The Society of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons Newsletter Volume XXV, Number 4 http://www.aerospacemed.org October 2001 President's Column Well, here I am writing this column Davenport—you are not invited down in sunny, warm, tropical Puerto Rico set- here (…inside joke). So, I’ve hit the tling in as XO USNH Roosevelt Roads. deck running and already having fun. I left BUMED early August for PR, leav- And on top of that, I have a great CO with ing Conoly back in the states to help our strong participatory leadership skills. younger daughter Lucy and her husband That makes my job a lot easier. Jon with their new baby boy. Wow! A I’ve also had the chance and plea- grandson (9lbs 6oz!) and I was able to see sure to meet with our local Flight Sur- him into the world just the day before geons—LT Pete Shumaker attached to the leaving for PR. What a wonderful and hospital and LT Gary Mullen with VC- unexpected blessing and a great going- 8. Great guys. We had lunch together away “gift” from my daughter and son-in- about a week ago. I found out there were law! a number of aviation line medical/hospital problems, Puerto Rico is very nice—sun, sea, sand, and including lack of a Memorandum of Understanding sail—and the XO job is proving challenging as I had (continued on page 2) expected. It’s been a steep learning curve so far. In the last 2-3 weeks I’ve become acquainted with an IN THIS ISSUE obviously talented medical, nursing, medical service, and hospital corps staff of professionals, and a really President's Column ............................................ 1 From the Secretary ........................................... 3 good civilian staff. I’ve learned more about hospital MED-23 Specialty Leader .................................. 4 renovation and “partnering” with military and civil- NAMI Skyraider ................................................. 5 ian contractors than I thought I’d ever have to know. News from NASA ............................................... 6 I’ve studied our SORM inside and out (with an eye Physical Exams (Code 26) ................................ 7 with the CO on change), and I have become somewhat Naval Safety Center ........................................... 8 Life in the Yards ................................................ 9 knowledgeable on the intricacies of “GS” timekeep- Preventive Medicine for Occupational Myopia . 11 ing, command management control, command evalu- West Nile Virus ................................................ 13 ation and organizational performance improvement The Diving Aviator ............................................ 15 programming, and data quality management—along ACLS Update ................................................... 20 with a myriad of other hospital related issues and pro- New Cover Proposal ........................................ 24 Web News ....................................................... 26 grams. And, out of necessity, like the hospital’s prior Naval Safety Center ......................................... 26 XO, CAPT Rick Gilbert, I’ve become in this short Cholelithiasis .................................................... 27 time somewhat of a tropical weather expert (we’re NTSB Payne Stewart Crash Report ................. 29 right in the middle of hurricane season, you know.) Thrift Savings Plan ........................................... 34 Needless to say, disaster preparedness is more than SUSNFS Awards ............................................. 35 Selected SUSNFS Merchandise Catalog ......... 37 just a passing interest down here. My wake-up call SUSNFS Renewal/Order Form......................... 39 came with Tropical Storm Dean. Sorry CAPT Nick PAGE 2THE SUSNFS NEWSLETTER OCTOBER 2001 (continued from page 1) (MOU), lack of hospital AVT support, and inability for hospital SAR corpsmen to complete aircrew train- ing. With the good professional relationship that ex- ists between VC-8 and the hospital Flight Surgeons and with hospital leadership support, these problems should be easily corrected. It’s nice to know I that I can still contribute locally to Aerospace Medicine— my operational “love.” I also look forward to keep- ing aviation medicine and family practice skills up THE SOCIETY OF U.S. NAVAL FLIGHT SURGEONS along with XO obligations—an exciting, but daunting P.O. BOX 33008 challenge. We’ll see. NAS PENSACOLA, FL 32508-3008 Other notes of interest as of the writing of this column: —First with regards to our primary goals for this 2001-2002 SOCIETY OFFICERS year—the establishment of a permanent historian and PRESIDENT a membership committee—the Board of Governors CAPT Charles O. Barker will be teleconferencing soon to discuss and take ac- tion on these. Along these lines, please check out the VICE PRESIDENT CAPT James R. Fraser enclosed proposed change in our newsletter name and front-page format. The idea of a “history” related SECRETARY front-page format and a change in newsletter name LCDR William S. Padgett came from reviewing old SUSNFS goals and future direction. Since focusing on history is one of our TREASURER LCDR David C. Kleinberg goals this year, the front page reformatting seems ap- propriate. Let LCDR Padgett and me know what you BOARD OF GOVERNORS think of both. CAPT Robert E. Mitchell (Ret.) (01-02) —Second, it’s way overdue for us to establish an CAPT Fanancy L. Anzalone (01-02) official Membership Committee. Even before the CDR Gerald S. Scholl (00-02) CDR Kris M. Belland (01-03) proposed Bylaws change is sent out for membership LCDR Thomas B. Faulkner (00-02) vote, CDR Glenn Merchant will be working closely LCDR David W. Gibson (01-03) with LCDR Padgett to increase the number of our full memberships, i.e., both SUSNFS and AsMA member- NEWSLETTER EDITOR ship. Please contact Glenn or Bill if you are willing CAPT Michael R. Valdez to help in this effort. There is a lot of exciting “stuff” going on in Aero- space and Navy Medicine and plenty of opportunity to demonstrate honor, courage, and commitment—and The Society of U.S. Naval Flight Surgeons is a nonprofit orga- to excel professionally. I encourage you to jump on nization. Its purpose is to advance the science, art, and prac- tice of aerospace medicine and the mission of the U. S. Navy board if you aren’t already or stay on board if you are. and the U. S. Marine Corps; to foster professional develop- Until next time… ment of its members; and to enhance the practice of aero- space medicine within the Navy and the Marine Corps. Godspeed, Membership is open to all flight surgeon graduates of the Naval Operational Medicine Institute. Subscription memberships are CAPT C.O. Barker, MC, USN available. Dues are $20.00 per year, or $300.00 for a lifetime. XO Naval Hospital Roosevelt Roads Contact the Secretary or Treasurer for more information or a [email protected] membership application form. (787) 865-5783 DSN 831 FAX (787) 865-5759 OCTOBER 2001 THE SUSNFS NEWSLETTER PAGE 3 From the Secretary So we know Flight Surgeons have a great repu- tation. And we know it remains that way due to the Bravo Zulu to all past and awesome job you all are doing in the fleet today. But present Flight Surgeons. In the last the reputation had to come from somewhere. This is few months I have experienced why CAPT Barker and others feel we must as a So- many wonderful things based on the ciety record our history. There were many Flight reputation that you have made for Surgeons that steered our community to where it is this community. today and lessons that they provided will strengthen In June I did a carrier rotation our future if we don't forget them. on the USS Theodore Roosevelt As part of the effort to document the Flight Sur- with the Senior Medical Officer CDR Bob Frick. geon history, I have had the pleasure of talking with Being a Pediatrician, this was my first operational CAPT Frank Dully (ret) and learning about some of experience. What a different world it was out there. the battles that were fought to make our community The professionalism among the crew was a real treat special. CAPT Dully has provided us with articles to behold. Lieutenants M. T. Newton, Robert that you will see in the newsletter. I ask others out Guardiano, and Kevin O'Rourke were the deployed there to follow his lead and share with the community Flight Surgeons with whom I had the pleasure of our history. Aerospace Medicine is an amazingly working. These three were actively involved in medi- strong and coherent community that has gained the cal sick-calls as well as taking care of their own respect of the operational Navy. We need to under- squadrons. They made it a point to teach the corps- stand how we developed this reputation and marvel man and were equally helpful showing me the ropes at how special Flight Surgeons are. of an operational Flight Surgeon. They have a repu- You will see a proposed title page change in this tation on the Roosevelt of being hard-working pro- newsletter. CAPT Dennis Deakins pointed out a fessionals and I could not agree more. newsletter called CONTACT was published by the When I discovered the thrill of catapult shots and Naval School of Aviation through 1959. CONTACT the ease of getting S-3 rides, it was my set of wings was full of information on graduating Flight Surgeon that allowed me to become a flight junkie. I was made Classes, follow-on tours, and activities of the Aero- to feel quite welcome in the squadron despite not space Medicine community. Please let us know what knowing any of the pilots previously. Due to your hard you think about the proposed change. work reinforcing the Flight Surgeon reputation, the Again, I thank all of you out there for continuing squadron accepted me as a professional worthy of to strengthen the reputation of the Aerospace Medi- their flight time. For someone who has yet to work cine community. You may not recognize it in your day as a Flight Surgeon, this acceptance was unexpected.