17dec97 - afns
AFNS
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Air Force News Service
This file contains 8 stories
AFNS electronic filename: 17dec97
971609. Cohen orders review of recommendations to improve training
971603. DOD to start immunizations against anthrax
971604. Anthrax vaccination program facts
971606. Defense, VA combine retirement-disability physicals
971605. Information technology computer training comes to Air Force
971607. ID cards to go total force green
971608. Paralegal course moves to CD-ROM
971602. Civil Air Patrol Hosts National Cadet Competitions
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971609. Cohen orders review of recommendations to improve training
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen has
instructed the military services to assess proposals to strengthen
entry-level and advanced training.
The recommendations, submitted by the Federal Advisory Committee on
Gender-Integrated Training and Related Issues, are designed to improve
the effectiveness of military training. Retired Sen. Nancy Kassebaum
Baker chaired the panel.
"It is clear from the report that the panel shares my determination to
make sure that military training is fair, demanding and effective," said
Cohen.
The panel's report strongly supports today's gender-integrated force.
In its six-month review, the panel assessed basic and advanced training
programs to ensure they are producing an effective, disciplined and
ready force. The panel emphasized the need to continue
gender-integrated training, but it found several areas in which training
for male and female recruits could be improved.
Cohen asked the military services to "review these recommendations and
report back to me within 90 days with their assessment, to include the
manpower and personnel implications and the costs that might be
associated with their implementation."
In an initial response, an Air Force spokesman said, "The secretary of
defense instructed the military services to review the recommendations
submitted by the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender-Integrated
Training and Related Issues. We will carefully examine and evaluate the
report and provide our assessment back to the secretary of defense
within 90 days.
"The Air Force has more than 20 years experience in successfully
training its Air Force members in a gender-integrated environment. We
welcome an opportunity to improve upon that training, ensuring its fair,
demanding and effective."
The panel studied the full training cycle, including recruiting, basic
training and advanced skills training. Its recommendations cover the
training cadre, housing of recruits, fitness programs and follow-on
advanced training.
Among the several recommendations made for recruiting, the panel
proposed better preparing recruits mentally and physically for basic
training. It also recommended ways to improve the training cadre. It
is recommended that physical training requirements be toughened and made
more uniform throughout the services.
The panel also suggested that emphasis on discipline be carried over
from basic training to advanced training. The panel recommended that
values training be incorporated into all initial entry training programs
and that training get more resources.
During visits to training installations, the panel concluded that men
and women should be housed in separate barracks and train separately at
the operational unit level -- the Army platoon, Navy division and Air
Force flight.
In the Marine Corps, men and women live, eat and train separately. In
the Army, Navy and Air Force, men and women live on separate floors or
bays of the same barracks and train together at all levels. The panel
believes that in integrated barracks a higher rate of disciplinary
problems reduces training effectiveness.
The panel also found that integration at the operational unit level is
not working effectively.
The panel recommended that gender-integrated training continue for field
training, technical training and academic classroom work. This would
happen at the Army company level or by pairing two Navy divisions or Air
Force flights.
This report is available on the Internet at http://www.defenselink.mil
in the "Top News" category.
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971603. DOD to start immunizations against anthrax
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- A systematic vaccination of all U.S. military
personnel against the biological warfare agent anthrax will start next
summer.
The Department of Defense announced the program Dec. 15, capping a
three-year study. Secretary of Defense William S. Cohen concluded the
vaccination is the safest way to protect highly mobile U.S. military
forces against a potential threat that is 99 percent lethal to
unprotected people.
Anthrax vaccine will initially be administered to about 100,000 military
people assigned or deployed to the high-threat areas of Southwest Asia
and Northeast Asia. Within the next several years it will be given to
all active-duty people and reservists.
"This is a force-protection issue," Cohen said. "To be effective,
medical force protection must be comprehensive, well documented and
consistent. I have instructed the military to put such a program in
place."
Vaccinations would start only after several conditions are met:
-- Supplemental testing, consistent with Food and Drug Administration
standards, to assure sterility, safety, potency and purity of the
vaccine.
-- Implementation of a system for fully tracking people who receive the
anthrax vaccinations.
-- Approval of appropriate operational plans to administer the
immunizations and communications plans to inform military people of the
overall program.
-- Review of health and medical issues of the program by an independent
expert.
"Our goal is to vaccinate everybody in the force so they will be ready
to deploy anywhere, anytime," explained Deputy Secretary of Defense John
Hamre, who will monitor implementation of the program. "This is an
important new dimension to overall force protection. The anthrax
vaccination will join other immunizations we already give everyone in
the military."
The anthrax vaccine is FDA-licensed and exhibits fewer side effects than
flu or typhoid vaccines. It has been widely used in the United States
since the early 1970s by livestock workers and veterinarians. The
military now immunizes people working in at-risk jobs, some 3,000
persons assigned to special operations units, the Army Technical Escort
Unit and the Marine Chemical-Biological Initial Response Force.
Anthrax is a disease that normally afflicts animals, especially cattle
and sheep. Anthrax spores can be produced in a dry form that can be
incorporated into weapons. When inhaled by humans, these particles
cause severe pneumonia and death within a week. At least 10 countries
have or are suspected of developing a biological warfare capability.
DOD will immediately begin consultations with Congress and other federal
government agencies and will brief military people. Vaccinations for
the first group of people who serve in or would deploy early to the
high-threat areas are planned to begin in mid-1998. Details of the
schedule for the total force vaccinations will be determined as the
program moves forward.
Defense officials have reviewed an implementation program with the Joint
Chiefs of Staff during the last year. The immunization program follows
the recommendation of Gen. Henry H. Shelton, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff.
The immunization program will consist of a series of six inoculations
per service member over an 18-month period, followed by an annual
booster. Although protection levels increase as shots in the series are
given, the entire six-shot series is required for full protection.
Consistent with the force health protection program announced Nov. 8 by
President Clinton, the anthrax vaccination plan will serve as a
prototype for long-term force protection. The secretary of the Army is
the executive agent for the effort, including procurement of the
vaccine, tracking and oversight of the vaccination program, and
coordinating with other service secretaries on the execution of the
program.
Because of the mobility of military people, Cohen said he must be
satisfied there is a medical management system in place to track
individuals through the series before the immunizations begin. The
secretary of the Army will serve as the focal point for the submission
of information from the services.
DOD addressed the threat of anthrax and other biological and chemical
weapons when it released the report, "Proliferation: Threat and
Response," in late November.
Even though the plan has been reviewed extensively in the Pentagon,
Cohen directed that it be independently assessed before implementation
by Dr. Gerald N. Burrow of Yale University, who serves as special
advisor to the Yale president for health affairs.
"We owe it to our people to move ahead with this immunization plan,"
Cohen said. "But we also want to make sure that our overall
immunization program is safe and effective."
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971604. Anthrax vaccination program facts
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- With the announcement of its anthrax vaccination
program, the Department of Defense released these facts about the
biological agent and the department's response to it.
-- Since the Gulf War, DOD has increased the level of attention given
to biological warfare defense and other force-protection measures. The
current world threat environment and the unpredictable nature of
terrorism make it prudent to include biological warfare defense as part
of DOD force-protection planning.
-- Anthrax is one such threat. It is an infectious disease that
normally afflicts animals. If placed into weapons, it would be 99
percent lethal to unprotected people who have been exposed. A safe and
effective vaccine is available that will protect U.S. forces.
-- Manufactured under contract by the Michigan Biologic Products
Institute, the anthrax vaccine has been licensed and in use since 1970.
It is a "formalen inactivated vaccine" that uses dead bacteria rather
than live bacteria. In this respect it is similar to diphtheria
vaccinations that American children receive before entering school.
There is no evidence from records at the MBPI that anthrax vaccine is
associated with any chronic or permanent local or systemic effects.
-- Immunization consists of three subcutaneous injections, 0.5ml each,
given two weeks apart followed by three more subcutaneous injections,
0.5ml each, given six, 12, and 18 months later. If immunity is to be
maintained, later booster injections of the vaccine at one-year
intervals following the initial series are necessary.
-- Inoculations of people in high-threat areas will begin as soon as
possible with general vaccination of the force to follow. The Michigan
Biologic Products Institute, under contract to the Department of the
Army, has produced and stockpiled the vaccine to support inoculation of
the force.
-- This decision has not been taken lightly. Applying any program,
procedures or process to the entire U.S. military force is a complicated
and expensive process that must be thoroughly planned and carefully
executed to achieve the desired results. The anthrax vaccine is already
used to protect some U.S. military and civilian employees, but the
decision to vaccinate the total force is much more difficult.
Protection against anthrax is particularly challenging because the
protocol requires multiple vaccinations to achieve immunity and thus
involves significant administrative and logistical issues.
When all associated costs such as transportation, storage and
administration are included, the cost to immunize an estimated 2.4
million people over six years is about $130 million.
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971606. Defense, VA combine retirement-disability physicals
Washington (AFNS) -- Separating or retiring service members expecting to
file a claim for VA disability compensation will undergo a single
physical exam prior to discharge under a new agreement between DOD and
Department of Veterans Affairs.
When fully implemented, the new national policy will meet VA
requirements for claims determinations and DOD needs for a separation
medical examination. The new policy will be phased in as soon as
possible while details are worked out at the local level, according to
DOD health officials.
Previous procedures required two separate examinations several months
apart. Military personnel had to get a DOD physical exam prior to
discharge from active duty. Because of differences between VA and DOD
protocols, they usually had to undergo a second exam by VA after filing
claims for disability compensation. The results of these examinations
are a determining factor in eligibility for VA health care.
"This change will help us avoid unnecessary or redundant physical exams,
improve the quality of the examination process and improve service for
separating personnel by eliminating lengthy delays in claims decisions
and health-care eligibility determinations," said Dr. Kenneth Kizer, VA
undersecretary for health. "We are hopeful the new policy also will
enhance ongoing efforts to reduce the time it takes to process
compensation claims, and further, it should reduce costs."
The Pentagon's top doctor also lauded the initiative. "By
re-engineering the system to require only one physical, we are making
life easier for our beneficiaries," said Dr. Edward Martin, acting
assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.
In pilot tests of the dual-purpose exam at VA and Army medical
facilities, claims processing time was reduced to less than one-third of
national levels under the existing system. The current national average
for processing an original compensation claim is 133 days. Under the
new policy, VA physicians generally will conduct the predischarge exams.
In areas where VA physicians are not available, DOD physicians will
conduct the exams according to VA protocols. (Courtesy of American
Forces Press Service)
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971605. Information technology computer training comes to Air Force
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- More than 500 computer-based training products now
in distribution will boost the proficiency of people using and
supporting Air Force communications and information networks.
The commercially developed information technology computer-based
training products are a key part of the Air Force's strategy to
operationalize and professionalize its networks.
All products are licensed for use by all members of the Air Force,
including Guard, Reserve and civilian employees, regardless of specialty
or assigned unit. The library covers technical areas such as UNIX,
Windows NT and Oracle as well as widely used end-user applications,
including Microsoft Office and Netscape.
Other areas include software programming and World Wide Web
administration training.
This initiative grew out of a need to provide on-the-job training to
3CXXX (communications-computer systems) people. After a thorough
analysis, Air Force Communications and Information Center officials
concluded that the Air Force would reap tremendous savings by expanding
the scope of the initiative and making these products available to the
Air Force at large.
According to Lt. Gen. William J. Donahue, AFCIC commander and Air Force
director of communications and information, "We need to start using
information technology to teach our people about information technology.
This is a prime example of how we're doing that."
AFCIC is sending at least one library, containing lessons on all 500
products, to every AF base, usually to the communications squadron.
People will use an internet browser such as Netscape or Microsoft
Internet Explorer to access the library and download compressed versions
of courses to their personal computer or a shared drive on their
local-area network.
Once downloaded, the products can be installed at any location the user
wants.
In the future, the Air Force will license all network users and certify
all network administrators and managers. According to Donahue, this
initiative offers an effective and efficient method to train and certify
many people at a fraction of the cost of sending them to in-residence
training.
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971607. ID cards to go total force green
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Identification cards for all active status service
members will share the common green color of the cards active duty
members carry now.
Defense Secretary William S. Cohen announced the change will be phased
in over two to five years, beginning as early as June 1998.
The modifications include changing the reserve active status forces
identification card [DD Form 2 (Reserve)] from red to green. Reserve
active status forces include members of the Selected Reserve, the
Individual Ready Reserve and the active Standby Reserve. Only the color
will change. Current service benefits, privileges and entitlements
remain the same, unless a change in status occurs.
The change responds to a pledge made by Cohen in a recent policy
memorandum calling on the civilian and military leadership of the
Defense Department to eliminate "all residual barriers -- structural and
cultural" to effective integration of the reserve and active components
into a "seamless total force."
Implementing instructions from the services must be coordinated and
published prior to issuing green ID cards to reserve component members.
The only ID card being affected is the DD Form 2 (Reserve). The color
of all other Uniformed Services Identification Cards will remain the
same.
Red identification cards (DD Form 2 -- reserve retired) will continue to
be issued to "gray-area retirees" -- members of the retired reserve who
have not reached age 60. Family members of reservists will also
continue to receive the red (DD Form 1173-1) ID card.
The cards will identify the member's reserve component service in the
upper right-hand corner. The seven components are Army National Guard,
Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard,
Air Force Reserve and Coast Guard Reserve.
Among the many considerations of DOD officials when authorizing the
change were medical benefits and commissary privileges -- two primary
areas in which active and reserve component personnel have different
entitlements. An ID card alone does not automatically authorize access
to medical benefits or commissary privileges; both will continue to
require additional documentation to allow members of the reserve
components to use them. (Courtesy of American Forces Press Service)
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971608. Paralegal course moves to CD-ROM
WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Blazing a trail for the rest of the force,
paralegal journeymen now have their career development course on CD-ROM.
Since July 28, the Extension Course Institute, Maxwell Air Force Base --
Gunter Annex, Ala., has made available the multimedia version of CDC
5J051M, the Paralegal Journeyman Course. It is the first CDC in Air
Force history to be offered in multimedia CD format.
Master Sgt. Jose Quilit, the CDC author, and Senior Master Sgt. Verscia
Eason, a Reserve (Category B) paralegal instructor, began work on the
project in November 1996 using a program known as Hyperwriter. The
Extension Course Institute, Education Technology Branch provided
technical assistance throughout the project.
The four-volume course covers department and law office management,
civil law, legal assistance and adverse actions. Specialized areas such
as contract law and environmental law issues; military justice issues
ranging from non-judicial punishment to post-trial matters are also
included. In addition, Air Force claims topics ranging from common
household goods damage to the more complex Federal Tort Claims Act
claims are discussed.
The CD course uses audio and video clips to help improve comprehension
and make learning more enjoyable. By design, the course is
self-contained when compared to the paper version.
For example, in the paper course, students complete unit review
exercises that a trainer or supervisor grades and explains incorrect
answers.
Students enrolled in the CD course also take the exercises. However,
rather than entering responses on paper, they simply click on their
respective choice. Each time they click on a choice, they receive
instant audio feedback on whether that choice is correct or incorrect.
Each question also gives students the rationale for the correct answer.
Other features include word and phrase search, book marking and note
taking.
Although the paper-based course has proven valuable, widespread use of
multimedia computers by Air Force members in their offices and at home
has let the Air Force explore computer-based training.
"Technology has opened windows of opportunity we cannot pass up," said
Chief Master Sgt. Karen Yates-Popwell, senior paralegal manager to the
Air Force judge advocate general.
There are seven other computer-based CDC projects being developed as the
Air Force learns to use computers to enhance day-to-day training goals.
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971602. Civil Air Patrol Hosts National Cadet Competitions
MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. (AFNS) -- Members of the U.S. Air Force
Honor Guard Drill Team will judge their young Civil Air Patrol
counterparts during CAP's 1997 National Cadet Competition.
More than 168 young men and women from across the United States will
come under the scrutiny of the Air Force's elite guard during
competitions here Dec. 28-29.
The winners of the National Cadet Competition will receive the U.S. Air
Force Chief of Staff Sweepstake trophy; National Color Guard Competition
winners will receive the Air Force Association President's trophy.
Civil Air Patrol, the official Air Force Auxiliary, is a nonprofit
organization. It performs more than 85 percent of inland search and
rescue missions in the continental United States. Volunteers also take
a leading role in aerospace education and serve as mentors to America's
youths through CAP cadet programs.
For more information about Civil Air Patrol programs, call
1-800-359-2338. (Courtesy of Civil Air Patrol Public Affairs)