Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences 

USU Newsletter 

WWW.USUHS.MIL APRIL 3, 2006 VOLUME 1,ISSUE 15 

In This Issue 

National Medical Award.........2 

USU Alumni in Iraq...............2 

Solutions for Med Imagery.....3 

Diwali Celebration...................3 

Faculty News...........................4 

USU License Plates................4 

ACNM Salutes Midwives........4 

USU Alumni in Africa.............6 

Look Who’s Talking.............7 

News Briefs..........................7 

General Counsel Update........7 

Calendar of Events..........Back

Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences 

WWW.USUHS.MIL NOV. 13,2006 

 Charles Rice, M.D., president of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) addressed members of the Association of American Medical Colleges 

(AAMC) and the Association of Military Surgeons of the United States (AMSUS) at their 

annual meetings in Seattle, Wash., Oct. 30 

and San Antonio, Texas, Nov. 6., respectively. 

 This year marks the 60th anniversary of 

Policy Memorandum #2, which is the Veterans Administration (VA) document establishing the partnership between VA medical 

centers and America’s medical schools. 

 President Rice gave the Alan Gregg Memorial Lecture titled “From the Battle field to 

the Clinic: Treating America’s Newest Veterans.” His lecture traced the changes in the 

nature and ‘geography’ of armed conflict 

and how this has had a profound impact on 

how we have had to adapt to care for the 

wounded. He described direct intervention 

as well as macro military medical organizational structures that have been developed 

to improve survival of our nation’s warfighters. 

 Dr. Rice also participated in a focus session 

panel that centered on the needs of new 

veterans arising from their experiences in the 

Middle East. The session provided insight 

into the care of the war wounded, from battlefield interventions to the latest physical 

rehabilitation techniques and prostheses, to 

the emerging neurobiology of post-traumatic 

stress disorder. 

 A week later, Dr. Rice addressed members 

of AMSUS about the future of healthcare in 

the federal services and USU’s role. In particular, he mentioned the university’s increased collaboration with the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Public Health 

Service. 

 Dr. Rice addressed accomplishments and 

changes at USU over the last year and noted 

some major issues we face in the upcoming 

year. 

 “We are actively engaged in growing our 

relationships with the Public Health Service 

and looking forward to deeper collaborations on all three fronts of education, research and training. I continue to meet with 

Health and Human Services leadership and 

was particularly gratified that NIH director 

Elias Zerhouni joined us at this year’s Bushmaster exercise.” 

 Dr. Rice emphasized that the university 

was realigning resources to reflect some of 

the changing needs of military and public 

health medicine. 

 He also noted leadership changes at USU, 

work on Integration, increased funding for 

research, notable faculty accomplishments 

and honors, and the recent groundbreaking 

for Building E. 

 In regard to challenges and opportunities, 

Dr. Rice again noted work on designing the 

Walter Reed National Military Medical Center 

and the compelling vision of a major military 

academic health center. 

 The AAMC is a nonprofit association of 

medical schools, teaching hospitals, and academic societies. It seeks to improve the nation's health by enhancing the effectiveness 

of academic medicine. Its mission is to assist 

academic medicine institutions, organizations, and individuals in three main mission 

areas: medical education; medical research; 

and patient care. 

 AMSUS is comprised of professionals serving in the full spectrum of healthcare disciplines in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Public Health Service, Department of Veterans 

Affairs, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Air 

Force Reserve, Army National Guard, Air 

National Guard, and the Coast Guard. More 

than 9,000 members count on AMSUS to 

provide them with up-to-date information 

and services. Its mission is to advance the 

knowledge of federal health care and to 

increase the effectiveness and efficiency of its 

membership by mutual association and by 

the consideration of matters pertaining to 

constituent services both in peace and war. 

President Rice Addresses 

AAMC, AMSUS Members 

By Tech. Sgt. Andre Nicholson and 

Sharon Willis, Office of External Affairs 
Dr. Rice announces university 

reorganization

USU Newsletter 

Editorial Staff 

Carol R. Scheman 

Vice President for 

External Affairs and 

Managing Editor 

Tech. Sgt. 

André Nicholson 

Editor 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 2nd Class 

Kory Kepner 

Assistant Editor 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 

Seaman 

Raul Zamora 

Staff Writer 

 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 

Seaman Apprentice 

Jeffrey Hopkins 

Staff Writer 

 

Sharon Willis 

Director 

Alumni Affairs and 

Contributing Writer 

Marla Wright 

Webmaster 

Publishing 

USU Duplicating Office

Production: 

Editorial content is 

edited, prepared and 

provided by the USU 

Office of External Affairs unless otherwise 

indicated. The Newsletter staff may include 

or exclude articles 

based upon news 

value, impact on the 

university and space 

availability. 

Submissions: 

The USU Newsletter 

will be published biweekly on Mondays 

and deadline for submission is Friday at 4 

p.m. Submissions can 

be sent to usunewsletter@usuhs.mil or call 

301-295-3925. 

Alumni in the News 

PAGE 2 

 USU alumni make up a number of the physician staff of the 28th Combat Support Hospital 

(CSH) in Iraq, including the hospital's commander and deputy commander. They include: (Left to 

right) Capt. Tracy Eichel ('02); Col. Erin Edgar '92, Commander, 28th CSH; Capt. Phillip Cuenca 

('01); Capt. Jeremy Eager ('02); Maj. Laura Marquart ('00); Maj. Jeffrey Hirsch ('00); Lt.Col. Mark 

McGrail ('93), deputy commander for Clinical Services, 28th CSH; Maj. Jamil Malik ('95); Maj. Daniel 

Washburn ('99); Maj. John Schaber ('98/'00). 

Courtesy photo 

Deployed alumni CSHing in on USU education 

 Army Col. (Dr.) Naomi 

Aronson (’81), an assistant professor in the USU Department of 

Medicine, was named the recipient of 2007 Richard and Hinda 

Rosenthal Foundation First 

Award by the American College 

of Physicians (ACP) recently. 

 Dr. Aronson, who is director 

of the medicine department’s 

division of Infectious Diseases, 

received the award in recognition of her recent innovative 

work making a notable contribution to improve clinical care in 

the field of internal medicine, 

according to a statement by the 

ACP National Awards Committee. She is the sole recipient of 

the 2007 award, and it will be 

presented to her in a special 

ceremony at the national ACP 

meeting in April, 2007. 

 Dr. Aronson was nominated 

for the award by Dr. Robert 

Goldstein, chair of the Department of Medicine, who cited her 

outstanding achievements in 

the development of treatment 

and delivery of care for leishmaniasis, a common and sometimes serious problem for troops 

and civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

 “Naomi’s recognition is particularly important in recognizing the high quality and advanced character of Army medical care,” said Dr. Goldstein. “It 

is also a superb distinction for 

military physicians and the USU 

billeted faculty.” 

 Dr. Aronson joins other notable scientists in receiving this 

award, including Robert Gallo, 

M.D., who co-discovered in the 

HIV virus and pioneered the 

development of the HIV blood 

test, and Anthony Fauci, M.D., 

director of the National Institute 

of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes 

of Health. 

USU Alumna Earns National Medical Award 

By Sharon Willis 

Director of Alumni Affairs 
PAGE 3 

News 

 Air Force Col. Les Folio reflected on 

Moore’s law, observing that data storage 

and archival capabilities double every 18 

months while the price drops by half. 

“I have a thing I call Les’s law, where we 

drive how cameras have been getting 

exponentially better in megapixel and 

quality, which increases storage consumption and bandwidth consumption,” Folio 

told Military Medical Technology. “So even 

though storage and archival ability grows 

every year because of improved technology, the improved technology of the image acquisition device, such as CT scanners and MRIs, those types of things are 

generating demand faster than archival 

space can keep up.” 

 Those challenges occupy Colonel Folio’s mind because he’s a radiologist, flight 

surgeon, scientist and associate professor 

of radiology and radiological sciences at 

the Uniformed Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU). He specializes in 

combat radiology, hence his knowledge of 

telehealth and how to relay very large 

medical images around the globe. 

As a member of the Air Force Joint Expeditionary Telehealth Solution (JETS) team, 

Dr. Folio visits Iraq regularly to assist with 

telehealth solutions implemented at U.S. 

military hospitals. As a leading Air Force 

expert on the subject of teleradiology, he 

speaks at a number of conferences around 

the world on the state of U.S. military capabilities in that area. For example, he lectured at the International Blast and Ballistic 

Trauma Congress in South Africa at the 

end of September. 

 “We have challenges like bandwidth 

that we are always trying to approach our 

leaders with,” Dr. Folio noted. “Our 

agenda when we go to these conferences 

is to make sure we have dedicated bandwidth for medical transmissions and how 

we will work it when all of the connections are in place when we overcome the 

security issues.” 

 Dr. Folio has been working on technologies that may not mature for another 

decade, like transmission holograms, but 

in the meantime, he helps implement solutions available now for the transfer and 

storage of very large digital imaging and 

communications in medicine (DICOM) 

format files. These files, which usually require a special diagnostic workstation to 

view, are incredibly sophisticated electronic pictures or X-rays of patient cases. 

“The CT scan that we get on every single 

trauma patient that has massive trauma is 

about a gigabyte of data. Moving a gigabyte of data can be a challenge, especially 

when all you have are antennae and 

things that you set up and transition every 

few months when you are moving people 

in and out,” Dr. Folio remarked. 

 As technology improves, so must bandwidth and security, Dr. Folio stressed. 

Technological evolution must occur within 

the context of proper security, so as to 

prevent the compromise of patient information. 

That being said, Dr. Folio has been hard at 

work on new standards to highly compress and transfer medical imagery. He is 

part of a team that has filed for a patent 

on a 1:100 compression ratio for CT data. 

A gigabyte of CT data can compress down 

to about 5-10 megabytes, he said, enabling quick transfer to commercial devices 

like cell phones that would have been 

impossible previously. 

 The technology, called DICOM2MP4, 

would convert DICOM format to MP4 format. 

 “I have proposed taking DICOM digital 

data from CT and X-ray and compressing it 

by changing it into an MP4 file,” Dr. Folio 

explained. “As iPods have become very 

popular, along with Blackberries and all of 

that, this kind of combines the audio and 

visual capabilities, more the video capabiliBy Mickey McCarter 

Military Medical Technology Magazine 

Special solutions for medical imagery required to meet needs of clinicians 

See MEDPIX, page 5 

 The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) celebrated Diwali Oct. 27. 

 Diwali or Deepavali is one of the biggest festivals that Hindus 

celebrate. This celebration is five consecutive days long. It is celebrated by lighting many candles and Diyas which symbolize the 

victory of good over evil. 

 The five days are Dhan-Trayodashi, Dhan means “wealth” and 

Trayodashi means “13th day.” This day falls on the 13th day of the 

first half of the lunar month. It is an auspicious day for shopping. 

 The second day is Naraka Chaturdasi, Naraka means “of new 

era of light and knowledge,” and Chaturdasi means 14th day. 

 The third day is Diwali. There are different reasons why this 

day is celebrated. Some Hindus celebrate this day because it commemorates the day that Lord Krishna’s wife Sathyabhama killed 

of Narakasura, an evil demon who created havoc. In other versions of the story Lord Krishna killed Narakasura himself. Another 

reason to celebrate is the return of Lord Rama, king of Ayodhya 

back to his home from a war were he killed the demon king Ravana. 

 The fourth day is Varsha-pratipada which is the beginning of 

the New Year. Pratipada means the first. 

 The fifth day is Bhayiduj. On this day brothers and sisters meet 

to express their love and affection for each other. 

 The celebration consisted of lots of Indian food including 

Samosa, Vegetable Pulao, Daal, Mixed Vegetables, Chola, Alu 

Matar, Raita, Guilab, Jamun, Rawa Halwa, Jalebi, and Rice pudding. Many of USU’s faculty and staff showed up for the colorful 

and exotic foods that lined the wall of the small dining room. 

 The USU community celebrates Diwali every year because of 

the growing diversity within the university. 

Diwali, The Festival of Lights 

By MCSN Raul Zamora 

Staff Writer, Office of External Affairs 

During the Diwali celebration at USU, people were able to eat 

traditional Indian dishes such as Samosa, Daal, Chola, Alum 

Matar, Rawa Halwa and other colorful and exotic dishes. 

Photo By MCSN Raul Zamora 
PAGE 4 

News 

USU faculty member lectures abroad 

 Dr. James Smirniotopoulos was a featured 

speaker at the 15th Annual Late Summer Radiology Course in Vaals, Netherlands, Sept. 8-9. Dr. 

Smirniotopoulos gave three Refresher Course lectures during the recent annual meeting of the 

French Society of Radiology in Paris, France. He 

also spoke at the Mt. Sinai Head and Neck and 

Neuroradiology Course in New York City Oct.12-

15. 

New Chair Announced

Leonard C. Sperling, M.D., was recently selected as 

the new chair, Department of Dermatology following a nationwide search. Dr. Sperling is a nationally 

and internationally known academician in the field 

of dermatology. He has been the acting chair of 

the position since his retirement earlier this year. 

Faculty Briefs 

 When was the last time you attended a birth 

with the father participating by telephone from a 

war zone or cared for a woman who lost a limb in 

combat? For uniformed midwives these scenarios 

are commonplace and provide a new perspective to 

the midwifery tenet of serving vulnerable populations. 

 Two years ago, American College Nurse Midwives (ACNM) formed a Uniformed Services Committee in recognition of the special contributions 

and needs of our members in uniform. This is a 

group whose work I deeply appreciate, in part due 

to my years as a civilian OB/GYN provider at Walter 

Reed Army Medical Center. There I cared for a 

woman whose husband was lost in the Pentagon 

on 9/11 (the line went dead as she spoke to him on 

the phone), and an 18-year-old woman whose husband returned from Iraq with massive brain injuries 

and the loss of both arms (she was expecting her 3rd

child). I saw single mothers who, facing deployment, made difficult decisions about guardianship 

for their children. Commonly, my clients moved 

every two to three years and faced long periods of 

separation from their families. These scenarios occur 

regularly in military hospitals and clinics. 

 Today, approximately one in seven active duty 

soldiers is female. The Office of Army Demographics 

reports the following statistics for 2005: 14 percent 

of the enlisted population was female; 46 percent 

were less than 25 years old; 41.8 percent were nonwhite of whom 23.4 percent were black and 11.5 

percent Hispanic; and 15 percent of enlisted female 

soldiers were single with children. In addition, one 

in 10 Army retirees was permanently or temporarily 

disabled. Demographic data vary somewhat between service branches, but the overall picture is 

similar. 

 Midwives in the uniformed services care for active 

and retired Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and 

Coast Guard personnel, and their families. There are 

midwives in the U.S. Public Health Service who provide care to the medically underserved, including 

Native Americans and Alaskans. In addition to working with military beneficiaries at home, active-duty 

midwives are deployed to the field of conflict and 

By Rima Jolivet, CNM, MSN, MPH 

(The following is an article submitted by a USU 

PMB doctoral student) 

ACNM Salutes Midwives in the Uniformed Services 

See MIDWIVES, page 6 

“14 percent of 

the enlisted 

population was 

female; 46 percent were less 

than 25 years 

old... and 15 

percent of 

enlisted female 

soldiers were 

single with children.“ 

 There are many different ways to show your school spirit: painted faces at sports events, t-shirts and 

sweaters, stickers, ornaments, and coins. Now it may be possible to have Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) car license plates. The images above are not the final design, but they 

represent what the license plates might look like. We are currently seeking to determine if there would 

be sufficient interest in having a USU organizational license plate. If you would like to register your 

interest, please contact the webmaster at webmaster@usuhs.mil. 

License to Brag Graphics by Wayne Crawford 
News 

PAGE 5 

ties, similar to how DVDs, which are MP2, 

are going to MP4 and all of your movies are 

going to be on your iPod.” 

 The patents concern the algorithms that 

enable the smooth conversion of DICOM to 

MP4, which provides a means through 

which medical personnel can view imagery 

on commercial equipment instead of very 

expensive diagnostic workstations. 

“This patent will allow people to get the 

images from situations where there are 

multiple casualties from a bomb or something and there is no radiologist. They can 

send the entire set of scans to someone’s 

Blackberry and they can scroll through. It’s 

pretty revolutionary,” Dr. Folio remarked. 

Medweb 

 The expertise of Dr. Folio and other 

members of the JETS team is critical to deploying existing equipment to the field. He 

visited Iraq last year to help set up the connectivity for Medweb servers. These specialized computer servers handle the DICOM 

images used by the medical community, 

while meeting strict security requirements. 

 Dan Riordan, an application support 

representative for San Francisco-based 

Medweb, recently returned from his fourth 

visit to Iraq to deliver and set up Medweb 

servers in Baghdad, Mosul and Balad. 

“We have limited resources for radiologists 

in theater,” Riordan told MMT. “So these 

doctors are able to log on remotely from 

another site or have the studies forwarded 

from site to site where a doctor can read 

the images and give a much better reading 

than an ER doctor.” 

 The Medweb servers are extremely portable and connect easily to both the unclassified but Sensitive Internet Protocol Router 

Network (NIPRNet) and the Secret IP 

Router Network (SIPRNet). 

 The servers can communicate directly 

with satellites and other Medweb products 

in the field. They connect directly to X-ray 

machines and MRI scanners from General 

Electric, Fuji and other manufacturers. 

 In an X-ray system, images are captured 

on a plate that is read by a computer radiology (CR) system, which saves the images to 

a workstation. From there, medical personnel can transfer the DICOM images to Medweb, which can act as a relay station to 

another destination or as an archival system for the storage of the images. 

“It’s easy to install and easy to maintain. 

They are also durable. We provide a very 

portable, sophisticated system that works 

well in desert conditions—dry, hot and 

dusty,” Riordan added. 

 A deployable Medweb system needs 

only a satellite connection or some Internet 

access to start working right out of the 

box—which is a Hardigg box roughly 3 feet 

or less on all sides. The basic kit comes with 

two servers, so that one can take over for 

the other in the event of a breakdown or 

failure of some kind, as well as a switch, a 

UPS power supply, surge protection, a PC, a 

monitor and a keyboard. 

 The U.S. military has seven of the units in 

Iraq at press time, along with three in Kuwait and five in Afghanistan. Many more 

are deployed around the world, Riordan 

said, and the U.S. military has been using 

them for about 10 years. 

Medpix 

 Back at USU, located in Bethesda, Md., 

Dr. Folio’s boss, Dr. James G. Smirniotopoulos has developed a database for medical 

images that is being widely used within the 

military academic community. The database, called Medpix, is patented by Smirniotopoulos and Henry Irvine, a USU radiology 

resident. 

 Dr. Smirniotopoulos, chair of radiology 

and radiological sciences at USU, told MMT 

that Medpix stores medical images, providing clinical information about a patient, 

enabling doctors to examine patient history 

and exam findings as well as treatments 

and outcomes. 

 “The images can be X-rays, MR, CT or 

ultrasounds,” Dr. Smirniotopoulos said. 

“They can be gross pictures of the patient. 

We have some trauma cases, including 

some cases from our current conflicts. We 

want to expand its use to a more comprehensive trauma database. It’s a very complex program that does a lot of things.” 

Doctors or support staff can enter the database and conduct a keyword search on 

images to compare against current cases, 

for example. The images are highresolution JPEG files, so medics can view 

them over a standard PC or laptop without 

a diagnostic-quality monitor. 

 Those with access to Medpix also can 

upload JPEG images into the database, 

enabling others around the world to access 

the files with a standard Web browser. 

 Dr. Smirniotopoulos cautioned that files 

input by remote users are subject to a verification process that limits public access to 

the files until peer reviews have approved 

their inclusion. Editors can comment on 

case files and link case files to related files. 

 Medpix also acts as a training system, 

providing continuing medical education for 

physicians and nurses. Students can take 

tests and receive scores from Medpix 

online. Students also can use Medpix as a 

study tool to examine cases and learn how 

to identify and distinguish various scenarios 

and afflictions. 

 Although Medpix has been around since 

1996, Dr. Smirniotopoulos just recently 

received his patent on it. The database also 

has a great deal of unrealized potential, he 

noted, as it is presently used largely for research and not for consultation. 

 “Somebody using an ordinary Web 

browser and a standard Internet connection could send a case in and ask for a consultation on it,” Dr. Smirniotopoulos said. 

“We don’t actually use those functions, so I 

want to be careful to make sure that people understand we are not actually using 

Medpix right now to make diagnosis but 

that functionality is built into the system.” 

 The biggest challenge with using Medpix for consultation arises from credentialing. Doctors at one location are often not 

credentialed to practice at the point of 

origination for images, thus preventing 

them from making a diagnosis on patients 

at that location. 

 Still, Dr. Smirniotopoulos foresees an 

expanded role for Medpix in the future. 

“What we would like to do is to integrate 

the system into the workflow, so that somebody would be working on a clinical case 

and it would somehow be linked into Medpix, and Medpix would have already done 

a search on relevant information to present 

for a comparison. So it might be a diagnostic adjunct. That is the point-of-care application that we are looking to develop,” he 

said. 

 Meanwhile, Medpix continues to serve 

as an atlas and a reference tool through its 

primary portal at http://rad.usuhs.mil/

medpix/medpix_home.html. 

 Military Medical Technology Magazine 

can be viewed at: www.mmt-kmi.com.

MEDPIX, Continued from page 3 
PAGE 6 

News 

 USU alumni are serving in a number of deployed 

locations around the world. Several graduates are 

currently assigned to support the Combined Joint 

Task Force-Horn of Africa in Djibouti. They include: 

(Left to right) Lt. Cmdr. (sel.) Erin Duffy ('01), Department Head, Sickcall Services, Expeditionary Medical 

Facility-Djibouti; Lt.Col. Dan Shoor ('96), Officer-inCharge, Civic Action Team, Combined Joint Task 

Force-Horn of Africa (CJT-HOA); Capt. (sel.) Craig 

Bonnema ('93), Command Surgeon, CJT-HOA; and 

Lt. Alicea Mingo ('04), Flight Surgeon, Heavy Lift 

Helo Squadron 461 Detachment. 

Courtesy photo 

USU Alumni deployed to Africa 

on humanitarian missions. Their stories are varied 

and the following profiles offer glimpses into their 

experiences. 

 Maj. Regina Paden, U.S. Air Force, is stationed at 

Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, where 

she cares for families affected by Hurricane Katrina. 

A large number of her patients are retirees, many 

of whom are still living in FEMA trailers. She reports 

significant increases in depression and alcohol use 

in her clients, along with high levels of obesity and 

unemployment. Major Paden transferred to Keesler 

from Langley AFB, where she was a study coordinator for a randomized controlled trial of Centering 

Pregnancy in the military conducted by Col. (RetUSAR) Holly Powell Kennedy, CNM, PhD, FACNM. 

 Cmdr. Trisha Farrell, U.S. Navy, at Bremerton 

Naval Hospital in Bremerton, Washington, coordinates another study site in the same trial. Centering 

Pregnancy is one example of a program that midwives are introducing to address the heightened 

support needs of military families. 

 Lt. Col. Cassandra Blakley, U.S. Army, is stationed 

at Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, where CNMs provide 

70 percent of the prenatal care. Many of her clients’ 

spouses are deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

They send ultrasound pictures and recorded FHTs 

to the deployed fathers-to-be. They pay special 

attention to postpartum depression symptoms 

among these women and have also started a Centering program. 

 Cmdr. Evelyn Quattrone, USN, was deployed 

with the Marines to Al Anbar, Iraq, in 2005. In addition to working as an ER nurse, she provided 

women’s health care to female soldiers. Much of 

her caseload consisted of menstrual problem visits, 

due to the stress and physical exertion of deployment. However, one woman who arrived in Iraq 

discovered that her symptoms were in fact signs of 

pregnancy. ComanderQuattrone diagnosed the 

pregnancy at sixteen weeks, after which the 

woman was sent home. As it happened, Commander Quattrone returned home to Camp Lejeune on the very same day the woman gave birth, 

and was able to visit her on the postpartum unit 

and meet her baby boy. 

 Back home, Commander Quattrone helps mothers whose spouses are deployed stay connected by 

mailing them videos and footprints of their babies. 

She has attended several births where the father 

participated via satellite phone. She describes how 

the room gets very quiet as the mother cradles the 

phone while her partner coaches her through contractions and whispers support in her ear. The baby 

is put up on her chest and near the receiver so that 

the first cries and small noises can be heard over 

the phone. Commander Quattrone received emails 

from well-meaning friends while in Iraq who would 

sometimes insert their political views, unaware of 

how demoralized these comments could make her 

feel amidst the acute stress of being deployed and 

caring for soldiers in the field. Then she would run 

into a Marine who would say, “Hey, didn’t you deliver my baby?” and that connection would help 

her remember the far-reaching impact her work as 

a nurse-midwife can have on people’s lives in unforeseen ways and unexpected places. 

 Midwives not only serve a tremendously diverse 

and varied population - they represent one. Midwives care for women and families without regard 

to race, ethnicity, creed or ability to pay, using their 

humanity to reach across lines and bridge divides. 

Whether we share the same background, culture, 

or political viewpoints is irrelevant to our commitment to those we serve; the ACNM statement of 

philosophy, “affirms the power and strength of 

women and the importance of their health in the 

well-being of families, communities and nations.” 

ACNM Salutes midwives and the care that they 

provide. 

 Visit www.midwife.org to read more profiles of 

uniformed ACNM members and to learn more 

about their work and the people they care for. 

MIDWIVES, Continued from page 4 
Briefs 

“It has to be 

turkey, because 

without it, it would 

be like the fourth of 

July without the 

fireworks.” 

“Stuffing 

because it’s 

the second 

best thing to 

turkey.” 

“Ham with 

Pineapple, Salad 

and Apple Pie.” 

Look Who’s Talking... What is your favorite Thanksgiving meal?

Jose Romero 

Housekeeping 

Lindsay Waros 

Library 

Technician 

Rina Melar 

USU Cafe 

 As the holidays approach there will be numerous charitable 

organizations seeking our support. While many of these serve a 

useful purpose, USU personnel are reminded that use of federal 

government equipment and property, including communications 

systems, are only for official purposes. With the exception of CFC 

and service relief organization fundraising, government equipment and supplies, such as paper, copiers, and other nondurable goods may not be used to support these activities, and 

all fundraising activity (which includes solicitation of goods/

donations) must occur on personal/non-government time. 

 Organizations composed primarily of DOD personnel or their 

dependents may engage in fundraising among their own members for the benefit of their members or their dependents when 

approved by the head of the DOD component command or organization after consultation with the Designated Agency Ethics 

Official or designee. Therefore groups composed of USU personnel/dependents may fundraise at USU so long as the activity has 

been approved by the USU President, the activities are conducted on personal non-duty time, and federal resources are not 

used. Exceptions, where there are minimal costs to the government, maybe preapproved by your supervisor. 

 Forms to request to hold a fundraising event consistent with 

the guidelines above are available on the OGC website. Questions on this and other government ethics issues should be directed to the General Counsel’s office at (301) 295-3028. 

PAGE 7 

Holiday Fundraising 

Courtesy of the Office of 

General Counsel 

Thanksgiving Basket Drive

 The USU Thanksgiving Basket Drive is in 

its second week and until Nov. 17 money 

and food can be donated. Cash donations 

and checks may be written to “USU 

Alumni Association, Inc.” 

 The USU Bookstore has joined the Family Medicine Interest Group to provide incentives for donating. When donating 40 

dollars, you will receive the USU Commemorate Coin, and 80 dollars you get a 

hardcover book entitled, “Medics at war: 

Military medicine from colonial times to 

the 21st century.” The monetary donations 

will be used to buy baskets for assembled 

food items and grocery store gift certificates. The donations can be given to 

Sharon Willis in Building A, and in the family medicine department office in Building 

A. 

 Suggested food items to be donated 

include cranberry sauce, canned vegetables, stuffing, dessert mix, yams, or anything that would supplement the meal. 

There are boxes to place donated food 

items in three places; outside lecture 

rooms E and D in Building C; Sharon Willis’ 

office A1025 in Building A; and Family 

Medicine Interest Group Office in Building 

A. 

Lt. Col. Selections for Promotion

 The following Army lieutenant colonels 

were recently selected for promotion to 

colonel: Bruce Schoneboom, Lisa Latendresse, and Karen Kelley. 

Enlisted to Commissioned

 HM1 Jason Wright, USN (AVC) recently 

re-enlisted as a petty officer first class in the 

Navy. He will be commissioned as a medical service corps lieutenant junior grade in 

August 2007. 

DOD Blue to Green Program

 The Department of Defense Blue to 

Green Program offers transitioning sailors 

the option of continuing active duty service with the Army without any break in 

service. Sailors retain the benefits of active 

duty while using the valuable training, 

knowledge, skills, and abilities they developed in the Navy. The Army is currently 

offering qualified active-duty recruits bonuses of up to $40,000. Additionally, the 

Army Recruiting Command recently resumed responsibility for all INCONUS Blue 

to Green recruiting. For more information 

visit www.goarmy.com/btg. 

Parking Garage Repair

 The second phase of repairs to the USU 

parking garage began Oct. 30 with work 

being performed from 5 p.m.-3:30 a.m. 

daily, resulting in the loss of 50 parking 

spaces. The repairs will affect the area to 

the left of elevators 48 and 50 (as you exit 

the elevators), Building B lower and upper 

parking levels; this area is clearly marked 

with yellow tape. Overflow parking is 

available at the "I" Lot next to the Child 

Development Center, and new traffic flow 

patterns will be established. 

Brigade Holiday Leave Policy 

 The USU Brigade Commander recently 

signed into effect a new policy, establishing the timeframes for the upcoming holiday periods of Thanksgiving, Christmas, 

and New Years. All brigade members are 

required to read this policy at: http://

www.usuhs.mil/bde/pdf/

BrigadeLeaveLibertyPolicy.pdf. Brigade 

policies are available on the USU webpage 

under the “Military” heading, then 

“Brigade Command,” and “Policy Information.” 

News Briefs 
USU Calendar of Events 

12 13 14 

18th Annual Academic 

Awards Collegium 

11:45am 

Sanford Auditorium 

15 

16th Annual Harold L. 

Stewart Lecture in 

Experimental Oncology 

3p.m. 

Lecture Room C 

Molecular Cell Biology 

Seminar 

4p.m. 

Lecture Room A 

16 

 

17 18 

19 20 21 

Department of Dermatology 

Presents the 9th Annual Sulzberger Lectureship. 

9a.m. - 11:30a.m. 

AFRRI 

Conference Room 

22 

LRC Special 

Holiday Hours 

6a.m.– 4:45p.m. 

23 

Thanksgiving 

Holiday 

24 

LRC Special Holiday 

Hours 

8a.m.-4:45p.m. 

25 

LRC Special Holiday 

Hours 

9a.m. – 4:45p.m. 

(Regular Hours)

26 

LRC Special Holiday 

Hours: 

Noon – 10:45p.m. 

(Regular Hours)

27 28 29 

Neuroscience Seminar 

 3:30p.m. 

Lecture Room A 

LRC Training Class

End Note 

Advanced 

Noon – 1p.m.

30 1 2 

3 4 5 6 

USU Holiday 

Gathering 

11:30a.m. - 4p.m. 

Cafeteria 

7 8 9 

December

November