Volume 7, Issue 1 n January 9, 2012

www.usuhs.mil

The Official USU Newsletter

In MemoriaM • 1933-2011

James A. Zimble, M.D.
Sharon Willis

Deputy Vice President for External 

Affairs and Managing Editor

Ken Frager

Public Affairs Specialist

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

Dr. James A. Zimble, USU’s 4th President and 

former Navy Surgeon General, passed away 

on Dec. 14, 2011. (See story, page 3)

When an honor is presented only 

once a year to a single individual by 

their peers, the assumption is that the 

award is highly regarded. Therefore, 

the recipient must be among the best 

in their field. So when Army Col. (ret.) 

Linda Wanzer, MSN, RN, DNP, CNOR, 

was told she had been selected to 

receive the 2012 Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) 

National Award of Excellence in Perioperative Nursing, she was taken aback.

“This is just one of those moments in 

life when you look around and realize 

that you have made an impact in your 

professional field,” said Wanzer, director of the GSN’s Perioperative Clinical 

Nurse Specialist program at USU. “It 

is quite an honor to receive this from 

my peers personally, but I think just as 

important is the acknowledgement of 

the value of clinical nurse specialists in 

the operating rooms.”

This award is the highest honor 

bestowed by AORN and is awarded 

once a year to one deserving recipient. Linda Wanzer is the 24th nurse 

to receive this honor in recognition of 

her accomplishments in the areas of 

practice, education, and research in 

perioperative nursing supporting excellence in patient care. She is one of only 

a very small number of military nurses 

to be recognized.

According to Dr. Carol A. Romano, 

associate dean for Academic Affairs 

at the GSN, “This recognition brings 

honor not only Linda but to the 

University and the Graduate School of 

National Honors for 

GSN Program Director

by Ken Frager

Linda Wanzer, MSN, RN, DNP, CNOR. 

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

Nursing. We are all proud to have Linda 

as part of our faculty!” 

Wanzer will accept the award at 

the AORN Congress in New Orleans, 

March 24-29, 2012. AORN represents 

the interests of more than 160,000 

perioperative nurses by providing 

nursing education, standards, and clinical practice resources to enable optimal 

outcomes for patients undergoing 

operative and other invasive procedures. AORN’s 40,000 registered nurse 

members manage, teach, and practice 

perioperative nursing, are enrolled in 

nursing education, or are engaged in 

perioperative research.

Reminder:

USU Town Hall Meeting

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

3:00 p.m.

Cafeteria, Building B
January 9, 2012 3

Retired Navy Vice Admiral (Dr.) 

James A. Zimble, the fourth President 

of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU), and 

former Navy Surgeon General, died 

unexpectedly on December 14, 2011, 

at Lawrence and Memorial Hospital in 

New London, Connecticut. He was 78.

In a statement to university staff, 

faculty and students, current President 

Dr. Charles L. Rice said that Dr. Zimble 

“not only served USU with exceptional leadership for 13 years during his 

tenure as president, but he served his 

country in one capacity or another for 

55 selfless and dedicated years. He led 

the university during a very challenging time in our history when the value 

of a military-specific medical education 

was often questioned, yet he remained 

steadfast in his support and guided 

us through, allowing us to thrive and 

continue to develop the finest military 

medical officers across all services.”

Dr. Zimble was born in Philadelphia on October 12, 1933. He earned 

his Bachelor’s degree from Franklin and 

Marshall College in Lancaster, Penn., 

before matriculating into the University 

of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine, 

where he entered the Naval Reserve as 

an ensign and later received his Doctor 

of Medicine degree. 

Dr. Zimble’s Navy career spanned 35 

years of service to Sailors and Marines 

and their families. He completed his 

internship at the Naval Hospital in St. 

Albans, New York; trained in undersea medicine at the U.S. Navy Deep 

Sea Training, Submarine, and Nuclear 

Power Schools; then returned to St. 

Albans for residency training in Obstetrics and Gynecology. He served on 

the OB/GYN staff at the Naval Hospital at Camp Pendleton, Calif., and the 

Naval Hospital in Philadelphia; was 

chief of OB/GYN and the director of 

Clinical Services at the Naval Hospital in Lemoore, Calif.; was director of 

Clinical Services at the Naval Regional 

Medical Center in Long Beach, Calif.; 

and served as the Commanding Officer 

of the Naval Regional Medical Center 

in Orlando. In 1981, he was promoted 

to Rear Admiral and served as The 

Medical Officer of the U.S. Marine 

Corps. In 1983, he became the Fleet 

Surgeon and Medical Advisor to 

the Supreme Allied Command, U.S. 

Atlantic Fleet; and later served as the 

Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense 

for Strategic Planning and Medical 

Program Management in the Office 

of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. 

In 1987, Dr. Zimble was promoted 

to Vice Admiral, serving as the 30th 

Surgeon General of the Navy. As 

Surgeon General, he presided over the 

disestablishment of the Naval Medical 

Command and the return of the Navy’s 

Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. He 

managed the deployment of the hospital 

ships USNS Mercy and USNS Comfort, 

the Fleet Hospitals, and Medical 

Photo by Thomas C. Balfour

In MemoriaM • 1933-2011

James A. Zimble, M.D.

Department personnel for the Gulf 

War. He was also responsible for developing and establishing overall Naval 

health care policies and priorities, 

contingency and wartime planning, and 

program development in support of 

more than 2.8 million Navy and Marine 

Corps active duty and retired beneficiaries and their families.

After his retirement from the Navy, 

Dr. Zimble was named President of 

the Uniformed Services University of 

the Health Sciences by the Secretary 

of Defense. Among his many accomplishments as President, Dr. Zimble 

established the University’s Graduate School of Nursing, which has since 

grown from its charter class of two 

uniformed nurses in one advanced 

practice nursing discipline in 1993 

to more than 530 graduates in 5 

program areas, and the University’s 

National Capital Area Medical Simulation Center, now a model for simulation education nationwide. He was the 

first to initiate strategic planning and 

assessment processes at the university, 

and under his leadership, the university received the maximum term of ten 

years of accreditation with commendation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

“Dr. Zimble leaves a giant legacy of 

devotion, dedication, selfless service, 

and a desire to always look for the best 

in everyone. He was a genuinely good 

man, superb military and academic 

leader, and a friend to so many of us. 

We will mourn his loss, yet I believe we 

are all very thankful that we had the 

opportunity to experience his warm 

demeanor and his superb leadership. 

We have lost a truly wonderful man,” 

said President Rice.

Funeral arrangements are pending. 

He is survived by his wife, Mona, and 

his eight children, Jennifer Howell, 

Daniel Zimble, Amy Butterfield, Sue 

Slover, Jennifer Steffenilla, David 

Richards, Emily Zadjura and Rick 

Findley and 12 grandchildren.

James A. Zimble, M.D.

Vice Admiral, Medical Corps, 

U.S. Navy (Ret.)

4th President, 

Uniformed Services University
4 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Celebrating the Holiday Season

Photos by Thomas C. Balfour

With activities for all ages, the USU Student Spouses Club Holiday 

party drew hundreds of USU faculty, staff, students and families 

to celebrate together during the holidays. Seasonal musical 

selections from USU’s own Pretty Gritty and the Dermatones, games 

and crafts for guests of all ages, and good food made the event 

enjoyable for all.
January 9, 2012 5

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.

Swim to stay healthy 

Swimming is an excellent way to 

reduce the risk of disease. It works 

your entire body and activates all 

the major muscle groups; contributes to muscle strength, flexibility, 

posture, and endurance; promotes 

weight loss and stress reduction; 

and improves cardiovascular 

conditioning by lowering your 

resting heart and respiratory rates 

and making blood flow to the heart 

and lungs more efficient. Swimming is also very low risk for injury 

because it places stress on your 

bones, joints, and connective tissues, thanks to the buoyancy of the 

water. Swimming 15 to 30 minutes 

each day can have a very positive 

effect on your overall health. 

Be specific about your training

When training, an athlete should 

be specific about methods of 

training that meet the needs of the 

activity he or she is training for. To 

achieve an optimal performance 

level, a sprinter will train in a different way than, for example, an 

endurance athlete such as a marathon 

runner. Make sure that you “stress the 

physiological systems” right for your 

type of activity. In other words, if you 

are going to compete in a race, you 

need to run to become a better runner. 

Likewise, if you are going to compete in a cycling or swimming event, 

you must perform those exercises 

to become better. Wanna be a better 

tennis player?  Play tennis! Although 

a well rounded program that includes 

strength training, aerobic conditioning, 

and flexibility exercises will improve 

your general fitness, to improve at a 

specific activity or sport you must perform that particular exercise.

Workouts you can do at home

You can fit in these workouts at your 

home to keep you on track.

Finding time for your usual workouts 

can sometimes be difficult when schedules get busy. Two great physical fitness 

resources are the American College 

of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the 

American Council on Exercise (ACE). 

Each has online workouts that you can 

try for free.

For a total body workout that you can 

do at home with free weights, ACE 

includes videos of warm-ups, workouts, 

and cool-downs, and even a total body 

workout without additional equipment 

that you can try at home.

Could you be at risk of an 

eating disorder?

Eating disorders affect more women 

than men, and usually there is no single 

cause. Risks of developing an eating disorder can stem from genetics; 

biologic, emotional, and personality 

disorders, as well as family situations. Warfighters are not immune to 

these disorders and may even have a 

higher percentage than the general 

population. Having an eating disorder can significantly impact your 

performance. Not getting enough 

food or not eating healthy, consistent 

amounts of food means that your 

body is not being fueled optimally 

for performance. The University of 

Maryland Medical Center has put together a report on risk factors, causes, 

symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment 

for eating disorders as well as links to 

other helpful resources.

DMAA-containing products 

in question

Dietary supplement products containing DMAA have been temporarily 

removed from military stores by the 

AAFES, but they are still available 

on the public retail market. HPRC 

has prepared a list of many of these 

products to help you watch for them 

if you are considering the purchase of 

dietary supplements. DMAA is found 

most commonly in products sold 

for bodybuilding or weight loss, but 

it can also be found in other performance-enhancing products, as well 

as in recreational party pills. The list 

also includes other names for DMAA 

that may be found on product labels. 

To download the list, go the Dietary 

Supplements Resources page under 

the “Resources” tab.

If you enjoy reading the HPRC Health 

Tips you can find more by “liking” the 

Human Performance Resource Center 

on Facebook.

We are excited to announce that 

USU will soon move its email and 

calendar platform from Group Wise 

to Google Apps. With Google Apps, 

USU will gain the benefits of a 

robust and innovative feature set, the 

ability to access email and calendar 

services from any Internet-connected 

computer, much more storage capacity, and lower infrastructure and 

support costs. What’s more, Google 

Apps is easy to use, and should prove 

to be a more efficient way to manage 

your email and calendar!

In the coming weeks, you’ll receive 

additional announcements as the 

university begins switching employees’ Group Wise accounts to Google 

Apps. NOC will keep you up to date as 

the migration progresses. USU Google 

Apps Go Live Date is February 22, 2012!

USU Is Moving To Google Apps!
6 The Pulse The Official USU Newsletter

Ensign Sean Simmons, a 

first-year medical student, 

has travelled a very unusual 

course to USU. His journey 

– 17 years in the making – 

began on the “straight and 

narrow” 30 miles away at the 

Naval Academy in Annapolis, but it took several wild 

twists and turns from there. 

After graduating from the prestigious 

university, Simmons, like many Sailors, 

spent most of his Navy career on ships, 

travelling the world. A natural leader 

even then, he was leading a 40-man 

division on the guided missile destroyer, 

USS CURTIS WILBUR (DDG 54) by 

the time he was 23.

“It was challenging work, but it was 

incredibly rewarding, too. I felt like I 

could accomplish anything in the Navy,” 

Simmons said.

His mettle was tested a few years later 

when he left “ship work” behind to try 

out for the Navy SEALS – a specially 

trained group of Sailors who carry out 

some of America’s most important and 

dangerous missions.

But, the program was tough and 

unforgiving. Simmons had difficulty 

managing his leadership responsibilities 

in the cold and “rang out” during winter 

“Hell Week.”

His frustration was palpable.

“Naval officers only get one shot, and 

mine was gone,” Simmons said. 

But, his drive was still there. Simmons 

– by now an ROTC instructor at the 

University of Pennsylvania – made the 

“radical” decision to trade his Navy 

commission for an Army enlistment.

“I really loved teaching, but I just 

couldn’t let go of wanting to be in 

special operations,” he said. “So, I chose 

the quickest route there.”

The path to retain his commission in 

special operations was much longer, and 

Simmons was eager to roll up his sleeves 

and prove he was both smart and tough 

enough to wear the Army’s Green Beret. 

Vindication came 14 months later. 

Simmons completed all six legs of the 

Army’s rigorous Special 

Forces Qualification 

Course. He was an expert 

in Unconventional Warfare 

now, and these hard-earned 

skills were quickly utilized 

on real-life battlefields. 

Simmons served backto-back tours in Iraq and 

Afghanistan – right in the crux of two 

treacherous wars. In Iraq, he participated mostly in Direct Action missions. 

In Afghanistan, he trained fledgling 

Afghan Commandos for combat.

His work overseas was gritty and 

dangerous. In less than three weeks, 

one Soldier on his Special Forces team 

was critically wounded and another – 

his close friend, Jeff -- was killed saving 

Simmons’ life. 

“Our team commander was clearing a path in front of me, and an IED 

detonated,” he said. “It was a truly 

shocking, life-changing experience. I’ll 

carry it with me always.”

For Simmons, four years of 

direct combat was enough. He’d 

seen enough violence to last a 

lifetime. Simmons was ready for 

one final about-face, this time at the 

Uniformed Services University.

“I had done everything I had ever 

wanted to do in the special operations 

community,” he said. “Now, I just want 

to make sure other servicemembers 

have access to the absolute best medical 

care available today.”

An ensign again, Simmons 

re-commissioned into the Navy before 

starting at USU, so he can be close to 

water again. New on campus, Simmons 

is just beginning his journey, but has 

already discovered a strong interest in 

both emergency and family medicine – 

two boots-on-the-ground disciplines.

“I can stay operational in both of 

these fields, and I want to be out there 

with the troops,” he said. “They are 

who I’ll always be.”

For the Sailor-turned-Soldierturned Sailor again, some things will 

never change.

Soldier Sets Sail On Navy Career, Again

By Christine Creenan-Jones

Courtesy photo

USU’s Sylvia Scherr, RN, 

MS, will be honored during the 

upcoming annual conference 

of the Alliance for Continuing Medical Education with two 

outstanding service awards.

Scherr, the director, Continuing Education for Health Professionals, will receive a 2012 

President’s Award in recognition 

of her outstanding leadership 

and contributions to the Alliance 

as Leader of the Federal Health 

Care Section 2010-2012. She 

also will receive a Distinguished 

Member Award in recognition 

of her overall contributions and 

service to the Alliance over the 

past 11 years.

According to Scherr, “The 

Federal group was really struggling and was on the verge of 

being absorbed into another 

group before USU’s leadership 

allowed me to assume responsibility for leading the effort to 

keep the group alive. Thanks to 

the strength of our team from 

throughout the Federal system, 

we were able to resurrect the 

group, while also expanding the 

services for members. When 

every dollar spent these days 

is questioned, especially with 

membership organizations, we 

have made membership in the 

Alliance a better value and more 

effective in support of Federal 

CE workers. It’s an honor to be 

recognized for this work, but 

it wasn’t done alone — it was a 

terrific group effort.”

CHE director 

Recognized 

for National 

Leadership

By Ken Frager
January 9, 2012 7

When President Obama signed an 

executive order in November directing Federal agencies to reduce their 

printing costs by 20 percent, the 

university did its part to comply. With 

with the new year comes increases in 

the prices for printing services, beginning Jan. 15, 2012, at the USU Duplicating Center.

“Buying paper, copier maintenance 

and operational costs have all gone up 

rapidly over the last 10 to 15 years,” 

said Arta Mahboubi, the assistant vice 

president of Administration. “Even 

with those increases we have managed 

to hold our prices steady since 2009 up 

until now and continue to stay in line 

with or below what outside organizations would charge.”

According to Ms. Mahboubi, the 

change comes as part of a two-fold 

need for the Administrative Services 

Division, with the increased “greening” 

of the University and DoD necessitating 

the University to raise prices. Recycled 

paper is currently more expensive than 

“virgin,” or first-use, un-recycled paper. 

One case of “virgin” paper costs the 

University approximately $25, while the 

same case of recycled paper costs more 

than $37. 

“We are only raising our costs to 

meet our rising expenses and to stay 

within our cost model,” Mahboubi 

said. “Customers can still continue to 

expect the same outstanding service 

they always have. Our customers are 

important to us -- without our valued 

customers, we wouldn’t have jobs.” 

USU’s duplicating services branch 

will raise the current cost, per copy, of 

small copies from 8 cents to 10 cents. 

The current cost for all large duplicating requests will increase from 4 cents 

Duplicating updates service costs 

By Staff Sgt. Matthew Rosine

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.

Nominations being accepted for 

annual USU research awards

The Leonard and Wu Awards for 

Excellence in Research will recognize 

faculty members and AFRRI scientists 

who, in the estimation of their peers, 

have made the most significant 

published scientific contribution 

to translational/clinical and basic 

biomedical research respectively, during 

the past three years.

The recipients of these two awards 

will give his or her award lecture named 

in honor of Drs. Wu and Leonard 

during the University Research Days. 

Each recipient will receive a memento 

and a cash award of $2,500.

The Wu award recognizes excellence 

in the Basics Sciences and the Leonard 

award excellence in the Translational 

and Clinical Sciences.

Any Uniformed Services University 

faculty member, staff, or student may 

submit nominations for the Awards.

to 5 cents per page, and the cost for 

color copies will increase from 50 cents 

to 75 cents per page. 

Departments also will now be 

charged for bulk paper distributed to 

them. This is a new cost-and-spending initiative, so the assistant vice 

president for Resource Management 

will be making budget increases for 

each department to help off-set the 

costs of paper distribution. Department budgets will be funded based 

on the fiscal year 2011 paper use, and 

the duplicating personnel are tracking 

current paper distribution. 

The Duplicating Center also will be 

adjusting costs for other services in the 

future, including the center’s engraving 

and plotting services. They will begin 

charging customers for these services, 

although this is not projected to start 

until October 2012. 

The nominee must be either a member 

of the full-time faculty or an AFRRI 

scientist at the University. The nomination should include:

• brief statement outlining the significance of the published research. This 

research should have been published 

(a) within the last three years, (b) while 

the nominee has been at the University and (c) the nominee should be 

first or senior author on the paper. The 

nomination letter should be signed by 

the person submitting the nomination.

• A copy of the nominee’s curriculum 

vitae and a copy of the selected paper 

(Published after January 2008) upon 

which the nomination is based.

The closing date for nominations is 

Monday, January 30, 2012.

The recipients of the Awards will be 

announced no later than February 29, 

2012. Previous holders of the award are 

not eligible following the first three full 

years of their last award.

Applications should be submitted to 

the Office of Research, attention Dr. Susan 

Rasmussen (srasmussen@usuhs.mil).