Source: Page 25 of White Noise Keywords: "aluminum," "newest," "our," "movie"

From: Otis Willie <americanwarlibrary@pacbell.net> Subject: Army Public Affairs Media Alerts Date: 26 Mar 2004 Newsgroups: us.military.army

Army Public Affairs Media Alerts ARNEWS Proposed amputee rehabilitation center awaits funding, By Spc. Lorie Jewell WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) ­ The acceleration of prosthetic care and research is fueling plans to build a $9.3 million amputee rehabilitation center at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. In the meantime, the Orthotics and Prosthetics laboratory is currently getting a $3 million makeover, said Ralph Urgolites, department head. The renovation will give workers a more organized work area by combining the currently separate orthotics and prosthetics labs into one. Offices will be moved from the front of the department to the rear, closer to where the work is done. Urgolites expects the renovation to be finished within the year. Plans for the amputee rehabilitation center, a 27,000-square-foot multi-level building that will provide the space and equipment for even greater patient care and prosthetic research, will move forward once funding is approved, said Chuck Scoville, manager of the amputee patient care program. The center will feature a 30-foot climbing wall and an uneven terrain track, along with enough office and lab space to bring together everyone who works with amputees ­ physical and occupational therapists, Veterans Administration counselors and psychologists, among others. There are about 66 people from 22 specialty areas Soldiers encounter as they make their way through recovery at Walter Reed, Scoville said. ?We are looking at Soldiers as elite tactical athletes, using a sports medicine approach to return them to the highest level of function possible,?? Scoville said. Scoville credits the medical care Soldiers receive before coming to Walter Reed ­ from the battlefield to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany -- with contributing significantly to their recovery. ?We?re aware they?re all doing incredible work in not the best of circumstances,? Scoville said. Urgolites and Scoville envision Soldiers returning to the center for follow-up research and testing of newer technology after they have gone back to their units or transitioned into civilian life. Depending on the funding option lawmakers choose, construction could start as early as this summer or three to four years from now, Scoville said. ?We?re trying to find funding quickly because there is such an immediate need,?? he added. See related articles: Newer technology speeds prosthetic process, offers Soldiers more choices ;High-tech prosthetics keep Soldiers moving link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5783 ----------------------------------- Newer technology speeds prosthetic process, offers Soldiers more choices, By Spc. Lorie Jewell WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) ­ On the day Spc. Sean Lewis was to put on his first prosthetic leg, he discovered sometimes there is delayed gratification in healing quickly. Lewis, 20, lost most of his right leg in a Jan. 21 mortar attack in Iraq. Since arriving at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he has been focused on getting up on two feet again ­ even if one is artificial. A plastic socket had to be made before that could happen. The socket fits over the residual limb, buffered by a silicone liner, and then attaches to the prosthetic. It?s crucial for the socket to fit right, prosthetist Dennis Clark explained. Measurements of Lewis? residual limb ­ necessary to create the socket ­ were taken just five days before. But when Clark helped Lewis put the socket on, they discovered it was too loose. The residual limb had shrunk, which is normal as it heals., by the next day, the limb shrank again. So much so, a new socket had to be made. Lewis, who wants to stay on active duty and resume running in marathons, was eventually fitted with his prosthetic. He?s pleased, but at the same time anxious to meet his goals. There?s a marathon in August he has his sights set on. ?I?ve been asked how I?m healing so fast and I say, it?s because I want to,?? Lewis said. ?You can do anything your mind tells you you can do. I want to do everything I can to get as close as I can to how I was before.? Clark and other prosthetists know this attitude well; it?s a common thread in the majority of Soldiers they work with. ?We tell them, don?t worry, you?ll get there,?? Clark said, smiling. ?But it?s going to take a few minutes.? The path to making a Soldier as whole as possible takes them through the hospital?s Orthotics and Prosthetics laboratory, where prosthetists begin with a custom-made socket. New technology ­ the Computer Aided Design and Computer Aided Manufacturing system, or CAD CAM ­ enables prosthetists to create the mold for a socket in 20 minutes or less, said research prosthetist Joe Miller. Making a plaster cast of the limb, which is still done when necessary, produces the mold in a day or two, Miller said. ?We?ve had this technology for about eight or nine months,?? Miller said. ?It?s really brought us forward in the care we provide, greatly reducing the turnaround time for sockets.? Next, a sheet of plastic is put in an oven until pliable, then formed over the foam mold. When cool, the socket is trimmed and sanded until smooth. If it doesn?t fit right when a Soldier tries it on, adjustments are made until it forms a snug, comfortable fit over the residual limb. The socket then attaches to the prosthetic. Because a residual limb continues to shrink until it completely heals, a Soldier will get fitted for as many as eight different sockets before leaving the hospital, Miller said. The aim is to have a Soldier fitted with an initial prosthetic ­ especially if it?s an upper extremity like an arm or hand ­ within 30 days of arriving at the hospital, said Ralph Urgolites, who heads the laboratory. Once they have a prosthetic that fits right, Soldiers move on to Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy laboratories, a short walk down the hallway. ?The more time that passes, the greater the chance that the Soldier will grow accustomed to using the remaining arm and not see the value of having the prosthetic,?? Urgolites said. ?The success rate in the civilian sector tells us there is a 50 percent chance the person will decide not to use the (prosthetic) arm.? There isn?t as much concern about a prosthetic leg being rejected because a Soldier needs two legs and feet for activities like walking and running, Urgolites said. Walter Reed?s success rate for prosthetic acceptance is 100 percent, he added. For Soldiers with upper extremity amputations, the hospital?s protocol is to fit them with three different prosthetic arms ­ a computer-programmed myoelectric, body powered, and cosmetic. The myoelectric allows for more effortless movement than the body powered prosthetic, which is operated with a harness and pulley system. There are times when a Soldier may prefer to use the body powered prosthetic because it?s more durable and won?t be damaged if it gets wet, unlike the myoelectric, Urgolites said. An artist on staff creates a cosmetic prosthetic identical to the other limb, which could be used when appearance is desired more than function, he added. ?Some might say the cosmetic is unnecessary, but self-image is an important part in the Soldier accepting the prosthetic,?? Urgolites said. ?If they view themselves as less than a whole person, they are more likely to reject a limb. It?s not all about the money. It?s about making the Soldier as whole as possible.? Soldiers with prosthetic legs have a choice of several different styles of feet. ?We let them pick and choose, get a feel for what?s available and then decide what they like best,?? Miller said. There is also opportunity for creative input in the appearance of the final socket, Miller said. A Soldier can opt to leave the clear plastic as is, or have special artwork added. There are American flags, NASCAR logos, and unit patches. Or Soldiers may come up with their own designs, within limits, Miller said. ?We had one guy who wanted a black background with pink Playboy bunnies all over it,?? Miller said, grinning. ?He got it.? Lewis, who was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, with the 588th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division, has already decided what his final socket will look like. It will bear the Texas state flag and his unit patch. See related articles: Proposed amputee rehabilitation center awaits funding ;High-tech prosthetics keep Soldiers moving link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5784 ----------------------------------- High-tech prosthetics keep Soldiers moving, By Spc. Lorie Jewell WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) ­ Advances in prosthetic technology are keeping Soldiers in the mainstream of life ­ and in some cases, on active duty ­ more than ever before, health care officials contend. Soldiers benefiting from technological wonders like the Otto Bock microprocessor C-Leg knee unit or the myoelectric Utah 3 arm marvel not only at the existence of the devices, but that they are receiving such top-shelf products. Spc. Sean Lewis, 20, for instance, knew very little about prosthetics just a few months ago. ?Lt. Dan from ?Forrest Gump,? that?s about it,? said Lewis, illustrating the extent of his knowledge with a reference to a movie character that lost both legs in the Vietnam War but who showed up toward the end of the movie using titanium alloy prosthetics the main character, Gump, called ?magic legs.? A Jan. 21 mortar attack on an Army camp near Baqubah, Iraq changed that. Lewis was a communications equipment repair specialist attached to the 588th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division from Fort Hood, Texas. It was early evening and he was standing next to his vehicle, talking and smoking with two friends ­ Spc. Gabriel Palacios and Pfc. James David Parker ­ when, without warning, a mortar round hit them. From the ground, Lewis recalled looking up to see most of his right leg completely severed from his body. Palacios and Parker were dead. Two months later, Lewis was standing on two feet ­ one natural and the other rubber, attached to an aluminum pylon straight-leg prosthetic ­ in Walter Reed Army Medical Center?s Orthotics and Prosthetics laboratory. ?I loved it,? Lewis said. ?Even though I was using crutches, I felt like I was up on both legs again. The prosthetic helped with a lot of the phantom pain.? Lewis was fitted the following week with the latest high-tech prosthetic for lower extremity amputees, the C-Leg. Equipped with a microprocessor knee and hydraulic pneumatic controls, the leg brings patients like Lewis as close as they can be to a natural gait, said Ralph Urgolites, head of the Orthotics and Prosthetics lab. Whereas a traditional prosthetic leg is swung forward using body weight, the C-Leg moves according to information it collects through computerized sensors that send feedback data 50 times per second between the foot and the knee. ?It?s amazing what they can do now,?? Lewis said. ?I?ve met with lots of people here and until they told me, I didn?t even know they had a prosthetic on.? As of mid-March, Urgolites has counted 83 Soldiers ­ including at least one woman ­ who have come through the prosthetics lab since Operation Iraqi Freedom began. Several have also come from Afghanistan, where Soldiers continue to face danger while serving in Operation Enduring Freedom. Of those, 19 Soldiers have lost upper extremity limbs, he noted That?s an unusually high percentage, Urgolites noted, compared to the national average of 2.5 upper extremity cases for every 100 amputees. The high volume of Soldiers in need of prosthetics forced the department to hire part-time help, increasing a normal staff of four or five prosthetists to seven or eight, depending on the need, Urgolites said. Twice, the need has been close to overwhelming ­ once in November and before that in August, when seven Soldiers with upper extremity amputations arrived at one time, he said. ?It?s very rare to see more than two upper extremities at a time,?? Urgolites said. One of the newest devices for such amputees is the computer-assisted myoelectric prosthetic. The Utah 3 arm allows the elbow and wrist to move simultaneously, while previous models were limited to separate movements, Urgolites said. The first six Utah 3 models off the production line went to Soldiers at Walter Reed following a round of tests last summer, he added. Sgt. Steve Clark, 36, is one of the six. He lost his right arm above the elbow in October when the Humvee he was gunning on a road outside of Baghdad was hit by a remote-controlled improvised explosive device. Like Lewis, Clark said he knew nothing about prosthetics before being injured. Not only is he impressed with the technology, but that Soldiers are getting it as well. With the cost of each prosthetic device ranging from $20,000 to $100,000, Clark is grateful the Army is investing so much into the care of Soldiers. The hardest part about wearing the prosthetic, he said, is remembering to use it. His natural instinct is to take the fastest route to getting something done, which sometimes leaves the prosthetic idle. The more he takes the time to manage the Utah 3, the easier it gets, Clark said. Clark was a multiple launch rocket system crewmember with the 127th Field Artillery from Babenhausen, Germany. He?s planning to take a medical retirement and pursue a job as a resource counselor with the Veteran?s Administration, working with Soldiers at Walter Reed. ?Before all of this happened, I would have thought that losing an arm would be too devastating, that I would just want to crawl in a hole,?? Clark said. ?But that?s not the case.? Going through the recovery process side by side with other Soldiers makes a big difference, Clark and Lewis said. ?There?s an unspoken brotherhood,?? said Lewis. ?We encourage each other. Sometimes we taunt each other.? Added Clark: ?There?s always someone who has it worse.? For as much as Soldiers motivate each other, their can-do attitudes have an equally positive effect on the staff, Urgolites said. ?When a Soldier says ?why can?t I do that?? it makes us stop and ask ourselves ?Why can?t we do that??? Urgolites said. ?We?ve come a long way from years past, when the attitude might have been to be satisfied with just getting them walking again. Now, it?s that we should do more, and we can.? One innovation the staff is currently exploring is how to combine two existing prosthetic legs ­ one for use in the shower, with tiny suction cups on the sole, and the other for swimming ­ into a single prosthetic. That would eliminate the need to switch from one to the other, said research prosthetist Joe Miller. Miller and others are hoping research will clear up some uncertainties as they push forward. They?d like to find out how much moisture or heat certain prosthetics can take, for instance. Or how to protect a Soldier on the battlefield who has a microprocessor in his prosthetic leg that might emit a signal, potentially exposing him to the enemy. ?We?re stretching the boundaries of rehabilitative care with prosthetics,?? Miller said. ?We believe it?s the right thing to do, and until that can be disproved, we?re moving forward.? The ultimate goal is to make each Soldier as whole as possible and enable them to carry on with normal lives, Miller and Urgolites said. That includes remaining on active duty, if they so choose and the medical board determines they are fit to do so. There are Soldiers who have shown it is possible to stay on active duty with a prosthetic ­ or two. Dana Bowman, for instance, lost both legs when he collided mid-air with a fellow member of the Golden Knights parachute team during a 1994 training exercise. With two prosthetic legs, Bowman jumped five months later while on a pass from Walter Reed. He re-enlisted nine months after the accident and completed more than 800 jumps with his prosthetics before retiring in 1996 as a sergeant first class. Bowman has been working since as a motivational speaker, including with the Army?s recruiting command. (www.danabowman.com) Bowman has visited Soldiers at Walter Reed several times in the past year to share his experiences and offer whatever assistance he can provide. He?s amazed at the advancements in technology and gratified by the staff?s dedication. ?What they?re doing to help these Soldiers is remarkable,?? Bowman said. ?I?ve seen incredible patient care throughout.? Some Soldiers have left Walter Reed with prosthetics and returned to active duty units while awaiting the medical board process, officials said, but an exact number wasn?t available. One Soldier, Staff Sgt. Andrew McAffrey, is back on duty at Fort Bragg, N.C., with a prosthetic right hand that replaced the one he lost in Afghanistan last year. McAffrey and a few other Soldiers accompanied Urgolites last month to a program on the history of and advancements in prosthetics at the Smithsonian?s Museum of American History. Urgolites gave a power point demonstration on what?s being done at Walter Reed that included a video clip of McAffrey using a microprocessor ?Greifer? prosthetic to accomplish ordinary tasks, like picking up a bottle or unfastening a wristwatch. McAffrey also knocked out some push-ups, using a fingerless prosthetic hand he discovered in a catalog. ?He was having difficulty doing push ups with another prosthetic because the fingers kept bending,?? Urgolites said. ?So he found one that was designed for a child, got the largest size, and adapted it for what he needed to do.? Lewis, 20, is also determined to return to his unit. From the time he was a little kid, all he?s ever wanted to be is a Soldier. Beyond that, he wants to be a marathon runner again and someday, wear the rank of command sergeant major. Those goals and unwavering support from Jessica, his wife of one year, and senior leaders in his chain of command, keeps Lewis focused on doing whatever he can to make it happen. ?I love the Army, I love everything about it,?? Lewis said. ?This is something I will do. I?m not going to let them kick me out.? See related articles: Proposed amputee rehabilitation center awaits funding ;Newer technology speeds prosthetic process, offers Soldiers more choices link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5785 ----------------------------------- Commentary: The American Soldier -- one year into OIF, By Sgt. 1st Class Donald Sparks WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) -- When I was asked to write an editorial reflecting on the one-year anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom, initially I thought it would be too easy to transfer my thoughts to my fingers -- yet this piece was a struggle. I couldn?t keep track of how often I pressed my backspace key or how often I deleted entire sentences and paragraphs because I knew whatever I wanted to say ­ it just had to be right. And then I recalled a quote from former Sergeant Major of the Army George W. Dunaway in a 1990 interview with the Center of Military History on the American Soldier. I studied line by line his words and it is appropriate as we look back on a year in which our Army and the resolve of the American Soldier have been tested and friendships on the battlefield have been forged. ?The American Soldier?is unbeatable in war.? The entire world witnessed first hand how lethal a well-trained, well-equipped Soldier can take out his enemy on the battlefield. Breaking tradition and putting aside its differences with the media, the Department of Defense allowed embedded journalists and reporters to eat, sleep and get dirty with Soldiers. Although there was some early debate and griping from the American public about how much news coverage was too much, there is no question the role of the media played for delivering into our homes the successes and determination of the American Soldier on the battlefield. ?We cannot give the American Soldier too much credit?He deserves everything we can do for him and he deserves all the respect we can show him.? When Time magazine announced the American Soldier as its Person of the Year, there had to be an overwhelming sense of pride for each and every Soldier wearing the uniform. I hurriedly went and bought a copy. The anticipation of reading profiles of courage, stories of strife and passages of survival was worth the wait. And to quote one of the Soldiers on the cover, Sgt. Ronald Buxton, ?It?s not just us,? Buxton said of the Person of the Year award. ?It?s all of us, all the Soldiers.? It seems in time of peace the American Soldier is forgotten. Yet in times of war, the American Soldier becomes an integral part of the American conscience. Instantly the freedoms our nation takes for granted each day is remembered when each flag-draped coffin returns home. The American Soldier deserves respect for going into a foreign land and eradicating a regime of terror, pulverizing its foe and surviving moments in hell. ?They perform their duties magnificently and bravely.? Whether it was on CNN, FOX News or MSNBC, the images of the American Soldier throughout the Operation Iraqi Freedom campaign displayed the significance of the Noncommissioned Officer Education System. In many instances it was the young sergeant preparing and leading troops into harm?s way. As the first line of the NCO Creed states, No one is more professional than I.? Indeed the American Soldiers were professionals in carrying out their missions in Iraq. ?They don?t make policies, and they don?t declare war.? By no means is this line to be interpreted that the American Soldier is a pawn on a chessboard. We simply do what we?re told to do and we follow orders. The American Soldier on the battlefield doesn?t care about duty, honor, and country. The American Soldier cares about his teammate to his front, to his left, to his right and to his rear. The American Soldier doesn?t have the time to play politics on the battlefield. During the past year the American Soldier has served his country and his fellow Soldier. And when the order was given to fight, indeed the American Soldier did. ?But they fight, they bleed and they die.? This past year more than 500 American service members have died in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. It was someone?s son, daughter, husband, wife, brother and sister. Those Americans gave the ultimate sacrifice serving our nation and also securing the freedom of the Iraqi people. I was told once a warrior?s life is a lonely time with little joy, little thanks and visions not too kind. I?d like to think those brave warriors who died during this past year had their share of moments of joy, they?ve been thanked more than once for serving their country and they?ve envisioned many days of kindness. We must all remember, one year later, name-by-name of those Americans for they fought, they bled and they died. ?And they do it unhesitatingly.? I?ve told many Soldiers, ?The Army isn?t for everybody and everybody isn?t for the Army.? For those who serve our nation and are sent into harm?s way, we all know there are no guarantees on the battlefield -- except for death. When the American Soldier goes into the valley of the shadows of death, he goes unhesitatingly. The American Soldier during the past year in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom has done the nation proud. Mama might not understand why her son or daughter volunteers for deployment. The American Soldier can tell mama there are values like loyalty, duty, selfless service, honor, integrity and courage we all use and hold close to us. Those values, and more, we share -- unhesitatingly. (Editor?s note: Sgt. 1st Class Donald Sparks is the NCOIC for the Army Intelligence Center and Fort Hauchuca Public Affairs Office.) link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5786 ----------------------------------- With war behind them, Soldiers reflect on a year in Iraq, By Staff Sgt. Stephen Hudson ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) -- They?re back now. The Soldiers from the Florida Army National Guard?s three infantry battalions are home and the sands of a Southwest Asia desert are rapidly becoming a distant memory. They returned home wearing smiles and faded desert camouflage fatigues. After a year of combat foot patrols in Iraq these Soldiers, now home, have an opportunity to reflect on a year in Iraq. These citizen-Soldiers became part of the largest call-up of the Florida National Guard since World War II, when members of the 124th Infantry Regiment fought in such places as New Guinea and Italy. Their trip started the day after Christmas in 2002 as the battalions received their alerts. From Florida the Soldiers headed to Fort Stewart, then to Southwest Asia protecting Patriot missile batteries and were part of the first ground troops into Iraq. Spc. Derick Robinson, 21, a student at Tallahassee Community College, was a week away from starting the Pat Thomas Law Enforcement Academy when his unit was called to active duty. Robinson, whose grandfather served in Europe during World War II, said they now share common experiences: one a draftee, the other a volunteer, they both helped liberate countries from oppressive and brutal dictators. Robinson said the United States needs to be in Iraq and liberating the Iraqi people was the right thing to do. ?At first the Iraqis were afraid of us,? said Robinson. ?After they realized we were there to liberate them -- they warmed up to us. They were a big part of our success.? Robinson said he is proud he never fired his weapon although he was shot at several times. Spc. Jarett Frazier, a business major at Florida State University, echoed Robinson?s sentiments of the war: ?I have no doubt we should have been there,? he said. After the war ended these Soldiers spent countless hours patrolling Baghdad?s streets, working with locals citizens to capture weapons caches and arrest Saddam loyalists who were holdouts from the fallen regime. 1st Lt. Scott Slaughter, 38, who has been deployed twice with different Florida National Guard units since Sept. 11, 2001, served with the Guard?s 1st Battalion in Ar Ramadi and realized early on the importance of the Coalition in Iraq. ?What the war in Iraq has done has taken away a mechanism weapons of mass destruction could be used against our allies, or us,? Slaughter said. ?In my opinion it was only a matter of time before those weapons found their way into the hands of terrorists.? In addition to their military duties, the Florida Soldiers helped renovate a soccer stadium and gave soccer balls to Iraqi kids. They even gave out Christmas gifts to children. The Florida National Guard was at the frontlines of rebuilding schools, restoring electrical power and training a new Iraqi police force. The Florida Soldiers also earned numerous awards including Purple Hearts, Army Commendation Medals, and the Bronze Star. Three Florida Guardsmen lost their lives in Iraq, Cpl. Travis Rivero, Spc. Jeffrey Wershow and Spc. Robert A. Wise were killed while serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. (Editor?s note: Staff Sgt. Stephen Hudson writes for the Florida National Guard Public Affairs Office.) link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5791 ----------------------------------- Soldier-athletes strive to qualify for Olympic Games, By Tim Hipps ALEXANDRIA, Va. (Army News Service, March 25, 2004) -- While several Soldiers in the U.S. Army World Class Athlete Program are in the thick of contention to make U.S. Olympic teams, many other All-Army athletes are busy competing in other arenas. Sgt. 1st Class Bret Erickson, a member of the U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga., is the latest Soldier to secure a berth in the Olympic Games at Athens, Greece. A two-time Olympian who competed in 1992 at Barcelona, Spain, and 1996 in Atlanta, Erickson finished runner-up to fellow two-time Olympian Lance Bade of Colorado Springs, Colo., in men?s trap shooting March 21 at the U.S. Olympic Shotgun Team Trials at Fort Benning. One day later, Erickson won the double-trap competition, qualifying him for a second event in the Athens Games. Maj. David Johnson, a WCAP member stationed at Fort Carson, Colo., will serve as rifle coach for Team USA in Greece. Likewise, Staff Sgt. Basheer Abdullah is head coach of the U.S. boxing team and Staff Sgt. Shon Lewis is one of three coaches for the U.S. Greco-Roman wrestlers. Abdullah will be assisted in Athens by former WCAP coach Anthony Bradley, a retired Army master sergeant. U.S. Army Reserve Capt. Dan Browne, a former member of WCAP, finished third in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in 2 hours, 12 minutes, 2 seconds at Birmingham, Ala., on Feb. 7 and will run for Team USA in Athens. ?I ran this race to make the team, but I also ran this race to honor my West Point classmates who died over in Iraq,? said Browne, who trains in Portland, Ore. ?That kept me going with three miles to go when my body was feeling pretty rough. I thought of them and I knew I wouldn?t quit.? Spc. Tina George, a WCAP wrestler from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, won a silver medal in the 55-kilogram division of the Athens Women?s Wrestling Tournament Jan. 25 in Greece, where she aspires to compete for Team USA in the Summer Olympics. George also went 5-0 and defeated former world champion Jen Ryz of Canada, 3-1, to win her weight class in the Dave Schultz Memorial International Wrestling Championships Feb. 7-8 at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. Staff Sgt. Glenn Nieradka and Spc. Faruk Sahin won Greco-Roman gold medals. It was Sahin?s first tournament as a U.S. citizen. Staff Sgt. Keith Sieracki and Sgt. Dremiel Byers settled for silver, and Sgt. Oscar Wood won a bronze medal. Byers, the 2002 Greco-Roman super heavyweight world champion and Army Male Athlete of the Year, lost a 2-1 referee?s decision in overtime to Rulon Gardner, 2001 world champ and America?s darling of the 2000 Summer Olympics. All three points were scored off the clinch position. Byers and Gardner, who often train together, are expected to battle for a spot on Team USA through the U.S. National Wrestling Championships April 7-10 at Las Vegas and the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Team Trials May 21-23 at Indianapolis. Sieracki competed in the final Olympic qualifying wrestling tournament March 13-14 at Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where he failed to qualify the United States for a spot in the 74-kilogram/163-pound Greco-Roman division of the Olympics. Sieracki lost his second match of the tourney and said he likely will move up a weight class for the Olympic Team Trials. Spc. Clarence Joseph and Spc. Edward Joseph advanced to the 2004 U.S. Olympic Box-Offs Feb. 27-28 at Cleveland?s Convocation Center, where both were eliminated from the road to Athens. Clarence, 21, won the challengers? bracket of the 165-pound division in the U.S. Olympic Boxing Team Trials at Tunica, Miss., where Edward, 24, was among four boxers remaining in the 152-pound class, which had to be completed in Cleveland because of an administrative fiasco. In the Box-Offs at Cleveland, Clarence dropped a 30-9 decision to Andre Dirrell of Flint, Mich., and Edward was eliminated, 27-8, by Austin Trout of Las Cruces, N.M. Sgt. Casey McEuin and Sgt. Petra Kaui won gold medals in the Taekwondo U.S. Open Championships Feb. 20-21 at Tampa, Fla. Sgt. Elena Pisarenko won a silver medal and Sgt. Darrell Rydholm and Sgt. Luis Torres won bronze medals. Sgt. John Nunn won the mile walk in 6:03.37 in the Millrose Games Feb. 5 at Madison Square Garden in New York. Capt. Michael Mai won the weight throw with a personal-best heave of 74 feet. Nunn also won the Long Island 3-K Race Walk Championship in 12:05 on Feb. 6 and placed second with a time of 19:35:58 in the 5,000-meter race walk at the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships Feb. 28 at Boston. Four soldiers earned victories in the Don Barrett Air Force Open Track Meet Feb. 21 at Colorado Springs. Spc. Milton Mallard won the 200 meters in 20.87 seconds and the 60 meters in 6.76 seconds. Spc. Lakeisha Backus won the women?s 60 meters in 7.28 seconds. Spc. Mike Miller took the 800 meters in 1:54.10, and Spc. Greg Roberts claimed the high jump at 7 feet. Backus also finished second in the 60-meter dash in the Leonard Milton Memorial Track Meet Jan. 23 at Houston and third with a personal-best time of 7.18 seconds in the USA Indoor Track and Field Championships. Miller won the 1,500 meters in the Oregon Preview track and field meet March 20 at Eugene, Ore., with a time of 3:41.96, qualifying him for the U.S. Track & Field Olympic Team Trials July 9-18 at Sacramento, Calif. Sgt. Sandu Rebenciuc won the 2004 Armed Forces Cross Country Championships 4-kilometer race in 11:28:08 at Indianapolis, where Capt. Ryan Kirkpatrick finished second in 11:48.18 on a thick blanket of snow. The next day, Kirkpatrick won the 12-K Armed Forces race in 36:17. Spc. Christopher England finished seventh in 39:42 and Spc. Joshua Butts was 10th in 40:26. Spc. Sara Day led Army women by finishing fourth in the Armed Forces 8-K race in 31:32. First Lt. Emily Brozozowksi was fifth in 31:33, and Maj. Jacqueline Chen finished 10th in 33:12. Air Force won the team competition, followed by Army, Marine Corps and Navy. The Armed Forces Championships were contested Feb. 7-8 in conjunction with the USA Cross Country Championships and World Cross Country Team Trials, which Rebenciuc finished seventh. He earned an alternate spot on Team USA for the International Association of Athletics Federations World Cross Country Championships at Brussels, Belgium. Rebenciuc was the third American finisher in the 4,000-meter race at Brussels, where he placed 46th in the world with a 12:23 clocking. Capt. Anita Allen, the first Soldier to qualify for the Athens Games, 1st Lt. Chad Senior, Sgt. Scott Christie, Spc. Mickey Kelly and 1st Lt. Niul Manske recently competed in Modern Pentathlon World Cup stops at Queretaro, Mexico, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. At Mexico, Senior finished 10th, Allen 20th and Christie 26th. At Rio de Janeiro, Senior was fourth, Kelly 17th, Christie 21st, and Allen 22nd. Allen was also named Female Athlete of the Year by the U.S. Modern Pentathlon Association. Spc. Jeremy Teela and Spc. Jill Krause, both members of the Vermont National Guard, were selected as Athletes of the Year by the U.S. Biathlon Association. Teela posted the top U.S. finish of 31st in the 15-K cross country race in the 2004 CISM World Military Ski Championships March 18 at Ostersund, Sweden. In snowboarding, Pfc. Ryan McDonald finished second in parallel giant slalom at the U.S. Alpine Finals March 20-21 at Breckenridge, Colo. Spc. Steve Holcomb, with a civilian crew aboard, piloted USA 2 to a silver medal Jan. 18 in the four-man Europa Cup bobsled race at St. Moritz, Switzerland. (Editor?s note: Tim Hipps writes for the Army Community and Family Support Center Public Affairs Office.) link: http://www4.army.mil/ocpa/read.php?story_id_key=5793 --------------------------- Otis Willie Associate Librarian The American War Library http://www.americanwarlibrary.com

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