MILITARY: Man Promotes War Medic Memorial

BY JOE SEELIG

Highlands Today

Published: October 18, 2011

SEBRING - Any soldier who was assisted by a corpsman in the field or by medical staff back behind the lines may appreciate the efforts of John Vawter, past commander of VFW Post 4300, who wants to honor military medical personnel.

Vawter said Monday he is trying to find a location in Highlands County to erect a small-scale version of a bronze statue like the one for the National Medical War Memorial and Youth Center in Blue Springs, Mo., where groundbreaking is already under way.

A statue that's 1½ times life-size will eventually be sculpted in wax, cast and placed on a 30-foot round pedestal in Blue Springs.

A scale-model statue, sculpted by Lewis Lee Millett Jr., depicts Congressional Medal of Honor recipient Donald L. Ballard, HM2, U.S. Navy, who on May 16, 1968 jumped on a live grenade while aiding three wounded Marines in Vietnam.

Actually, Ballard was treating seven Marines at the time of the incident while receiving small arms fire and grenade attacks, according to the event described by the citation.  Full article

NAVY BUDGET: Despite Troubled Waters, Navy Will Stay the Course with LCS

By Philip Ewing Thursday, July 28th, 2011 3:26 pmWe observed not too long ago that the urgency seemed to have gone from the Navy’s littoral combat ship program, but nevertheless, the service’s next chief of naval operations, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, said Thursday that it’s still committed to its vision of 55 ships and their interchangeable mission equipment. Greenert told Senate lawmakers at his confirmation hearing that he’s spent the night aboard the first ship, the steel-and-aluminum USS Freedom, as well as some quality time aboard the second, the all-aluminum USS Independence, and he and the brass remain convinced that the Navy has made the right bet with the LCS concept.

Arizona Sen. John McCain, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is not a fan of LCS. He castigated the Navy for spending so much money and still failing to “have a single ship that is operationally effective or reliable.” (Both Freedom and Independence are laid up today, and neither has any of the custom equipment it needs to hunt submarines, mines or fight surface battles.) Hey, we get it, Greenert said, but just you wait and see — the Navy’s bet on LCS is going to pay off. One of its bets already has, Greenert’s hearing showed: After going back and forth about whether it would select a single LCS design or build both of them, the Navy decided last year to go with both, pleasing shipbuilding-state lawmakers whose constituent yards will all get to share the work.  Read more

Announcements > CDC's ATSDR Health Survey of Pre-1986 Personnel at Camp Lejeune

May 20, 2011 / 60(19);629

During June--December 2011, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry will conduct a health survey of persons who resided or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina before 1986 and might have been exposed to contaminated drinking water. The purpose of the survey is to learn more about participants' health. Health surveys also will be mailed to a comparison group of former active duty marines, sailors, and civilian employees, sampled from those who lived or worked at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California.

Eligible participants who were formerly at Camp Lejeune include 1) former active duty marines and sailors who were stationed at Camp Lejeune any time during June 1975--December 1985, 2) civilian employees who worked at Camp Lejeune any time during December 1972--December 1985, 3) families who took part in the 1999--2002 ATSDR telephone survey of childhood cancers and birth defects, and 4) persons who registered with the Camp Lejeune notification registry.

Participants will receive a paper copy of the health survey and instructions for completing and mailing. A web-based version of the survey also will be available for those who prefer to answer online. Health-care providers are asked to share information regarding the Camp Lejeune survey with their patients who lived or worked at the base before to 1986 and to encourage those receiving a health survey for either Camp Lejeune or Camp Pendleton to fill it out and return it or complete it online. Additional information is available at here.