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DoD will Now Allow Use of Social Media Sites
DoD opens access to social media sites
Users of unclassified .mil computers are now allowed to access social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter — subject to local control if bandwidth demand or web integrity become issues.
The announcement reverses a nearly three-year ban on access to bandwidth-heavy sites such as MySpace and the Marine Corps’ August ban on access to social network sites, the Pentagon announced Friday.
Local commanders will have the ability to monitor and temporarily limit usage should bandwidth demands or specific viral infections become an issue, as well as “for compliance with security requirements and for fraudulent or objectionable use,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. But responses will be “commensurate” with the threat, he said.
Access to prohibited content sites — those featuring pornography, gambling or hate crime-related material — remains off limits from .mil computers.
The change reflects the Pentagon’s desire to balance the need and desire for network and user security with access to so-called Web 2.0 sites, which allow for user interaction with others and are increasingly being used for official and informational purposes as well as for entertainment, said David Wennergren, the Pentagon’s deputy chief information officer.
“What we had was inconsistency,” Wennergren said in a Friday interview. “Some Web sites were blocked, others weren’t. Some Web sites were blocked only at certain locations.”
The open access policy will rely to a large extent on users’ responsible use of the Internet, much as users practice operational security in other means of communication, such as telephone conversations and letters.
“It’s a pretty responsible work force,” Wennergren said. “You’ve got to be able to use these tools, but you need to do them thoughtfully.”
In addition to the decision to strike a balanced position on Web 2.0 tools, the policy change is also a reflection of “increased security measures” the Pentagon has taken, Whitman said.
The Defense Department has more than 15,000 networks and operates some 7 million Internet technology devices ranging from desktop computers to handheld devices, said Air Force Lt. Col. Eric Butterbaugh, a Pentagon spokesman.
Its networks are “probed” millions of times and are attacked thousands of times daily, Butterbaugh said.
“We’re a popular target,” Wennergren acknowledged.
Bandwidth demand had in part prompted the May 2007 .mil ban on YouTube and 11 other high-bandwidth content sites. But officials found in their six months of deliberations that preceded Friday’s announcement that the ban didn’t stem demand, and realized that across-the-board bans on specific sites were pointless because users could find the content they were looking for on alternate sites.
Several months after that review commenced, in August 2009, the Marine Corps independently banned access to Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and other sites on its network, citing concern over security. Individual commanders from other services at certain locations had also restricted access to Facebook and other Web sites, the Pentagon said.
Security concerns also led the Pentagon last November to ban the use of thumb drives and other portable digital storage devices in .mil computers, saying they could easily transmit viruses and infect the network. That was partially rescinded Feb. 12, but users are limited to government-issued drives and are to be used “only as a last resort.” Personal thumb drives are banned from use on government computers.
By William H. McMichael – Staff writer
Posted : Saturday Feb 27, 2010 9:15:28 EST
National Naval Medical Center checkup for Obama
National Naval Medical Center checkup for Obama
WASHINGTON — President Obama is in “excellent health” and “fit for duty,” the White House physician said Sunday after the 48-year-old commander in chief’s first checkup since he took office.
Navy Capt. Jeffrey Kuhlman said after the 90-minute exam at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., that he saw nothing that would prevent Obama from fulfilling his term as president.
According to a White House release after the exam, Kuhlman recommended that Obama “continue smoking cessation efforts” and modify his exercise regimen to strengthen his leg muscles to overcome occasional pain from chronic tendonitis in his left leg.
The report said Obama uses a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory for the tendonitis and “nicotine replacement therapy” — believed to be nicotine gum — in his bid to quit smoking. Obama said at a June news conference that he still had an occasional cigarette. It was his first public acknowledgment that he hadn’t kicked the habit.
White House officials were not immediately available for comment about whether the president was relying solely on nicotine gum or still occasionally smokes cigarettes.
The doctor said the president should modify his diet to bring his LDL, or bad cholesterol, below 130. At the time of his last exam, in January 2007, when he was an Illinois senator, Obama’s total cholesterol was 173, while his LDL was 96 and HDL, or good cholesterol, was 68. That was an excellent report.
This time total cholesterol was up to 209, with HDL down slightly at 62. LDL was up to 138. Borderline high cholesterol starts at 200, with LDL considered in the same category at 130.
The overall results, the doctor said, indicated the president need not return for a physical until August 2011 — after he turns 50.
The president is the picture of health, eats modest portions and exercises regularly. He is an avid basketball player and golfer.
The report said Obama, at 6-feet, 1-inch, weighs 180 pounds in shoes and exercise clothing. His pulse rate is 56, which is very good, as is his blood pressure — 105 over 62. The doctor said Obama’s vision was 20/20 in both eyes for both distance and near vision.
Obama was checked for and found free of colon cancer with a virtual colonoscopy, a scan that avoids the more invasive visual inspection with a camera device that is passed into the large intestine.
The tendonitis that Obama suffers in his left leg could be the result of his regular basketball playing. He is left-handed and he would use his left leg primarily in taking jump-shots.
By Natasha Metzler – The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Feb 28, 2010 13:59:55 EST
DoD GSA Releases 2010 Mileage Reimbursement Rates
The General Services Administration (GSA) has just released new mileage reimbursement rates for privately owned automobiles (POA), motorcycles and airplanes when used for official travel. The following new mileage rates go into effect on January 1, 2010: 1-888-Help1Go. If calling from overseas, use DSN 312-564-3950 or dial 809-463-3376 (wait for the beep) then dial 1-888-Help1Go (888-435-7146).
- POA: $0.50
- Motorcycles: $0.47
- Airplanes: $1.29
Any voucher from a document created in 2009 with mileage will need to be updated. Remove the mileage expense in the voucher and then add it back in. DTS will update the cost appropriately. If you have any questions, please contact your Defense Travel Administrator or the Travel Assistance Center.
The TAC can be reached by submitting a help ticket online through the “Tickets” section of TraX (www.defensetravel.dod.mil/passport) or by calling
Real Warriors Know When To Get Help
Real warriors know when to get help
By Heather M. Owens, Carolina Living editor
Sgt. Josh Hopper is a real warrior.
After two tours in Iraq, he started noticing how negative thoughts and behaviors had crept into his life. He was drinking too much, had mood swing and struggled to sleep.
“I just walked up to my (commanding officer) saying, ‘Sir, I’ve had all I can take. I need help,’” said Hopper in a public service announcement on the Web site realwarriors.net.
That action helped him get his life back.
“It seemed like from that day on I would go to my treatment and go to classes, stuff like that, things started getting better,” he said.
Hopper’s bravery in seeking and accepting help for his post traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury earned his former commander’s admiration.
“Returning to full health and clearances and everything else, I actually respect him and trust him more now,” said Lt. Col. Charles Ehlert. “Because he had a problem, he had an issue, and he brought it to me. Together we figured it out, we fixed it, and he’s as good or better of a Marine now and into the future.”
A project of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, founded in November 2007, realwarriors.net collects real-world stories, such as Hopper’s, in order to break down the stigma among military members about seeking mental health treatment.
Army Brig. Gen. Loree K. Sutton, M.D., the highest ranking psychiatrist in the U.S. Army, is the director of DCoE.
“At the core, this is a health and readiness issue,” she said of the importance of warriors maintaining optimal mental health. “The Real Warriors Campaign is part of that overall (Department of Defense) effort to enhance psychological fitness.”
Sutton noted in a recent series of Mental Health Advisory Team surveys, warriors from all services consistently voiced concerns seeking psychological treatment would negatively impact their military career, make them look weak and cause them to lose the trust and respect of their command.
DCoE and the Real Warriors Campaign seek to dispel those commonly held beliefs among service members.
“You maintain your weapon or your vehicle not because it is broken, but because you need it. You need it to work at maximum capacity. It’s the same with your psychological health,” she said. “Seeking treatment for a psychological health concern is not a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of maintaining mission readiness physically and mentally.”
Hopper is just one of the service members who not only sought treatment but also told his story on realwarriors.net.
“It takes real strength to swallow your pride and say, ‘I need help.’ And to go actually get that help,” he said.
Groups offer temporary homes to military pets
Groups offer temporary homes to military pets
By Melissa Kossler Dutton, The Associated Press
When Maj. Randall Baucom received word that the Army was sending him to Iraq in 2006, he immediately began to worry about what he would do with his two mixed-breed dogs.
Buster and Little Girl, a 70-pound male and a 40-pound female, were about a year old and a bit rambunctious, said Baucom, who was stationed at Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas.
“I didn’t want to put them in a kennel for 15 months,” he said. “I don’t know what kind of dogs I would have gotten back if they would have been in a kennel for 15 months.”
He was relieved when he found Guardian Angels for Soldiers’ Pet, a volunteer organization that helps men and women in any branch of the armed forces find temporary homes for pets. It is one of several pet foster programs that offer such free help to military personnel.
The organizations help reduce the stress on troops preparing for overseas deployment, said Specialist Stephanie Dortch, who works in the soldier readiness processing center at Camp Atterbury in Edinburgh, Ind. Dortch called the volunteers “awesome. They’re sacrificing a lot to have these pets and eventually give them back to their owners.”
One volunteer, Gary Marshall, considers it a chance to give back to the troops defending the country.
“We thought it would be really nice to help out somebody in the military – to provide a nice home for their dog,” said the Santa Paula, Calif., resident.
Marshall and his wife, Angie, recently opened their home to Kelli, a 2-year-old German shepherd owned by Matthew Snyder, who is stationed with the Army in South Korea. Only their 8-year-old yellow Labrador retriever was apprehensive, Marshall said.
“He didn’t know quite what to do with this dog,” Marshall said. Now, the two have fun playing together, he said.
Initially, Snyder’s mother, Kristie Bruce, was taking care of Kelli and Snyder’s other dog, but Bruce had to give them up when she was laid off from her job. She is grateful to the foster families for stepping up.
“It was a blessing for both of us,” said Bruce, who lives in Simi Valley, Calif. “You know how moms are – they don’t want to disappoint their kids.”
The Marshalls have sent photos and messages about Kelli to Snyder.
“(Gary is) much better at it than I was,” Bruce said. “Matthew is loving it.”
Many volunteers send regular reports to the pets’ owners, said Steve Albin, founder of NetPets in North Myrtle Beach, S.C.
“It boosts their morale to see their pets doing so well,” he said.
Albin started arranging pet fosters after Sept. 11 when many military members were quickly being deployed overseas. Before that, it was not uncommon for military personnel to be forced to leave their animals at Humane Society shelters if they were unable to find people to care for them, he said.
His organization has provided homes for more than 12,000 pets, he said.
“We’ve fostered horses, rabbits, tortoises, small exotics down to hermit crabs,” Albin said.
Although foster families do not receive payment for caring for the animals, the pet owners typically pay for food, veterinary care and other day-to-day expenses, he said.
A typical fostering with Guardian Angels lasts three to six months but can extend to a year or longer, said Jessica Semon, spokeswoman for the organization, headquartered in Hot Springs, Ark.
Often, military personnel will remain in touch with the foster families after they’ve retrieved their animals, Albin said, and some rely on the same families during subsequent deployments.
Although Susan Hagrelius is willing to foster anyone’s cat through the Operation Noble Foster program, Aeyne Dizicksa has “first dibs,” she said. Hagrelius is currently caring for Dizicksa’s cat, Sweet Magnolia, for the second time.
The women, who met in 2002, have exchanged Christmas cards and notes over the years. Dizicksa sent Hagrelius, who refuses to take money for food and litter, a cuckoo clock from Germany and a prayer rug from Kuwait.
Hagrelius enjoys the cat’s company, but looks forward to the day that Sweet Magnolia is reunited with her owner – because that will mean that Dizicksa is out of harm’s way.
“I’m relieved when she comes home,” said Hagrelius of Cary, Ill.
In the meantime, she hopes Dizicksa, an Army reservist, is comforted knowing that her beloved pet is in good hands.
For Baucom, knowing that Buster and Little Girl were being cared for in a private home gave him peace of mind during his overseas duty, he said. And when he came home in 2008, the return of his pets made a huge difference. “They helped me integrate faster,” he said. “They were my support system. I never felt alone.”
GI Bill Food Fight: VA vs. Schools
GI Bill Food Fight: VA vs. Schools
In trying to explain the reasons for continued delays and help avoid future delays in delivering Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs continually implies that schools are partially to blame for GI Bill benefit delays. The VA does this while doing their best to avoid putting the blame where it really belongs – on those who rushed through a program that was high on promises and low deliverability — Congress. In doing so the VA keeps alienating the one group that can help them the most – school certifying officials.
Whenever the VA talks about the issues with Post-9/11 GI Bill implementation and the backlog of GI Bill claims, they leave the reader to believe that late certification processing by the schools is some how holding up veterans benefits. When you consider the basic facts, this seems unrealistic. For example, how were late certifications holding up the process for the two hundred thousand or so existing unprocessed claims backlogged on the VA side last fall?
It may simply be that the VA still thinks schools are following their original instructions to not certify students until the student provides a Certificate of Eligibility. However, it has been several months since the VA realized that it was impractical and changed their instructions, telling schools to process the enrollments without documentation. It seems that the VA fails to make this distinction and continually implies that schools are waiting for veterans to turn in their certificate of eligibility. The fact is schools are not waiting for the certificates. Schools got the message long ago.
The truth is, there are several other reasons why schools may be slow to process certifications. It is possible that the VA is unaware of the limitations and circumstances that affect the certification process. I hope the following examples will help to put an end to the finger pointing.
Conflicting Information and One-on-One Counseling Time
The number one issue I hear from veterans and school officials is that every time they talk to the VA they get a different story. Of course that is if they actually get to talk to someone at VA. Most veterans find it impossible to get through to the VA GI Bill call center, and on the rare occasion that they do get through, many are experiencing dropped calls.
In addition, VA call centers often give students information which is in direct conflict with VA’s published policies and procedures, which is what the college officials must go by.
For example, a student who left the military in the 1990’s was told that he now has 15 years to use his benefits – false. But, guess who has to spend time explaining this to the student, the school certifying official.
Mike Gibson, VA Program Specialist at Clark College, explains that he spends most of his time “helping veterans understand the Post 9/11 GI Bill, which takes up a lot of time that could be spent reporting certifications to the VA.” This counseling is invaluable and can help veterans get on the right track. However, if the VA call center was able to give concise and consistent assistance, the need for one-on-one counseling would be greatly reduced.
Broken Certification Technology
SCO’s must certify students using a electronic platform called VAONCE. In the past VAONCE was notorious for periodic sluggishness or being down for long periods of time; this has only gotten worse with the Post-9/11 GI Bill. As Gibson explains, “during the first two weeks of the quarter it takes nearly a minute to go from one screen to the next in VAONCE.”
Changes to Student’s Enrollment
Another reason SCO’s may hold onto certifications is that students often drop and/or add classes between their enrollment and the school’s drop/add date, which is usually two weeks into their classes. In a recent article in Inside Higher Ed, Faith DesLauriers, director of veterans affairs for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, explained, “Any change in enrollment under this GI Bill is going to affect payment. Rather than having inaccurate payments and having to monitor and refund or re-bill, we choose to certify [students] when we are absolutely 100 percent [sure of what they’re taking].”
DesLauriers is not the only SCO to experience this. Gibson adds, “I am lucky if I have 5–10 percent of our veteran students who don’t change their enrollment status from the time they first register to the start of the quarter.
In the end the squabble is unproductive and creates a rift between the VA and those who help administer their programs at the school level. Several certifying officials use the word “mistrust” when talking about their relationship with the VA.
Exactly how are veterans being served by this continued antagonism?
For Military Parents! Countless Resources!
Great site for military parents!
http://www.militarychild.org/military-parent/education-resource-center/
Kevlar For the Mind?
Trauma can lead to positive changes
Kevlar for the Mind
By Bret A. Moore
Posted : Sunday Jan 31, 2010 8:45:43 EST
“Ever since my truck was hit with that IED, I’m getting along better with people and my views about things have changed. I actually seem happier. I thought things like this were supposed to mess you up. Am I crazy?”
Those words came from a service member with whom I worked during my first tour in Iraq. My response to him: “No, you are not crazy.”
Being exposed to traumatic experiences can alter how a person views the world — sometimes for the better. Post-traumatic growth is receiving much attention in the military mental health community. PTG is a scientific and philosophical approach to understanding the positive changes that can occur in individuals after a traumatic experience.
In the past, trauma has been viewed as a cause of psychological dysfunction. However, research shows that not all people develop sustained psychological problems after trauma. Some actually become emotionally and socially healthier after trauma exposure.
Why does this happen? Just as a building’s foundation can shift from an earthquake, how a person views and interprets the world can be shaken from a traumatic or series of traumatic events.
For example, after narrowly escaping serious injury or death, a service member who hates his life may adopt the worldview that “life is precious and I should be thankful for each day I have on Earth.” A service member who loses a best friend to a Humvee rollover comes to believe that “loved ones can leave this world at any moment, so it’s important to spend as much time with them as you can.”
It’s important to realize that our thoughts and how we perceive events have a significant effect on how we feel and behave. To quote the ancient Greek philosopher Epictetus, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”
Don’t get me wrong — overcoming trauma is not as simple as being positive or thinking good thoughts. Many more factors are involved, such as personality traits, level of support from family and friends, and previous psychological health.
But if you experience a traumatic event, you are not destined to become “messed up” for the rest of your life. As a psychologist, I have seen people overcome incredible hardships and tragedies. And yes, in more than a few cases, I have seen men and women, like the service member above, develop a more rewarding and fulfilling life.
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Bret A. Moore is a board-certified clinical psychologist who served two tours in Iraq. E-mail kevlarforthemind@militarytimes.com. Names and identifying details will be kept confidential. This column is for informational purposes only and is not intended to convey specific psychological or medical guidance. Readers should see a mental health professional or physician for mental health problems.
VA & DoD Discuss Suicide Research & Screening
I have attended the last two VA/DoD conferences that were held to bring together leaders from VA, DoD, the medical community, and private sector. And while I have to say I was encouraged that more inter-agency partnering was occurring, I found myself leaving frustrated every time. An agency simply saying that they want to work together to help put an end to what seems to be an epidemic of self-inflicted deaths and drug overdoses is not enough. Let me clarify. While key personnel and staff are attending these conferences, (in what they say is suppose to be a way to develope new initiatives and methods of combating suicides and stigmas associated with mental health concerns) the one thing that is not being shown is openness to new methods or tactics. While showing up is a good start, it is sort of pointless if you are simply attending to just to attend. What I mean is, why even come to the conference if you are not willing to listen to what the other agencies have to say. It is almost like a political debate where neither side is willing to budge on what they think is the best way to improve mental health care and education within our military and veteran communities. Obviously neither side is doing a very good job on their own. For the first time DoD suicide rates surpassed that of the civilian world in 2009. Over 300 confirmed suicides of troops or veterans were recorded, with hundreds more still being investigated or simply deemed “drug overdose” as cause of death. No one will ever know how many brave American military men and women suffered alone in silence, plagued by memories or thoughts of war, eventually leading to their own self demise. While I am in no way trying to paint a picture of “victims” here, I am trying to “WAKE UP!” Wake up DoD, VA, and America. You can run all the public service announcements you want, or hold all the hearings on Capitol Hill you see fit, but until someone starts saying “guess what, what you are doing is not good enough and here is how we are going to do it until you can compromise on treatment methods” more and more kids will have to grow up without a parent, more parents will have to bury their children, and communities will lose some of their best. Enough studies with no actions. We have years of studies and research we can be putting to use to combat this epidemic. So I will stop ranting and share an article published today that further demonstrates what I am talking about.~
VA & DoD Discuss Suicide Research & Screening-
As Veterans Affairs and Defense Department officials gathered at a conference Jan. 12 to discuss what research tells them about suicide in the military, a young Army captain stood up to ask a question:
“What can we do at the unit level? That’s the only reason my commander sent me here.”
He left empty-handed.
“There are certainly things you could do, but there’s nothing evidence-based,” said Col. Carl Castro, a psychologist and director of operations for the Medicine Research Program in the Army’s Medical Research and Materiel Command. “This is a very complex problem. Nobody has the answer.”
Castro called suicide the military’s “No. 2 or 3 priority, with [post-traumatic stress disorder] at No. 1.”
But he did have some ideas. He said screening is “an area we could definitely do better in,” and also said the two suicide-related questions on the current post-deployment health assessment probably are insufficient.
The Army has been working since 2007 on a five-year study with the National Institute of Mental Health and launched about 10 suicide research projects in 2008. Last year, a series of workshops was held to map out a course for research.
Kerry Knox, director of the VA Center of Excellence at Canandaigua, N.Y., has been looking at the issues associated with veterans and suicide and said one of the biggest warning signs seems to be “executive dysfunction” — the inability to plan and execute tasks well, such as remembering appointments or completing a project.
Those problems also have been associated with PTDS, traumatic brain injury and substance abuse. VA is researching suicide rates in veterans who have reported problems with memory, attention or motor skills.
Drug overdoses also have been a factor, so researchers are looking into whether putting medications in blister packs that need to be opened separately for each pill, rather than in a bottle, might deter people from taking several pills at once.
VA also is reviewing the effectiveness of suicide hot lines and prevention coordinators at VA medical centers and evaluating public awareness campaigns to see whether people seek help in greater numbers after seeing a poster or TV announcement.
Castro said part of the problem is that things that work for civilian populations may have the opposite effect on service members because of the military mind-set about what makes them successful or defines them as individuals.
“This is a major problem, and we are tackling it from many directions,” Castro said. “It’s going to take all of us working together to do that.”
By Kelly Kennedy – Staff writer Army Times
Posted : Sunday Jan 24, 2010 8:38:39 EST
