USAF MSC Association (MSCA) Inc
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USAF MSC Association (MSCA) Inc. Spring 2020 NEWSLETTER Aint No Stink’n COVID-19 Gonna Scare an USAF MSC! MSCA Team FROM THE CHAIRMAN Col Don “Bulldog” Taylor, Chairman To All MSC Association Members …. How much has changed since we Brig Gen Chuck Potter, Vice-Chairman last met! It seems almost surreal as I sit here “locked down” at home Col Leslie Ness, trying to find a way to be helpful as our nation struggles in response to the Treasurer Lt Col Joe Haggerty, pandemic. If you’re like me, you are proud of those serving (or asked to Secretary Col Doug “DrQD” Anderson, serve again) today in their selfless and passionate response to our nation’s Director/Newsletter Lt Col Ty Obenoskey, call. We all salute you! We are especially proud of the contributions Director/By Laws MSCs will bring to the fight! Thank you all past and present … I like to Col Steve Pribyl, Director/Education think there is a little bit of each of us shared among the generations of Lt Col Joe Burger Director/Member Support MSC warriors. Gosh, I miss being in the “game.” Capt John Haas Director/Awards Lt Col Bryan Schneider, If you are like me, you have had some time to reflect on a number of Director/Total Force Col Greg Cullison, things. In a podcast I did with Beckers Health, I referred to it as “God’s ADAF Liaison Col Brian “B-TAG” Acker time out for mankind.” You think about life during the period of BC Project Connect Col Jim Moreland, (before coronavirus) and how it may be different in AC (after Webmaster/Reunion coronavirus). I thought long and hard about how it will possibly change Capt Wm. M. Copeland, Gen Counsel my personal life, my outlook, my values and of course … our healthcare Capt Ken Bonner, Member Services system. I am trying to adapt to this “quiet time” to catch up on a few Col Tal Vivian Historian things I have neglected … mostly my health and learning. Lt Col Dan Sherred, Chaplain Col Linda Eaton Let’s start with the idea of health. It is interesting, as a nation we are Survivor Support Charlie Brown supposedly the best-prepared nation in the world for an outbreak, but Honor Roll Emirza Gradiz, struggling to contain and respond to demand. Maybe our healthcare Sponsorships system hasn’t created health, just more healthcare or the system wants you and I to say unhealthy for selfish reasons. I see them as different. Do you? Past Chairmen I could talk for days about the complexities of each. However, it is Col Doug Anderson Col Denise Lew unfortunate most the most effective “vaccine” to this particular virus is Col Randy Borg Col Joe Vocks the absence of chronic disease … and we as a nation are not healthy. I Col Jim Moreland hope we learn this huge lesson and reset our system to create healthier Lt Col Arthur Small Col Frank Rohrbough citizens before our next challenge. Col Steve Mirick Col John F. Riley Col Lewis D. Sanders Col Ben P. Daughtry Next, I am finding time (for the first time in a while) to reflect on self- Col Edward S. Nugent improvement. I am certainly reading more, eating healthier and BGen Don Wagner Col William M. Johnson exercising more regularly. I am reading a few things just for entertainment, but I am really expanding my mind with some great works on leadership, mindset, communication, and organizational change. I am Membership … Services … Culture! (404) 500-6772 www.MSCassociation.org Page: 1 also enjoying teaching “virtually” to my students. Even though I am not enjoying the limited mobility, I do enjoy the open schedule to do things I want and need to do. I hope you are as well. Lastly, let’s talk of values. I may have taken too many things for granted over the years. Yes, we have all had life challenges and none of us has been immune from a “broken road” to where we are today. But I think we can take a “time out” that God has given us and reflect regardless of location such as Balad. Take a few minutes each day and recognize the people, relationships, opportunities and memories you are grateful for. I did everyday while deployed to Balad. I believe we all have been blessed with great lives. All it takes is the first RPG to remind you. We were blessed with a career no matter how difficult or dangerous that had a sense of purpose. A higher calling beyond a paycheck It offered some level of prosperity and assembled good friends we can count on whenever we need them That is a blessing we must never forget. We are especially blessed. Remember that. Leave no one behind. So, for my final thought, if any of you need anything during this unique time in history, please reach out to any of us, the MSCA exists for each other. We are here for you, so please just ask. I know I have a few extras rolls of TP to spare to anyone in need... ~Don Membership … Services … Culture! (404) 500-6772 www.MSCassociation.org Page: 2 VICE CHAIRMAN MESSAGE Greetings! I think you all have heard enough on COVID-19, the Stock Market, Oil prices and all the other unsettling things that are happening around the world. So let’s talk about something that is very positive. As the Assistant Vice President for University Programs down in San Antonio Texas, I would like to tell you a good news story about the College of Allied Health Sciences. First, a little background for those who don’t know about the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS) located in Bethesda Maryland and San Antonio Texas. It consists of four separate schools, the School of Medicine, the Graduate School of Nursing, Post Graduate Dental College, and the College of Allied Health Sciences (CAHS). The mission of the USUHS is to provide the highest quality education and research programs in the health sciences to those selected individuals who demonstrate dedication to a career in the health professions of the uniformed services. The USU is authorized to grant appropriate undergraduate transcripts, certificates, degrees, and advanced academic degrees as well as to establish postdoctoral, postgraduate, and technological institutes related to treatment and research in the health sciences. The USU develops and supports academic and training programs designed to ensure maximum utilization of the health science labor force, facilities, and equipment within the Department of Defense and military medical departments worldwide. In particular, the CAHS was established in 2017, by law, to award credit and grant degrees to qualified students of the Medical Education & Training Campus (METC). METC delivers instruction to primarily enlisted personnel; these classes count as credit within the Major Requirements of an Associate of Science in health Sciences and/or Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences degree(s). General education credits are received in two ways: recognizing military training as academic credit and transferring credits from other accredited and DoD approved colleges and universities. This is a tremendous opportunity for our enlisted medics. They leave METC with college credits towards their individual training subjects and can pursue that course of study or use that credit towards whatever their interests are when they get out of the Service. Others who return to METC after they have been out in the MTFs becoming proficient in their medical AFSC/MOS/NEC, come back for specialty training and they can then earn their certificates or degrees with those additional credits from USUHS. Not only is this a READINESS issue, but for Guard and Reserve troops, this gives them the opportunity to work in those medical areas back home and then when recalled to Active Duty, they are already a full-up round as they say. No two-week train-up period necessary because they already have earned the proper credential and are fully trained. This is a wonderful program and I am proud to be part of it. If you have any questions about USUHS or CAHS, just give me a call. Charles E. Potter, MA, FACHE Brig Gen, USAF (ret) #19 MSC Chief, Assistant VP, USU Southern Region No Reunion Attendees were harmed during the making of these photos! Membership … Services … Culture! (404) 500-6772 www.MSCassociation.org Page: 3 FEATURE STORIES AND SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS Membership … Services … Culture! (404) 500-6772 www.MSCassociation.org Page: 4 CORPS CHIEF’S MESSAGE SUSAN J. PIETRYKOWSKI, Brig Gen, USAF, MSC, Director, Manpower, Personnel & Resources (SG1/8) & Medical Service Corps Chief, Office of the Air Force Surgeon General Note: edited variation from the original and printed with permission from the Corps Chief MSC Teammates! No doubt this message finds you in the throes of COVID-19 response, where every day feels like a sprint toward a finish line not yet in sight. Make sure to practice healthy self-care and engage those around you to check on their wellness. I am incredibly proud of you and feel immense gratitude to lead a group of professionals dedicated to health solutions for our nation and patients in every environment. I hear and read every day how many of you are leading innovative practices in COVID response such as Col Mary Stewart and her team implementing a drive-thru pharmacy at the 59 MDW safely dispensing medication to patients in over 1200 vehicles a day! A big shout out to Col Foutch and the 88 MDG physicians who are working on ground-breaking treatments for COVID-19 patients. Here’s a quote from Col Foutch in a recent article: “Wright-Patterson Air Force Base prides itself on our interaction and coordination in our local community,” said Air Force Col.