VOLUME 2,ISSUE 21 WWW.USUHS.MIL DECEMBER 17, 2007 
USU Newsletter 

Editorial Staff 

Carol R. Scheman 

Vice President for 

External Affairs and 

Managing Editor 

Tech. Sgt. 

André Nicholson 

Editor 

Mass Communications 

Specialist Third Class 

Jeff Hopkins 

Assistant Editor 

Mass Communications 

Specialist 

Seaman 

Raul Zamora 

Assistant Editor 

 

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. 

PAGE 2 

Cover Photo By: 

MCSN Raul Zamora 

 After nearly two years as the acting dean for 

the Uniformed Services University of the Health 

Sciences’ (USU) Graduate School of Nursing (GSN) 

incumbent dean has left the university. 

 William T. Bester, RN, MSN, CNAA, BS, served as 

acting dean of the GSN, and provided invaluable 

service to the university in a time when a search 

for a replacement for the previous dean of the 

GSN was underway. 

 Dr. Charles L. Rice, USU president, thanked 

Bester for his great work and commitment. 

 “With great reluctance, I have accepted BG (ret) 

Bill Bester's resignation as Acting Dean of the 

GSN,” Rice said. “He has served this university with 

great distinction, commitment, and enthusiasm.” 

 Bester said that chief among his reasons for 

resigning his position is a desire to be near his 

family in Texas. 

 “I’d like to return to my family in Austin,” Bester 

said. “My son and his family moved to Austin 

shortly after I accepted this position, so that has 

been a big deciding factor.” 

 Bester said his tenure at USU has been delightful, and it has been a very positive experience. 

 “There’s nothing I haven’t enjoyed,” Bester said. 

“I’ve enjoyed my relationship with the leadership 

team here; I think everyone here is very supportive 

of the GSN. I’ve certainly enjoyed my time with 

our faculty within the GSN, a very diverse group of 

individuals who are all focused on providing the 

best education to the students, and I’ve enjoyed 

my time with the students in all four of our programs.” 

 Prior to his position as the GSN’s acting dean, 

Bester was a professor of clinical nursing at the 

University of Texas in Austin. During his military 

career, Bester served in a variety of leadership 

roles; serving as commander of the Center for 

Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine, assistant surgeon general for Force Protection, and 

chief of the Army Nurse Corps. These positions 

have provided Bester with significant leadership 

experience which he believes has helped prepare 

him for the responsibility of overseeing the education of the GSN students, but his duties as acting 

dean were a brand new role for him. 

 “I’ve never been in a leadership position in academia before,” Bester said. “This has been the first 

time I’ve taken on a role like this, and I’ve found it 

very enjoyable. What we’re really doing is cultivating the next generation of leadership for the services, and that’s an exciting place to be. I can honestly say there hasn’t been a day I haven’t enjoyed 

coming to work.” 

 Bester said he has been proud to be a part of 

the GSN, and that in his short time here, the 

school has made remarkable progress. 

 “The budget was a big 

breakthrough,” Bester 

said. “We have never had 

an official budget for the 

GSN, we have always had 

what’s called ‘marked 

money,’ a certain amount 

of money congress designates when they build 

the budget every year 

that’s fenced for the GSN. 

Thanks to some really 

great efforts by Stephen 

Rice, Walt Tinling, CAPT 

Toni Whitmeyer, and 

certainly folks within the 

GSN, we briefed a lot of people downtown, followed by the Surgeons General, and the Assistant 

Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs, who approved the GSN to be budgeted in the coming 

years.” 

 In addition to the budget, Bester said the GSN 

has grown in terms of personnel as well. 

 “I think we’ve done a great job of getting some 

new faculty hired,” Bester said. “In addition we’ve 

got some new military faculty assigned into the 

doctoral program, thanks to the great support of 

the Federal Nursing Chiefs. I think the success of 

the GSN is reflected in the graduates we turn out 

of our programs, and how well they do in the 

certification exams and practice arena. I think they 

continually validate the fact that we have outstanding faculty and staff here who do great 

work, and who support us from day to day to get 

all these things done.” 

 Bester says he isn’t sure what’s ahead of him 

professionally, but he’s exploring job opportunities 

in Austin and has not decided on anything yet. 

 He extends his personal thanks to the USU 

community for its warmth and support during his 

time at the university. 

 “I would like to thank everyone at the university 

for all the support they have provided, to me personally, and certainly to the GSN,” Bester said. “I 

want everybody to know I’ve truly enjoyed every 

minute of my time here, and I’m certainly going to 

miss the USU community, as well as a lot of the 

people individually here that I’ve become close 

friends with.” 

 Rice said that the university is in the final stages 

of recruiting a permanent dean for the GSN. In 

the interim, COL Bruce Schoneboom, CRNA, 

Ph.D., NC, USA, NC, will serve as acting dean until 

the new dean is on board. Schoneboom was previously an associate professor for the GSN’s Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist program. 

GSN Acting Dean Bids Farewell to USU 

William T. Bester, RN, 

MSN, CNAA, BS 

Former Acting Dean, 

GSN 

By MC3 Jeff Hopkins 

Assistant Editor, Office of External Affairs 
PAGE 3 

 January 2008 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Uniformed 

Services University of the 

Health Sciences (USU) 

Patient Simulation Laboratory (PSL). 

 The PSL was created 

by CDR Paul Pudimat, 

MC, USN, Department of 

Anesthesia, and Richard 

Kyle, Department of 

Anatomy, Physiology 

and Genetics, under the 

leadership of their departmental chairs, Shelia 

Muldoon, MD and Harvey Pollard, MD, PhD. 

 The university’s first 

commercial simulator 

arrived in July 1997. During those early years of 

discovery, many of the 

PSL’s lessons learned 

with and improvements 

to the first simulator became part of its vendor’s 

subsequent offerings and updates that were distributed to the 

world’s owners of these devices. 

 When the PSL’s early successes generated teaching demands 

beyond the capabilities of the first simulator, the USU Equipment 

and Unfunded Requirements Review 

Committee funded a new ‘family’ of 

simulators: an adult male; a birthing 

female; and a child. Today, the university still uses the first simulator’s 

body as an emergency airway access 

trainer, and it is now wrapped in the 

body-armor worn by CAPT Darin 

Via, MC, USN, SOM class of 1991, 

during his tour in Iraq in the spring 

of 2003. 

 The PSL’s simulation contributions 

beyond the USU campus include 

over a month of at-sea deployments 

aboard the Navy hospital ship USNS 

Comfort, numerous sessions with 

the Army Critical Care programs 

from WRAMC, and post-graduate 

challenge training for the Air Force 

Critical Care Air Transport Teams 

from Andrews AFB. In addition, the 

PSL provides regular consultations 

and exchanges on the integration of simulation within clinical 

training programs with military and civilian clinical educators 

Patient Simulation Lab Reaches 10-Year Anniversary 

 

 A faculty member at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) received an honorary degree in 

Tropical Medicine from the University of 

Maridol at Bangkok, Thailand in a ceremony earlier this summer. 

 John Cross, Ph.D., professor of Tropical 

Public Health, was presented the degree by 

one of Thailand’s three princesses, Princess 

Somdet Prathep, Ph.D. 

 “The princess arrived and sat down, and 

her assistants handed her each of the degrees,” Cross said. “When we were called 

forth, we had to hold our hands up to 

show that we did not have a weapon, and 

then we were handed our degree.” 

 Cross was a Navy Corpsman during 

World War II, and served in Shanghai for 

four years. After his separation from service, 

he continued to work in Shanghai for 

United Nations aid programs, and then 

returned home in 1950 to go to college. 

 Cross received his undergraduate education at Miami University in Ohio, where he 

completed his bachelors and masters degrees. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas Medical Center in Galveston. 

 “I taught at the University 

of Texas for a bit, but then 

moved on to the University 

of Arkansas medical school 

in Little Rock,” Cross said. 

“Then I got a call from the 

Navy asking me if I wanted 

to go back to Taiwan, and I 

said ‘of course.’” 

 Cross said his honorary 

degree was bestowed upon 

him in thanks for the numerous lectures he’d given in 

Malaysia and Thailand, as 

well as for the help he’d provided to the graduate education programs. 

 “I was with the Naval 

Medical Research Unit 2 in 

Taipei, Taiwan, and our 

work included areas in most 

of Southeast Asia in collaboration with 

other units,” Cross said. “I was the scientific 

director, and it was my job to coordinate 

these different laboratories. A few times a 

year I would fly down to Jakarta and Malaysia, and then to Bangkok and back to Taiwan, but anytime I’d stop in Malaysia and 

Thailand they’d ask me to give lectures. 

Over the years I was on committees for 

graduate students, and gave exams for 

them. Eventually, they decided to give me 

an honorary degree.” 

USU Faculty Member Receives Honorary Degree 

John Cross, Ph.D., professor of Tropical Medicine, received 

an honorary degree in Tropical Medicine from Maridol 

University in Bangkok, Thailand, presented by Princess 

Somdet Prathep, Ph.D. 

Courtesy photo 

See SIMULATION, page 7 

Third year medical students 2d Lt Regina Reinsvold, USAF, and 2LT Brian 

Patton, USA, simulate performing anesthesia in the Patient Simulation Lab. 

Courtesy Photo 

By MC3 Jeff Hopkins 

Assistant Editor, Office of External Affairs 

Courtesy Photo 

First year nurse anesthesia 

student Capt. Ronnie Nash, 

NC, USAF uses the PSL for 

training.

By Richard Kyle 

Patient Simulation Laboratory 
PAGE 4 

April—The USU Graduate School of Nursing 

Certified Registered Nurse Anesthesia (CRNA) 

program received a national ranking of sixth 

out of 106 Nurse Anesthesia Programs according to the 2007 U.S. News and World Report. 

The U.S. News and World Report bases its 

nurse specialty rankings on ratings by educators and deans at peer schools. 

May—TSgt Walter Bennett, USAF, USU Servicemember of the Year, lead the graduation processional, carrying the University Mace. The F. 

Edward Hébert School of Medicine awarded 

159 Doctor of Medicine and 49 biomedical 

sciences graduate degrees, while the Graduate 

School of Nursing awarded 25 Master of Science degrees. 

March—The nationally recognized artwork of 

Dr. Frank Netter, titled “Medical Masterpieces – 

Art of a Surgeon,” was displayed March 16 – 

April 27 in the Bldg. B lobby. The exhibit showcased 30 paintings and several sketches of Dr. 

Netter’s original art. The paintings displayed 

various aspects of anatomy, embryology, 

pathophysiology, illness, and patient care. 

January—The Anchor and Caduceus dinner 

was held Jan. 12 in Washington, D.C., Retired 

VADM Dr. Richard Carmona, former U.S. Surgeon General recognized for his strong support of USPHS alignment with the military, was 

the guest of honor. The Anchor & Caduceus 

Society was founded in 1991 to preserve the 

history of the USPHS commissioned-corps. 

June—MS1 students received their first white 

coat at the end of their first year at USU. During the ceremony, MS1 students are cloaked in 

their first laboratory coat as a welcome to the 

medical field. The ceremony is a way to recognize and honor the doctor-patient relationship. 

The white coat symbolizes the privilege and 

responsibilities the wearer has as a physician. 

February—C. Thomas Yarington, Jr., M.D., a 

retired Air Force brigadier general, was sworn 

in as a USU Board of Regents (BOR) member. 

The BOR are officials who provide advice on 

academic and administrative matters for the 

university. Dr. Yarington died peacefully at 

home May 30, but contributed a great deal to 

the Board during his few months of service. 

A Year in Review 
PAGE 5 

August—LTC John Maurer, MS, USA, relinquished command of the USU Brigade in an 

ceremony in the USU breezeway, handing 

over the mission and values of the university 

to COL John Wempe, MS, USA. Prior to his 

assignment at USU, Wempe was previously 

Commanding Officer of Fort Drum’s Medical 

Department Activity in Fort Drum, N.J. 

November—First-year school of medicine students took part in a patient evacuation exercise as part of the Introduction to Military and 

Emergency Medicine course on the USU softball field. Among many learning objectives, 

students learned to load and unload patients 

from a front line ambulance and a UH-1 Iroquois helicopter, as well as how to evacuate 

patients using the helicopter's hoist. 

July—LTC Alfred Rascon, USA, who received 

the Congressional Medal of Honor Feb. 8, 

2000 for his actions near the Long Kahnh 

province during the Vietnam War, visited USU 

and spoke to the medical students on the topic 

of leadership and its importance in the military, 

not only to commissioned officers, but enlisted 

service members as well. 

October—First year medical students visited 

Kensington-Parkwood Elementary School in 

Rockville, Md., and demonstrated a program 

called “Get up, Get out, Get Fit.” The program 

was designed to instruct the elementary students about the importance of nutrition and 

exercise, as well as give them a brief lesson in 

anatomy. 

September—First year students gathered in the 

university’s amphitheater for the annual Presentation Ceremony. During the ceremony, the 

medical students recited the Hippocratic Oath, 

an oath pertaining to the ethics of medicine 

traditionally taken by physicians . Larry Laughlin, M.D., Ph.D., dean of the F. Edward Hébert 

School of Medicine, administered the oath.

December—The end of 2007 marks the 10-year 

anniversary of the Patient Simulation Laboratory, which provides quality simulated-patient 

training to USU medical students. The university’s first patient simulator arrived in July 1997, 

and in the years since its inception, the PSL has 

added an adult male, birthing female, and an 

infant to its simulation repertoire. 

A Year in Review 
PAGE 6 

 The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences has 

no shortage of outstanding students. More than 300 awards were 

presented during this years 19th Annual Academic Award Collegium, which honored classes of 2008, 2009, and 2010, Thursday. 

 The award ceremony began with a welcome from Richard 

Macdonald, M.D., associate dean for Student Affairs, and remarks 

from Larry Laughlin, M.D., Ph.D., dean, School of Medicine. 

 “At the School of Medicine we extremely proud of our graduates,” said Dr. Macdonald. “We expect great things, and we expect 

them to fulfill leadership roles within military medicine. It is both 

fitting and proper that we set aside a time certain marked by ceremony where we acknowledge the best and the brightest of our 

students. For they have set themselves apart from their peers, usually with a combination of courage, confidence and capacity. With 

the willingness to work harder and the willingness to use gifts that 

they have been given to distinguish themselves from their peers 

and that is worth speaking about.” 

 2d Lt Charisma Bautista received the most awards for the class 

of 2010. She received six awards including, Distinguished Award 

for Introduction to Structure and Function (a), (b&c); Outstanding 

Award for Clinical Head and Neck and functional Neuron Science; 

Distinguished Award for Structure and Function of Organ Systems; Outstanding Award for Medical Biochemistry; Outstanding 

Award for Medical Psychology; and the Deans Award. 

 2d Lt Nicole Hsu received the most awards for the class of 

2009, taking home nine awards. The awards include, Distinguished Award for Military Studies II; Distinguished Award for 

Introduction to Clinical Reasoning; Distinguished Award for Radiographic Interpretation; Outstanding Award for Human Behavior; 

Outstanding Award for Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease; Outstanding Award for Preventive Medicine; an Outstanding Award for the McGraw Hill Award in Pharmacology, an 

Outstanding Award for the American Society of Clinical Pathologists’ Award for Academic Excellence and Achievement for Pathology; and the Dean’s Award. 

 2d Lt Massimo Federico received the most awards for the class 

of 2008, taking with him 5 awards. Outstanding award for Family 

Medicine; Outstanding Award for Internal Medicine; Outstanding 

Award for Pediatrics; Outstanding Award for surgery; and the 

Deans Award. 

USU Hosts 19th Annual Academic Award Collegium 

By MCSN Raul Zamora 

Assistant Editor, Office of External Affairs 

 Nicole L. Achee, Ph.D., assistant research 

professor, Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences’ (USU) Department of 

Preventive Medicine and Biometrics, will 

receive a project support grant for $3.5 

million from the Global Health Program of 

the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 

through the Henry M. Jackson Foundation 

for the Advancement of Military Medicine. 

 Dr. Achee is the first faculty member at 

USU to receive a grant from the Bill and 

Melinda Gates Foundation. The purpose of 

her research program is to develop a novel 

insecticide treated material “push-pull” system to reduce Aedes aegypti, a mosquito 

that can spread dengue fever inside homes 

where they are most likely to feed on humans and transmit the dengue virus. This 

will be accomplished using insecticide 

treated materials (ITM) that have been 

treated with chemicals currently registered 

for vector control to repel and irritate the 

mosquitoes from inside homes, forcing 

them outside into a lethal trap. 

 Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic 

fever (DHF) are caused by one of four 

closely related, but antigenically distinct, 

virus serotypes (DEN-1, DEN-2, DEN-3, and 

DEN-4), of the genus Flavivirus. Infection 

with one of these serotypes provides immunity to only that serotype for life, so persons 

living in a dengue-endemic area can have 

more than one dengue infection during 

their lifetime. 

 Dengue fever and dengue hemorrhagic 

fever are primarily diseases of tropical and 

sub tropical areas. 

 Long-term goals include defining the 

public health impact of the system through 

epidemiological studies for operational 

refinement. 

 The program’s main objectives are: the 

development of a novel laboratory assay 

system for detailed behavioral studies; the 

determination of the lowest ITM surface 

area and chemical dose required to repel 

and irritate adult Ae. aegypti; the validation 

of laboratory thresholds of spatial repellency and contact irritancy under field conditions using experimental huts; the optimization of an adult trap to remove host seeking Ae. aegypti from the peridomestic environment; and to quantify the effectiveness 

(measurable reduction of indoor mosquito 

populations) of an ITM push-pull system in 

an experimental small-scale trial. 

USU Faculty Member 

First to Receive Gates 

Foundation Grant 

 A team of scientists led by Dr. Radha Maheshwari, professor of 

Pathology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) and Rajesh Loganathan Thangapazham, a USU 

graduate student, have shown that green tea has antitumor effect 

in breast cancer cells. The recently concluded study will be published in the Journal of Cancer Biology and Therapy, December 

2007, Volume 6, Issue 12. 

 Cancer is a disease caused by the increased proliferation of cells 

which group and form a lump called tumor. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Cells from malignant tumors break away from 

the original tumor and spread to other parts of the body growing 

and forming new tumors. They can invade, penetrate into blood 

and lymphatic vessels, circulate via the bloodstream and can grow 

in a normal organ or tissue anywhere in the body. Unfortunately 

treatment options for metastasis are very limited and usually represent the end stage of the disease.Unlike malignant tumors, benign 

tumors do not invade and, with very rare exceptions, are not life 

threatening. Chemoprevention broadly implies the use of a 

chemical substance of either natural or synthetic origin, to prevent, hamper, arrest or reverse a disease. Phytochemicals are plant 

based non nutritive components with substantial medicinal properties. 

 Dr. Maheshwari’s study observed that green tea can inhibit the 

invading capacity of these breast cancer cells and have also identified the mechanisms involved in death inducing and invasion inhibiting effects of green tea. Epidemiological studies also suggest 

that the risk of breast cancer is found to be less in Asian countries 

consuming green tea. These studies have greater clinical significance since the ability of these phytochemicals to activate anticancer program of tumor cells might determine the success of 

chemotherapy. 

 A study by Dr. Maheshwari that was published earlier this year 

in Cancer Letters showed that green tea is effective in delaying 

tumor incidence as well as in reducing the tumor burden. Green 

tea was found to inhibit growth of tumors as well as induce death 

of breast cancer cells. 

Green Tea Shown to Possess Antitumor Effect in Breast Cancer 
PFT/PFA/AFPT Notice: The Army APFT, Navy PRT, and Air Force 

AFPT will be conducted in April 2008 for all faculty, staff, and students (excluding SOM). Naval personnel must complete the 

Health Risk Assessment questionnaire and Physical Health Assessment annually; Navy weigh-ins must be conducted between 10 

days and 24 hours prior to the Navy PRT. Dates and times will be 

announced soon. 

Service Member of the Quarter: Nominations for the Service Member of the Quarter for the 4th Quarter of 2007 are due through 

the chain of command to the Senior Enlisted Leader by Jan. 4. 

Supervisors are encouraged to submit their deserving E-6 and 

below personnel for this honor. The winner will compete for the 

title of Service Member of the Year, as well as the rewards that 

accompany it. 

WRAMC Wounded Soldier Christmas Cards Hoax: An email hoax 

has been circulating, claiming that Christmas cards addressed to 

“A Recovering American Soldier” will be presented to recovering 

Soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. This is not true. 

WRAMC can not accept or process mail addressed to “Any 

Wounded Soldier,” “A Recovering American Soldier,” or any item 

similarly addressed. DoD policy states that due to safety and force 

protection concerns, these items cannot be accepted, as WRAMC 

can not accept unsolicited mail. There are numerous other ways 

that well-meaning individuals can show their support. To see how 

you can show your appreciation, visit the WRAMC website at 

http://www.wramc.amedd.army.mil/Pages/default.aspx, then 

click "Support a Recovering American Soldier." 

“So You Think You Can Cook” Contest: The Combined Federal 

Campaign staff will be holding a contest entitled “So You Think 

You Can Cook” to help with this year’s CFC fundraiser Dec. 18. 

Contestants who register will be offered a prize, and will compete 

for the best dish. Peers and co-workers are encouraged to vote 

for their favorite dish as well. If you are interested in competing 

and would like to register your dish for the event, contact SSgt 

Witter, USAF (AVC) at mwitter@usuhs.mil. 

Color Guard: The USU Color Guard is currently seeking new members. Color guard practices are held at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday 

in the Bldg B Lobby. If you would like to participate, please contact HM2 Charles, USN (EHS) at ccharles@usuhs.mil. 

Military Awards Program: Nominations for the January Military 

Awards Panel must be routed through the chain of command to 

HM1 Hassan, USN (BDE) by Jan. 18. Award recommendations for 

officer and enlisted personnel must include routing slips with the 

appropriate signatures. 

A Day in USU: Everyone has a job in The Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, and this is your chance to shine. 

Please submit photos and brief publishable caption for a chance 

to have them showcased in a special edition of the USU Newsletter called, “A Day in USU.” USU wants you to show the world 

what the university is all about! 

USU News Briefs 

PAGE 7 

around the globe. 

 The PSL has been a leader in discovery 

and creator of new opportunities; almost 

every simulation session the PSL has offered 

at USU had never existed anywhere before 

the university created and produced it. 

 James Zimble, MD, former president of 

USU, used the PSL’s successes to attract the 

approval for and resources to construct 

another clinical simulation facility for USU: 

the National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center (NCAMSC), which is located 

several miles east of the main USU campus. 

 While the PSL and the NCAMSC work for 

the same leadership and teach the same 

students, the courses that make use of their 

complementary assets differ. For example, 

the numerous human actor/standardized 

patient training experiences that had been 

performed in the Multi-Disciplinary Laboratory (MDL) and the clinics for the first several decades of USU’s existence now take 

place in a recently renovated state-of-theart facility at the NCAMSC. 

 Since the origins of clinical simulation in 

the PSL, USU faculty and leadership have 

embraced the value of simulation: intentional, deliberate, and schedulable teaching 

objectives. The added value of simulation at 

USU improves the university’s clinical teachings and the clinical care its students will 

provide to their real patients.

SIMULATION from page 3 

Professor Participates in Panel Discussion 

with First Lady Laura Bush—Stephen Cozza, 

M.D., professor in the department of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University 

of the Health Sciences (USU), participated 

in a recent roundtable discussion led by 

First Lady Laura Bush about “Helping 

America’s Youth” and focusing on the special needs of military children. The roundtable was held at Andrews Air Force Base in 

Maryland at the youth center. 

USU Graduates Team to Save Critically 

Wounded Afghani Toddler—A team of physician graduates from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences 

(USU) recently saved the life of a 3-year-old 

Afghani girl after she was severely injured 

in a bomb blast. Four USU alumni: Air Force 

Col. (Dr.) Gary Arishita, Maj. (Dr.) Chetan 

Kharod, Lt. Col. (Dr.) Randy McCafferty, and 

Maj. (Dr.) Charles Reilly, who are also university faculty members currently serving in 

Afghanistan, treated the toddler after she 

sustained life threatening injuries from an 

explosion while allegedly being used as a 

human shield by members of the Taliban. 

Faculty News 

Q: How will the January 2008 Government-wide Pay Increase 

Affect Employees under NSPS?: 

A: Under the General Schedule, most employees currently receive 

the January Government-wide Pay Increase (GPI) in two parts: a 

base salary increase and a locality pay increase. While the final 

amount of the GPI is still not known, it will be distributed differently under NSPS. 

 The Department is taking the next step towards a more robust 

pay-for-performance system to enable the Department to better 

compensate its employees based on contribution to mission accomplishment. As a result, the GPI for Spiral 1 employees 

will be distributed as follows: 

• Local market supplements will be the same as the Government-wide increases for locality pay for employees with an acceptable performance rating (rating of record of 2 or higher). 

• 1.25% of the January 2008 GPI (not allocated for locality pay) 

will be added to pay pools and distributed through the pay pool 

process based on performance. 

 The remaining portion of the GPI (not allocated for locality pay) 

will be granted as an increase to base salary for employees with 

an acceptable performance rating. (Although employees on pay 

retention are eligible for locality pay increases, they are ineligible 

for this base salary increase.) 

NSPS Questions/Answers 
UNIFORMED SERVICES UNIVERSITY 

of the Health Sciences