 2012, and are 

available for download at www.usuhs.

mil/vpe/branding.html.

USU’s President delivered a “State of 

the University” address to the campus 

community during the first Town Hall 

meeting of the year Jan. 18.

Dr. Charles Rice briefly discussed the 

extraordinary achievements made by the 

university over the past several decades, 

reflecting on the leadership and expertise USU faculty and alumni provide 

throughout the military health system. 

His address also touched on the goals 

he set for himself when he took over as 

the university’s 5th President in 2005, 

and his plan to build on USU’s unique 

strengths, despite a number of obstacles, including budget uncertainties. 

He discussed how budget uncertainties 

remain a key focus as higher headquarters looks to reduce expenditures, but 

how he was convinced that USU continues to prove its worth. 

“We are confident that not only are 

the costs of educating our uniquely 

qualified students in line with the 

private sector and that their education and training is not replicated 

elsewhere, but also that we are playing 

a key role for the military health 

system and public health writ large in 

addressing the national shortage of 

physicians, advanced practice nurses 

and dentists,” Rice said. “The DoD 

cannot ensure an adequate cadre of 

military medical practitioners and 

leaders without the continued contribution of USU graduates.”

Dr. Rice also mentioned the university’s strides in expanding its student 

applicant pool and attracting quality 

faculty and USU’s success in securing 

more research funding.

“Today more faculty have externally 

funded research, more collaborations, 

and last year, 2011, the biggest year 

ever in number of grants and dollars—

over $130 million,” he said.

Continued to page 7
February 6, 2012 3

Like most military units, USU selects 

an outstanding noncommissioned officer for Service Member of the Year. 

Religious Program Specialist Ayanfemi 

Ayanwale was this year’s winner.

Ayanwale is being recognized for 

his work in the chaplain’s office, where 

he helps manage day-to-day business 

operations and coordinates religious 

services. 

“He is a real asset here,” said Brigade Chaplain Lt. Cmdr. Christopher 

Martin. “Without a doubt, Petty Officer 

Ayanwale is a fine example of a quality 

Sailor and a testament to the RP rating.” 

At USU, earning the title, “Service 

Member of the Year,” is a rigorous 

process. After being nominated by their 

supervisors, candidates must face a 

board of senior leaders who ask them a 

series of questions ranging from general 

military knowledge to current events.

Ayanwale’s answers impressed the 

board, so did his record of achievements. The 41-year-old Sailor, a Fleet 

Marine Force Warfare-qualified NCO, 

served with an Anti-Terrorism Battalion at Camp Ar Ramadi in Iraq for 

eight months before coming to USU.

While there, he maintained a 95 percent readiness status for the Marines he 

served. Ayanwale also provided various 

medical services so the Marines in his 

battalion could deploy at a moment’s 

notice, if necessary.

Now at USU, Ayanwale continues 

setting high standards on many fronts. 

In addition to his religious program 

specialist duties, Ayanwale is the lead 

instructor for mandatory training programs for Sailors at USU, a volunteer for 

the university’s Parking Hang Tag Distribution Program and an active member 

of USU’s Color Guard. He is also a 

financial specialist for the command, 

chair for the E-3 Evaluation Ranking 

Board and a USU tour guide for prospective students and their families.

Over the years, Ayanwale has also 

helped with many special projects at 

the university including providing field 

training to first-year students during 

Operation Kerkesner, where he was 

honored as an “exceptional performer” 

by the Brigade for his work in a medical platoon. Furthermore, Ayanwale 

was part of a development team assembled to create visually appealing, 

informative content for USU’s Human 

Performance Research Center website. 

He was also chosen by the Brigade 

Commander to be a part of the planning group for Army Lt. Col. David 

Cabrera’s memorial service, a USU 

faculty member killed in action while 

serving in Afghanistan. 

Ayanwale’s strong work ethic reaches 

far beyond the university’s corridors 

too. A frequent volunteer, he regularly 

supports the community by donating 

his time and services to local charities 

including the Pediatric Brain Tumor 

Foundation’s annual Ride for Kids event.

Ayanwale’s many personal and professional contributions impacted the 

board’s decision to select him as Service 

Member of the Year, a humbling honor 

for Ayanwale, a family man originally 

from Nigeria.

“This is such a wonderful achievement,” he said. “But, this is not my 

award alone. I received this because of 

my faith and support from my leadership as well as my family.”

Service Member of the Year Named

By Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

Do you know any amazing USU community members with a unique story? Let The Pulse know 

about them. USU’s writers are always looking to profile people with interesting backgrounds, 

accomplishments and skills. Recommend your colleagues and friends by sending an e-mail to the 

newsletter staff at usunewsletter@usuhs.mil. 

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

Religious Program Specialist 2nd Class 

Ayanfemi Ayanwale poses for a picture 

before a mission with the 2nd Battalion, 

9th Marines where he served at Camp 

Ar Ramadi, Iraq. Ayanwale was recently 

recognized for his outstanding service 

and dedication and was named the 2011 

USU Service Member of the Year. 

Courtesy photo
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

The USU community is officially 

moving to Google Apps beginning in 

mid-March.

The Google Apps format 

will replace the University’s 

current Novell GroupWise for 

its new e-mail and calendar 

platform services.

The Apps platform will also 

provide other working features 

such as Contact, Documents and Sites.

“We are pleased to announce that 

USU has chosen Google Apps for its 

new e-mail and calendar platform,” said 

Royce Goddard, the Customer Support 

Division, Help Desk Branch Chief.

At its core, Google Apps is a 

collection of Web-based message 

and collaboration applications. These 

applications are hosted on Google’s own 

servers and provide these programs as 

a service to its customers. This means 

there is no software download or install 

for customer usage.

Google Apps can also be synchronized with Microsoft Outlook on 

a customer’s desktop. All that is 

required to access these applications 

is a Web browser.

The announcement of the shift to 

Google Apps comes after preparation 

and pilot testing at USU in the month 

of December, 2011.

The selection for the move to 

Google Apps will provide many 

USU: There Is An App For That

By Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

benefits to the USU community. It 

will allow USU customers access to 

their e-mail, calendar, contacts and 

documents at anytime from 

any location. The move will 

also lower infrastructure costs 

to the University as well as 

consolidate work platforms 

such as GroupWise and 

Exchange. Google Apps also 

provides additional features such 

as document sharing options and 

instant messaging.

All these changes will help make 

USU not only more tech savvy but more 

effective as well.

Starting the first week of February, 

USU began End User Training prior 

to e-mail migration. The Google 

Apps launch will “Go Live” 

in mid-March. 

Teaching at USU is a nostalgic experience for Army Major Thomas Rawlings, assistant director of the Perioperative Clinical Nurse Specialist (PCNS) 

program in the Graduate School of 

Nursing. The popular instructor, 

known for his personal approach in 

the classroom, is also a PCNS graduate from the Class of 2006, the second 

group to complete the nation’s only 

perioperative nursing program.

His time at USU, both as a 

student and a professor, has 

made a huge impact on several 

realms of nursing. It’s also 

shaping the future of military 

medicine, one GSN cohort at 

a time.

In the classroom, Rawlings 

draws important lessons from 

his professional experiences to 

give USU students an insider’s 

look at perioperative nursing 

in the military. The seasoned 

veteran has travelled the globe 

extensively, healing warriors 

in operating rooms at major 

military hospitals and forward 

operating bases in the field.

Rawlings’ work at places like 

Camp Cropper – a holding facility for 

suspected war criminals in Iraq – is 

especially helpful at USU, because GSN 

students are expected to take on extraordinary responsibilities when they 

graduate, like Rawlings did.

While deployed, he cared for thousands of injured detainees and supervised a 15-person multidisciplinary 

medical team at the 31st Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad.

Personalized Education

By Christine Creenan-Jones

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

During this time, Rawlings faced 

incredible challenges.

“The hospital at Camp Cropper was 

extremely small and very busy. We 

treated thousands of wounded men 

and women in our two-bed operating 

rooms and eight-patient ICUs,” he said. 

“But, space wasn’t the only obstacle we 

overcame in Iraq. Keeping the hospital 

clean was also hard work, because dust 

storms blew through our camp regularly, leaving behind considerable residue.”

Austere conditions and looming 

danger didn’t stop Rawlings from 

thriving under pressure – a skill set he 

learned at USU. Rawlings saved many 

lives and earned a Bronze Star Medal 

in Iraq for exceptional military service 

in the process.

“I gained a lot of confidence while 

studying at USU. The entire program 

was helpful, but the operational readiness and leadership aspects were particularly relevant. I’ve used these skills 

many times throughout my military 

career, and now I’m teaching them to 

USU’s up-and-coming leaders,” he said. 

“There is no other place I’d rather be, 

because the students are incredible here 

and so is the mission.”
February 6, 2012 5

Ghana Delegation Visits USU

The USU hosted a delegation of visitors from Ghana, Dec. 14. Members of the delegation had lunch with students from the School 

of Medicine and the Graduate School of Nursing. From left to right (first row) Dr. Charles L. Rice, President, USU; Commodore 

(Surgeon) Rowlland Martin Sowa, Director General, Ghana; (back row); Col. Mark McGrail, U.S. Army Africa Command Surgeon; 

Lt. Cmdr. Richard Schultz, GSN Student; Lt. Col. Darrin Olinger, Office of Security Cooperation, US Embassy, Ghana; Ensign Larry 

Williams, SOM Student; Lt. Cmdr. Edward Owusu Nyarko, Office in Charge, Public Health Division; 2nd Lt. Megan Stevens, SOM 

Student; Capt. Le’Keisha Rodriguez, GSN Student; Maj. Melissa Smith, GSN Student; 2nd Lt. Vivina Napier, SOM Student.

Capt. (Dr.) Mark Stephens, Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, presents Commodore (Surgeon) Rowlland Martin Sowa the 

Director General of Ghana with a flag from the 2006 World Cup soccer game between Ghana and the United States. Commodore 

Sowa was part of a delegation of visitors from Ghana who visited USU, Dec. 14. From left to right Dr. Jeff Longacre, Vice President, 

Affiliations and International Affairs; Lt. Cmdr. Edward Owusu Nyarko, Office in Charge, Public Health Division; Lt. Col. Darrin 

Olinger, Office of Security Cooperation, U.S. Embassy, Ghana; Commodore Sowa, Col. Mark McGrail, U.S. Army Africa Command 

Surgeon; Dr. Stephens; Dr. Charles L. Rice, President, USU.

Courtesy photo Courtesy photo
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Three years ago, USU entered new 

academic territory when the graduate 

programs added a Health Administration and Policy (MHAP) master’s 

degree to its repertoire. The two-year 

program expanded the university’s 

mostly clinical footprint into the policy 

and economics end of medicine for the 

first time ever.

“MHAP graduates will have a lot of 

important responsibilities,” said the 

program director, Navy Cmdr. Glen 

Diehl, PhD. “They’ll manage hospitals, establish new policies, and carry 

out countless other behind-the-scenes 

responsibilities to keep things running smoothly.”

This broadened scope supports a 

crucial side of military medicine. At 

the helm of hospital leadership teams, 

administrators impact almost every 

operational aspect of military medicine, 

from overseeing all levels of personnel 

to balancing the hospital’s budget.

Learning to shoulder these heavy 

responsibilities is also a rigorous undertaking. MHAP instruction, like all USU 

scholarship, is both challenging and 

military-centric.

“The program’s faculty – seasoned experts with lots of hands-on experience 

in hospital administration and policy 

– have set the bar really high, because 

they know how important it is to have 

strong leaders supporting America’s 

wounded warriors at a decision-making 

level,” Diehl said.

A combination of conventional 

and more creative teaching methods 

prepare MHAP students for this work. 

After laying a solid foundation, professors give their students – Navy and 

Air Force officers – the opportunity to 

guide classroom instruction through 

open forum talks.

One session, for example, may begin 

with students discussing the merits of 

majority versus plurality rule before it 

A New Kind of Education for USU: Master’s in Health Care 

Administration and Policy

By Christine Creenan-Jones

quickly turns into a conversation about 

the effects of social change and world 

politics on health policy today.

Another exercise, legislative role 

playing, transforms ensigns and captains into senators and presidents, so 

they can work in teams to either draft 

or block healthcare legislation. This 

process – engaging and informative – 

teaches students an important lesson 

about the symbiotic relationship existing between health and government. 

“Many factors influence the way 

health systems run, and we want our 

students to understand them all, so 

they can be as effective as possible in 

their leadership roles after graduation,” 

Diehl said.

Real-life, practical experience is also 

incorporated into the MHAP curriculum. Students must complete a 

year-long residency before graduation. 

They receive “on the job” mentorship 

at nearby hospitals, research institutes, 

VA medical centers and other approved 

sites from senior administrators.

“Students are immersed in settings where they can really learn the 

nuts and bolts of administration and 

policy for 12 months,” Diehl said. 

“So, they can leave USU with both the 

knowledge and experience to make 

a powerful difference for America’s 

troops at treatment facilities around 

the world.”

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

USU interim Department of Surgery chair, Navy Capt. 

(Dr.) Patricia McKay, addressed the University of 

Maryland, Baltimore County Pre-Med Club recently 

regarding careers in military medicine. Dr. McKay, who 

received her undergraduate degree from UMBC in 1989, 

spoke to pre-med students and advisors, and was also 

invited to visit the University's alumni affairs coordinator 

and the dean of the College of Science.

HMC Bob Wheeler, USN, Navy Recruiting District Philadelphia
February 6, 2012 7

Briefs

Using Computer Resources

Security incidents continue to 

be a drain to limited USU Information Assurance manpower. The 

following highlight current DoD 

policy and best practices: Personnel must not install self-coded or 

non-licensed software on network 

resources; add, remove, configure, or attempt to modify USU 

computer operating systems or 

programs; move audio/visual 

or network cables, computers 

or attempt to connect personal 

computers to the network including MDL and lecture hall spaces; 

connect personal devices except 

for those previously authorized 

by NOC; download pornographic 

material and store or display 

offensive material, such as racist 

literature, sexually harassing or 

obscene language or material; 

store or process classified information on any USU system. Personnel must not permit unauthorized 

individuals access to a government-owned or governmentoperated system or program; access 

online gambling, games and social 

engineering sites.

Exercise/Fitness Areas

Physical Fitness training should be 

conducted in designated areas. The 

only authorized space for PT within 

the university is room G060. The 

campus’ Student Community Lounge 

area is also authorized, but only 

during specified PFT dates or times. 

HPRC Health Tips

The Human Performance 

Resource Center Health Tips is 

intended to provide the USU 

community with information 

to help develop and maintain a 

healthy lifestyle. Check out the 

HPRC website at: http://humanperformanceresourcecenter.org.

Physical activity can boost 

quality sleep

Besides keeping you healthy and 

fit, exercise has another important 

benefit. According to a news release 

from Oregon State University, a 

study conducted on more than 

2,600 men and women between 

ages 18 to 85 found that individuals who exercise for 150 minutes a 

week at a moderate to vigorous level experience a 65% improvement 

in sleep quality. In addition, active 

people experienced less daytime 

sleepiness than those who are inactive. These findings appeared to be 

across the board—subjects experienced better sleep regardless of age, 

weight, and other health habits. For 

many, regular physical activity can 

be an effective, non-pharmaceutical 

alternative to improving sleep and 

concentration levels during waking 

hours. The study, which was published in the December 2011 issue of 

Mental Health and Physical Activity, 

adds more evidence to the amazing 

body of research that demonstrates 

the importance of exercise for overall health.

Dietary supplements: What’s in 

them for you?

What do you put in your body to 

boost your performance, increase 

your energy, shed pounds, build 

muscle, or otherwise supplement 

your diet? What’s in that drink, pill, 

or powder? What will it do for you? 

What will it do to you? Is it worth 

the risk? More and more Warfighters 

are taking dietary supplements, most 

without being fully informed that 

some of the ingredients could have 

harmful side effects.

Running to exercise

Running is a great exercise to help 

reduce your risk of heart disease 

and stroke. Running improves your 

cardiovascular system by strengthening 

your heart muscle and improving 

your circulation. As your heart muscle 

becomes stronger, your heart can 

pump more blood more easily. This 

helps deliver more oxygen to fuel 

your working muscles and remove 

byproducts such as carbon dioxide.

If you enjoy reading the HPRC Health 

Tips you can find more by “liking” the 

Human Performance Resource Center 

on Facebook.

He also talked about the future and 

where USU’s special opportunities 

might lie. 

“We have many of the factors that 

others seek to emulate and we are extraordinarily well equipped and positioned to 

be a leader in academic health centers in 

the 21st century,” Rice said. “ Our task is 

to bring together our assets in ways that 

will increase their impact, pioneering new 

collaborations among federal agencies 

and between public and private sectors; 

to play the key role in ensuring that the 

WRNMMC is not only outstanding in its 

care of the troops and their families but 

also a first class academic medical center; 

and to insure that the USU of the next 

40 years not only lives up to the aspirations of its founders but creates a new 

and better model for education, research, 

training and care in service to those for 

whom we care.”

Continued from page 2

Town Hall
8 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter