Ranger instructor credited with water rescue 910-257

T H E R E D 7 . n et
Fr i d ay, O c t o b e r 1 7, 2 0 1 4
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Briefs................4
Philpott............6
Soldiers
honored
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Ranger instructor
credited with water
rescue
Friday, October 17, 2014 | THE RED 7 | Page Page | THE RED 7 | Friday, October 17, 2014
Mail
2 Eglin Parkway NE,
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548
DEVON RAVINE | Daily News
Col. Christopher Riga, commander of the 7th Special Forces Group
(Airborne), congratulates some of the group’s soldiers who were
awarded Bronze Star and Army Commendation Medals with valor Oct.
8 for their actions while deployed in Afghanistan.
nary heroism were not planned
or demanded, they were acts
given freely by the Soldiers and
their teammates,” Turello said.
“Through their choice and their
actions, these soldiers have
earned the respect of their peers
— and of their nation.”
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Staff Sgt. Nickolas Clarke, an Army Ranger instructor
with the 6th Ranger Training Battalion at Eglin Air Force
Base, was at the beach showing his mother-in-law around
when he noticed a swimmer in distress. He said he just reacted, rescuing the man and a second person.
get everyone onto shore and
fire rescue gave the victims
oxygen as a precaution, he
said.
“People were clapping,
giving me hugs,” he said.
“I’m glad I was actually
there.”
He said the response
was instinct, the result of his
training.
Clarke, an Army Ranger
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primarily in the southern part
of Afghanistan, one of the
country’s most contested areas,
and helped secure a presidential
election with unprecedented
voter turnout, as well as made
major strides in training Afghan
soldiers.
Their successes came in spite
of the “turmoil” created by the
drawdown of regular troops and
widespread base closures, said
Brig. Gen. Michael Turello, deputy commander of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
(Provisional).
Two of the men received Soldier’s Medals for climbing into
a burning car to rescue a fellow
Soldier while back in the United
States.
“All these men placed not only
the mission but their fellow Soldiers above their own concern,”
Turello said during the ceremony, which was also attended
by U.S. Congressman Jeff
Miller.
“Their acts of extraordi-
magnoliagrillfwb.com
tioch
Year No. 4 Edition No. 42
DEVON RAVINE | Daily News
Brig. Gen. Michael Turello, deputy commander of the 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) (Provisional),
left, awards Sgt. Carlos Torres with the U.S. Army’s Soldier’s Medal on Wednesday, Oct. 8, for his part in rescuing a driver from his burning vehicle.
Magnolia Grill
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The Red 7 is published by the
Northwest Florida Daily News, a private firm in no way connected with the
7th Special Forces Group (Airborne)
or the U.S. Army.
This publication’s content is not
necessarily
the official
view of, or
endorsed
by, the U.S.
government, the
Department of Defense, the Department of the Army or 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). The official news
source for 7th Special Forces Group
(Airborne) is http://www.soc.mil/.
The appearance of advertising in
this publication does not constitute
endorsement by the U.S. government, the Department of Defense,
the Department of the Army, 7th
Special Forces Group (Airborne) or
the Northwest Florida Daily News for
products or services advertised. Everything advertised in this publication
shall be made available for purchase,
use or patronage without regard to
race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation or any other
nonmerit factor of the purchaser, user
or patron. Editorial content is edited,
prepared and provided by the Northwest Florida Daily News.
OKALOOSA ISLAND
— Staff Sgt. Nickolas Clarke
was at the beach Wednesday
with his mother-in-law, who
was visiting from Germany,
when something drew his
attention.
“While we were there, we
heard some screaming and
yelling going on,” he said.
He saw a person in the
water about 75 yards out,
“flapping and yelling in
the water” in a “panicked
state.”
“I didn’t think. I just ran
out there in a full sprint,” he
said. “I just reacted. I just
bolted in.”
Another man, already in
the water, heard the cries for
help and headed toward the
victim.
But before the rescuer
was able to help the man, his
leg cramped.
Clarke reached the wouldbe rescuer first, helping him
back toward the shore until
he could stand with his head
above the water.
Then Clarke went back
for the original victim.
“I tried to calm him down,
assure him everything was
good to go,” he said. “He
was out pretty far. The rip
current was actually catching him and pulling him out
farther.”
Clarke was able to get everyone back to shore, where
a crowd had gathered. Rescuers and bystanders helped
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any of the men
jumped into the line
of fire to protect
others.
Some risked their lives to
save an injured teammate.
One led a group to safety
through a field laden with improvised bombs. Another leapt out
of the safety of his own vehicle
into a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades
and gunfire to provide medical
care to a wounded Soldier.
One by one on Wednesday,
Oct. 8, more than a dozen
Soldiers from the 7th Special
Forces Group (Airborne) lined
the stage. Their commanders
passed before them to pin medals on their uniforms, shake
their hands, give a warm pat on
the shoulder.
Almost 13 years to the day
since the United States began
major combat operations in
Afghanistan, the soldiers were
far from the first of the group to
receive such honors from their
service in combat. They won’t be
the last.
“In 13 years of war, there is
no one better than you and there
is no one that sacrifices more
than you,” the 7th Group’s commander, Army Col. Christopher
Riga, said during the ceremony.
“And, there is no one else that
will continue to do that as we go
forward.”
The 7th Group, which has
deployed nearly constantly to
Afghanistan in recent years, has
significantly drawn back their
forces over the past six months,
but they remain some of the only
U.S. service members still in
country. At this time last year,
about 600 were deployed there.
Today that number is around
200.
On Thursday, 11 Soldiers who
returned from Afghanistan this
spring received Bronze Star or
Army Commendation medals,
all with valor, for their actions
during their nearly six-month
deployment.
During that time, they worked
Villacrest
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Northwest Florida Daily News
y.
(850) 315-4450
Fax: (850) 863-7834
E-mail:
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Northwest Florida Daily News
instructor, trains solely in
waterborne operations with
the 6th Ranger Training
Battalion.
Once rescuers had taken
over and ensured Clarke was
uninjured (a wound from a
recent neck surgery had
them initially concerned),
Clarke disappeared, heading
back to his mother-in-law.
“She gave me a hug as
well and told me, ‘That was
a great thing you just did,’ ”
he said.
Because he hadn’t left his
name, but had mentioned
being an Army Ranger at
Eglin Air Force Base, a bystander tracked him down
through the Public Affairs
office, wanting him to be recognized for his actions.
“It wasn’t about me. It
was about them at that particular time,” he said. “I’m
glad I was able to make a
difference.”
Hw
News
By TRISTA PRUETT
Mun
son
News Assistant
315-4450
[email protected]
By LAUREN SAGE REINLIE
Northrop
Susan Fabozzi
Ranger instructor credited with rescue
Avalon Blvd.
Editor
315-4472
[email protected]
Soldiers honored for duty in Afghanistan
Woodbine Road
Tracey Steele
2106275
2096211
ContactUs
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Friday, October 17, 2014 | THE RED 7 | Page Page | THE RED 7 | Friday, October 17, 2014
red 7 Briefs
T-Dog to appear
at Zombie Stomp
IronE Singleton, “T-Dog”
from the TV show The Walking Dead will be at Eglin’s
3rd Annual Zombie Stomp, a
4.4-mile race complete with
exciting obstacles and plenty
of zombies.
Event is open to the public and promises to be bigger,
faster, and better than ever
before. Last day to register
is Oct. 17.
Participants are expected
to be on site Oct. 25 by 2 p.m.
at the Ground Combat Training Squadron compound near
the West Gate Shoppette. At
the end of the race, refugee
runners and spectators alike
will celebrate their survival
- or their zombie transformation - with music, food, and
beverages. (Beer included
for ages 21 and up!) Allen
Turner Chevrolet will have
their Zombie Car on display,
and prizes will be awarded
to the top male and female
competitors.
For details, visit www.
eglinforcesupport.com or call
883-1682.
Support our Military
and tell shoppers where
to find the best Military
& Local Specials!
ADS FOR THE PATRIOT PACKAGE
RUN 6 TIMES:
Memorial Day, Flag Day,
Independence Day, Labor Day,
September 11TH & Veteran’s Day
All ads also include your
company logo on the Northwest
Florida Daily News website!
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250
EACH
850-315-4341
Attention military and
U.S. Government civilians.
The next Dynamics of International Terrorism (DIT)
course will be Oct. 27-31 at
the USAF Special Operations
School, 357 Tully St., Bldg
90503, Hurlburt Field. DIT
is a basic course designed
to provide students with an
awareness and appreciation
of the organization, motivation, operational capabilities,
and threat posed by terrorists on an international, national, and regional basis.
Seating is limited so
sign-up now through your
unit training manager. For
information, visit the DIT
website www.afsoc.af.mil/
Units/AirForceSpecialOpThe annual The Bob erationsAirWarfareCenter/
Hope Village Rummage Sale USAFSOS/DIT.
is open to the public and will
be held from 8 a.m. - noon
Oct. 18 at the Bob Hope Village Commons Building, 30
Holly Ave, Shalimar.
Come out and join the
A pre-show will be held
Oct. 17 from noon - 2 p.m. for 96th FSS and the Eglin
Air Force Enlisted Village Fitness Center for Eglin’s
7th Annual Breast Cancer
residents and staff only.
For information, contact Awareness 3-Mile Run/Walk
at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 17 at the
Bobbi Jo at (850)651-2635.
CE pavilion. Participation
is free to all base personnel,
no sign-up is required. Wear
pink to show your support.
Following the race, a Breast
A free Household Haz- Cancer Awareness Costume
ardous Waste Collection Contest will be held, with a
Day is scheduled from 8 a.m. prize awarded to the “Most
– 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24 at the Creative” costume for an in-
Breast Cancer
run/walk
SIGN UP
FOR ALL 6
AND SAVE
$300!
1126287
Reserve yours today!
Terrorism
Awareness Course
Bob Hope Village
Rummage Sale
Full Color 2 Col. x 4” Ads
ONLY
Hurlburt Field Hazardous
Waste Collection Facility at
bldg. 90523, located on Red
Horse Road behind Aderholt Fitness Center. Items
accepted are paint products, automotive chemicals,
household cleaners, lawn
chemicals, pool chemicals,
fluorescent bulbs, batteries,
computers, monitors and
TVs. Items not accepted are
tires, explosives, radioactive material, ammunition,
bio-medical waste, and large
appliances.
Hazardous Waste
Collection
dividual and for a group. For
information, call the Fitness
Center, 882-6223.
Spiritual Renewal
Conference
The Eglin Chapel invites
everyone to a Spiritual Renewal Conference Oct. 17-19
hosted by the Gospel Service. The conference times
are at 6:30 p.m. on Friday
and Saturday and 9:30 a.m.
on Sunday. Dr. James R
Wright Jr. will be speaking.
For information, contact Ch
Richardson at 882-2111.
Youth basketball,
cheerleading
Registration for youth
Basketball and Cheerleading is open through Nov. 14
at the Eglin Youth Center.
Registrants must be age five
prior to Dec. 1, 2014, and under age 16 prior to Feb. 28,
2015. For information, contact the Eglin Youth Center & School Age Program,
8882-8212 or 882-8291.
Eglin Beach Park
closes Oct. 26
The Eglin Beach Park, located on Okaloosa Island at
the foot of the Destin Bridge,
is open Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. until
it closes for the season on
Oct. 26. Pavilion reservations for private functions
are available and can be
made by contacting Outdoor
Rec, 882-5058.
Trunk or Treat
Get your spook on for
this year’s “Trunk or Treat”
Fall Festival event. Bring
the whole family at 5 p.m.
Oct. 24 to Post’l Point for
a fun-filled event featuring
contests for Best Costumes
and Best Decorated Trunks.
There will be plenty of candy, popcorn, candied apples,
See briefs page 5
treats and prizes to collect,
face painting, a haunted hayride to enjoy and more. The
event features kid-friendly
music with the opportunity
to participate in a Thriller
Flash Mob and movies on
the big screen. Festival admission is free for all base
personnel and families so
scare up the whole bunch
and join us for a not-toofrightening fun time. Outdoor Rec / 882-5058.
Smooth Move
Are you PCSing to a new
base? Finance, Housing,
Legal, TMO and other base
agencies will provide useful
information, answer questions and address concerns
at 9 a.m. Oct. 28. For information, call A&FRC 882-9060.
Fishing clinic 101
Want to learn the basic
techniques of fishing, to include baiting, casting, reeling, and fish identification?
A fishing clinic will be held
at 10 a.m. Oct. 25. For information, call Outdoor Rec
Interested in decorat- 882-5058.
ing your trunk and bringing
treats for the kids? Outdoor
Rec is looking for organizations, clubs, families and
individuals who would like
The United Way of Okato participate in this event, loosa-Walton Counties is
with prizes for Best Deco- planning the Annual Coats
rated Trunk! Volunteers are for Kids at Christmas Coat
also needed. Can’t decorate Drive to help children in
your trunk, but still want need in Okaloosa & Walton
to get involved? Volunteers Counties. There will be colfor Eglin’s “Trunk or Treat” lection boxes at both Eglin
event are needed to set up chapels. Drop off items NLT
and take down event deco- Nov. 7.
rations and to help with the
night’s activities. For information, stop by Outdoor Rec
or call 882-5058.
Participants,
volunteers needed
for Trunk or Treat
United Way
Coat Drive
Operation Homefront
reception
Fall Parking Lot sale
Start cleaning out your
garage. All that old stuff
you aren’t using and bring
it to the Parking Lot Sale
on Oct. 25 to make some
cash. Everyone with base
access is invited to shop or
sell at Eglin’s Parking Lot
Sale on Georgia Avenue, located across from the Eglin
Conference Center and Exchange Mini Mall. Space for
sellers is free. Sellers should
be ready to sell at 8:30 a.m.
when the event opens to
shoppers, and ends at 12:30
p.m. Restrooms will be available at the Mini Mall. Note:
sellers are asked not to offer
live animals or guns for sale.
For information, visit www.
eglinforcesupport.com or call
882-1482.
The Board of Directors
of the Fisher House of the
Emerald Coast welcomes
Operation Homefront to
the local community at a
reception hosted by Peggy Rice and the Magnolia
Grill. The Welcome Reception will be from 2- 4
p.m. Nov. 2 at the Magnolia
Grill, 157 Brooks St. SE, Ft.
Walton Beach.
Join us for this reception and silent auction
with a $20 donation in advance ($25 at the door). All
proceeds from this event
will be donated to the
Fisher House of the Emerald Coast and Operation
Homefront.
For tickets or information, contact Kim Henderson at (850)259-4956 or
kim@fisherhouseemerald-
coast.org.
For information on Operation Homefront, contact
Brittany Wade at Brittany.
wade@operationhomfront.
net.
Thunderbird
Intertribal Powwow
27th Annual Thunderbird
Intertribal Powwow is Nov.
7, 8 and 9 at the Niceville
Mullet Festival Grounds.
Admission to powwow is
$5, $3 age 12 and younger.
Children’s day is $3.
Schedule of Events:
Friday - Children’s Day:
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.; Powwow:
7 p.m. Grand Entry, Intertribal dancing into the
night.
Saturday - Craft Competition: 10 – 11 a.m., Special Performances: 11 a.m.
– 1 p.m., Grand Entry and
Opening Ceremonies: 1
p.m., followed by Intertribal, Exhibition, Competition
Dancing until 5 p.m.
Night Grand Entry: 7
p.m. followed by Intertribal Dancing, Dance Exhibitions & Competitions into
the night.
Sunday - Church Service: 10-11 a.m.: at the Arena; Intertribal Dancing,
Dance Exhibitions, Competitions Winners: noon to
4 p.m.
Interested in Volunteering? Call our Volunteer
Coordinator (602)299-1893.
For information, call Kirby
Locklear (850)863-5311 or
Glenn Farmer (850)6787714. Visit www.thunderbirdpowwow.org
Pensacola Opera
performs Pinocchio
The Pensacola Opera
will be performing a 40minute operatic version of
Pinocchio at the Air Force
Armament Museum on
Saturday, Oct. 18, at 11 a.m.
Admission is free. Firstcome, first-served seating is available, or bring a
cushion/blanket.
2113409
From staff reports
briefs From page 4
Friday, October 17, 2014 | THE RED 7 | Page Page | THE RED 7 | Friday, October 17, 2014
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And eyeing ways
to enhance
the relationship of physician and
patient, and
to widen
access, the
military by
August 2010
took its first
step toward secure messaging, selecting a commercial
product called RelayHealth.
Navy was first to test it.
Positive results led Army
and Air Force to buy in. By
January this year, RelayHealth became operational
at Aviano Air Base, Italy,
the last of 440 primary care
practices provided secure
messaging.
Air Force calls it MyCare. Soldiers and their
families know it as the
Army Secure Messaging
System. Navy still calls it
RelayHealth. With a new
contract due in 2016, one
goal will be to rebrand under a single name.
As of June, more than
a million beneficiaries
enrolled in direct care had
registered for secure messaging, up 57 percent from
last year. However, only
120,000 a month log in to
initiate contact with their
physicians.
“We think that is low,”
said Regina M. Julian, chief
of patient-centered medical
home primary care for the
Defense Health Agency.
Given the new MHS
review endorsement, and
positive feedback from both
patients and providers, Army, Navy and Air Force are
developing a tri-service promotion campaign for secure
messaging, Julian said.
Those trading emails
with their doctors appreciate the ease of access, the
Tom
Philpott
speed of response and the
convenience. Survey data
show 97 percent of beneficiaries who use secure
messaging are satisfied,
and 86 percent say it likely
saved them from making
clinic appointments or visiting urgent care. So it frees
up appointments that other
patients can use, Julian
said.
Cost avoidance is another benefit. A clinic visit
costs the military, on average, $77, she said. If just 9
percent of message users
replace clinic visits with
email exchanges, the costs
avoided would cover the annual $8.5 million cost of the
RelayHealth contract.
The larger goal, however, is that lowered demand
for face-to-face appointments by some will allow
more to get military care or
faster care.
“People who have it,
and whose doctors use it,
love it,” said Joyce Wessel
Raezer, executive director
of National Military Family
Association, when asked
to assess the popularity of
doctor-patient messaging.
“If they can handle
something with the doctor
over secure email, such as
‘Your test results are normal’ or ‘I want you to take
this medication for a while
longer,’ that frees up appointments [and] reduces
the hassle.”
But Raezer said availability of secure email
across military health care
“is still inconsistent.” It can
vary between hospitals,
clinics or even physicians,
she said, “with some doctors just choosing not to
play.”
“We have a few holdouts
in a couple areas in primary
care [and] providers who
See email page 7
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ings at seven military bases
during the MHS review,
arranged to get some direct
feedback from beneficiaries
and providers, secure messaging was roundly praised
by those able to use it.
Julian recalled her own
recent meeting with military and veterans advocacy
groups where she briefed
on secure messaging. “Two
gentlemen who self-identified as being well over age
of 65,” she said, pulled out
smart phones to show her
messages from their primary care managers.
“Both of them said secure messaging was the
best thing they had experienced in 40-plus years of
military medical care,” said
Julian.
Tom Philpott is a syndicated
columnist. You may write to him
at Military Update, P.O. Box
231111, Centreville, VA 201201111; or at [email protected].
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of patients empanelled to
each primary care physician also is to increase in
light of secure messaging.
They soon could have responsibility for 1100 enrollees apiece versus current
patient panels that top out
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The recent 90-day
review of the Military
Healthcare System found
it “comparable in access,
quality and safety to average private-sector health
care,” Defense Secretary
Chuck Hagel told a press
conference last week.
That was disappointing
to hear for a medical system that, for decades, has
described itself as overall
excellent and among the
best in the country.
“Overall, MHS performance mirrors what we see
in the private sector: a good
deal of mediocrity, pockets
of excellence and some serious gaps,” wrote Janet M.
Corrigan of the Dartmouth
Institute for Health Policy
and Clinical Practice, one
of the outside experts who
helped with the review.
The report and appendix
run more than 700 pages
including 10 pages just to
list and define a sea of acronyms associated military
health care. But the report
also turns a spotlight on a
new tool that patients, staff
and outside health experts
agree is improving access
to care and perhaps quality
too: a secure messaging
system between patients
and military physicians.
The report endorses it,
urging full implementation
and careful monitoring
to ensure that it achieves
its potential for beneficiaries and in support of the
military’s “patient-centered
medical home” concept of
care.
The concept has transformed the direct care
system, starting in 2010,
putting at its center beneficiaries enrolled in primary
care clinics, assigned to
named doctors who are
supported by small professional staffs or teams.
pasting of secure messaging into AHLTA encounter
notes. Every service now
uses it.
“This is much more efficient than the old way of
hand-typing an entire telephone encounter as phone
calls come in,” Julian said.
Some doctors also have
been concerned that secure
emails lengthen their workdays or lower their opportunity to accumulate “relative
value units,” a measure of
work product. A face-to-face
visit typically counts as 2.4
RVUs whereas answering
an email might not count
for any, Julian said.
So a tri-service advisory
board on primary care has
approved a new workday
template that will build into
physician daily schedules
80 minutes of virtual appointment periods to answer email. But the number
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The Lowest
aren’t necessarily using
it as robustly as he or she
could,” Julian said. The
goal achieved in January
was secure messaging installed at all primary care
clinics. Some specialty clinics will begin to get it soon.
But Julian said she read
many comments from beneficiaries made during the
review, saying they wished
all of their providers used
secure messaging.
One irritant for staff
is that RelayHealth isn’t
integrated with AHLTA,
the military’s electronic
health record system.
“That means they have to
cut-and-paste the encounter into AHLTA [to] have a
good virtual lifetime record
of care,” Julian said. “That
caused our people a lot of
angst initially.”
Army found a way to
automate the cutting and
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