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Vol. 32, No. 1 January 9, 2015

Find the U.S. Army Garrison Fort Detrick:www.facebook.com/DetrickUSAGwww.twitter.com/DetrickUSAGwww.flickr.com/DetrickUSAG

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Find the U.S. Army Medical Researchand Materiel Command

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Social Media What’s Inside

Fort Detrick in History:Black Maria, p. 3

USAARL Works to Make MedevacMissions Safer, p. 5

Ebola Workshop: Collaborations toDevelop, Test Vaccines, p. 6

RAMIN A. KHALILIUSAMRMC COMBAT CASUALTY CARE

RESEARCH PROGRAM KNOWLEDGE MANAGER

Best-selling author and retired Armycombat veteran Lt. Col. John Nagl visitedFort Detrick Jan. 7 to learn more about thecommand’s role in medical research, devel-opment and acquisition, and medical logis-tics management.

A veteran of Operation Desert Storm andOperation Iraqi Freedom, Nagl is a recog-nized counterinsurgency tactics expert whohas shaped currentmilitary doctrine inmod-ern guerilla warfare. During his visit to FortDetrick, Nagl hosted a one-hour talk at thepost’s Community Activities Center aboutthe lessons and strategies of modern war.

“Conventional Army struggles when theyfight insurgency because they don’t thinkthat is what they are supposed to be doing,”said Nagl. “Armies need to be able to learnand adapt to counterinsurgencies quickly.”

Nagl talked about his experiences in theMiddle East and how the military has toremain flexible for future missions. Sincehis retirement in 2008, Nagl has become anoted author of the book, “Learning to EatSoup with a Knife: Counterinsurgency Les-sons from Malaya and Vietnam.”

“It was an insightful presentation by anexpert who infuses practical knowledgewith strategic vision,” said Maj. Matt Ad-ams, who attended the event.

Nagl currently serves on the Board ofAdvisors at the Center for a New AmericanSecurity, which is a national defense policygroup, and is a member of the Defense Pol-icy Board.

Noted Author, Combat Vet VisitsFort Detrick to Talk ‘Lessons of War’

Logistics Management Specialist JamesCromartie discusses product develop-ment and fielding requirements at theU.S. Army Medical Research and Mate-riel Command with author and retiredArmy combat veteran Lt. Col. John Naglduring his visit to the command Jan. 7.Photo by Ellen Crown, USAMRMC Public Affairs

Author and retired Army combat veteran Lt. Col. John Nagl spoke to Soldiers andcivilians at Fort Detrick Jan. 7 about his experiences in counterinsurgency andhow these lessons apply to modern war.

Photo by Ellen Crown, USAMRMC Public Affairs

LANESSA HILLUSAG PUBLIC AFFAIRS

A green ribbon with two white stripesand a white embroidered inscription “Safe-ty Excellence” is authorized to indicate ac-cident prevention measures and success.Recently, Fort Detrick met the regulatoryrequirements for obtaining the award; be-ing named a 2014 safety winner by the De-partment of the Army.

“The U.S. Army Garrison has not had aClass A or B incident in more than 20 years,let alone the required 12-month period foreligibility, and has completed the initial andmid-tour Army Readiness Assessment Pro-gram within the last 26 months,” said RustyFohrer, acting chief of the Installation Safe-

ty Office.During the period of this award, Risk

Management training was completed by100% of personnel assigned to the U.S.Army Garrison and is continually moni-tored to ensure new personnel complete thetraining in a timely manner.

The U.S. Army Garrison continuallystrives to improve its safety program and todevelop processes that exemplify a commit-ment to safety excellence.

The streamer may be displayed by theorganization for one year, at the expirationof which the unit must re-qualify.

Fort Detrick Wins Safety Excellence StreamerSAFETY EXCELLENCE

2 Fort Detrick StandardJanuary 9, 2015 Sustaining a community of excellence through restoration, environmental stewardship and workforce development

Command StaffMaj. Gen. Brian C. Lein

Commanding General, U.S. Army Medical

Research and Materiel Command

and Fort Detrick

Col. Steven P. MiddlecampU.S. Army Garrison Commander

Editorial StaffPAO Staff

The STANDARD is an authorized unofficial newspaper,published every two weeks under the provisions of AR360-1 for the military and civilians at Fort Detrick. Circula-tion is 7,000. The STANDARD is a commercial enterprisenewspaper printed by Comprint Military Publications, 9030Comprint Court, Gaithersburg, Md., 20877, a private firm,in no way connected with the United States Government orDepartment of Defense. The contents of the STANDARD donot necessarily reflect the official views or endorsement ofthe U.S. Government, the Department of Defense or the U.S.Army. The appearance of advertising in this publication, in-cluding inserts and supplements, do not constitute endorse-

ment of DoD. Everything advertised in this publication shallbe made available for purchase, use or patronage withoutregard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age,marital status, physical handicap, political affiliation, or anyother nonmerit characteristic of the purchaser, user or patron.Editorial content is prepared and edited by the Fort DetrickPublic Affairs Office, 810 Schreider Street, Fort Detrick, Md.21702-5000. Editorial Offices are in Bldg. 810, Suite 004,telephone 301-619-2018; e-mail: [email protected].

Display ad salesFrederick County 301-921-2800Montgomery County 301-921-2800Classified ads 1-888-670-7100

ext+. 2684Circulation 301-670-2591Editorial 301-619-3319Printed on recycled paperRecycle when finished

Visit our Web site at: www.detrick.army.mil

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After Duty NumbersImportant After Duty Hour Numbers

The U.S. Army Garrison Religious Sup-port Team invites the Fort Detrick com-munity to the 2015 January Prayer Break-fast on Tuesday, Jan. 20 at the CommunityActivities Center from 7-8 a.m. The themeis “A New Year, A New Beginning!”The guest speaker will be Lt. Cmdr. (Ret.)

Michael Johnson, former officer in chargeof the world’s deepest diving submarine,the DSV-4 SEACLIFF, engineer and mis-sionary. Come and hear an inspirationalmessage.

JanuaryPrayer

Breakfast

In the Dec. 12 article Traveling Safely on Post after Dusk, we wrote that when running tobe sure to wear bright-colored clothing and/or florescent or reflecting personal protectiveequipment when visibility is low and that the use of headphones is prohibited on DoD instal-lation roads and streets with the exception of trails and at the Nallin Pond recreation area.In accordance with Fort Detrick Regulation 190-5 the use of headphones is prohibited whenrunning or jogging anywhere on the installation. In addition, in discussing the need for pe-destrians to maintain eye contact with drivers prior to crossing the road, the article quotedRusty Fohner, an occupational safety and health specialist with the Fort Detrick Safety Office,as saying “Nearly every day we see someone get hit.” This was a misprint and the quote shouldhave read, “Every day we see someone nearly get hit.” We apologize for the error.

Editor’s Note:

3Fort Detrick StandardJanuary 9, 2015Sustaining a community of excellence through restoration, environmental stewardship and workforce development

U.S. ARMY MEDICAL MATERIELDEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY

PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The U.S. ArmyMedical MaterielDevelopment Activity announcedthe award of the Full Rate Produc-tion contract for Adenovirus Type4 and Type 7 vaccines, live, oral bythe Defense Logistics Agency toBarr Laboratories, Inc., a subsid-iary of Teva Pharmaceutical Indus-tries Ltd. The contract will provide

vaccines to all military basic train-ing facilities until December 2019.

The Adenovirus vaccine hasbeen protecting military traineesfrom infections by Adenovirusserotypes 4 and 7 since October2011, when the military servicesresumed its use after a 12-year gap.

Surveillance data provided bythe Naval Health Research Centershows the Adenovirus vaccine is99 percent effective at preventing

disease associated with Adenovi-rus type 4. Since October 2011, thevaccine has prevented 50,000 casesof Febrile Respiratory Illness (feverplus respiratory symptoms), savingroughly 150,000 training days thatwould have been lost to illness.

According to Dr. Clifford Sny-der, Adenovirus vaccine productmanager for the PharmaceuticalSystems Project Management Of-fice at the USAMMDA, there were

at least four Adenovirus type 4-as-sociated deaths between 1999 and2010, when the vaccine was notavailable.

“Resumption of Adenovirusvaccine use has undoubtedlysaved lives as well as helped keeprecruits healthy in training,” saidSnyder. “Award of the DLA con-tract will ensure that this criticalvaccine is available for all servicesfor the foreseeable future.”

Contributors to the Adenovi-

rus vaccine distribution and ad-ministration effort include theUSAMMDA, the U.S. Army Medi-cal Materiel Agency, the Immuni-zation Healthcare Branch of theDefense Health Agency, the As-sistant Secretary of Defense forHealth Affairs, the Department ofHealth and Human Services andthe Army, Navy, Air Force, MarineCorps and Coast Guard basic train-ing site personnel.

Defense Logistics Agency Awards Adenovirus Vaccine Supply Contract

MARSHA DUNCANNICBR EDUCATION OUTREACH

SUBCOMMITTEE

Biomedical researchers repre-senting several government andDOD laboratories at Fort Detrickparticipated in the National Inter-agencyConfederation for BiologicalResearch’s second annual Explor-ing Careers in a Scientific Environ-ment Symposium, also known asNECSES, with over 100 studentsfrom local high schools and col-leges attending onNov. 6. Studentswere given the opportunity to learnabout different career paths in thescience, technology, engineeringand math fields, as well as having

the opportunity to tour several dif-ferent laboratories at Fort Detrickand theNational Cancer Institute atFrederick. The event, hosted by theNational Interagency Confedera-tion for Biological Research, focus-es on promoting higher educationprograms in support of scientific re-search and workforce developmentand on building productive andlasting relationships between re-gional businesses and high schoolsand academic institutions.

Because of the ongoing successof the student NECSES, leadershipfrom the Frederick County PublicSchool system expressed an inter-est in holding a similar event forFCPS teachers and educators. The

first teacher NECSES, held in 2014,was well received and attended by75 FCPS teachers and staff. TheNICBR is preparing to host thesecond annual teacher NECSESnext month, Feb. 13.

The teacher NECSES will beheld at the National Cancer Insti-tute’s Advanced Technology Re-search Facility located at RiversideResearch Park from 12:30 p.m. -3:00 p.m. There will be presenta-tions from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture, the U.S. ArmyMedicalResearch Institute of InfectiousDiseases, the National Cancer In-stitute at Frederick and the Navy.Following the presentations therewill be a question and answer ses-

sion with representatives from allof the NICBR agencies.

Information presented duringthis event is designed to help edu-cators broaden student awarenessof the need for STEM-educatedprofessionals, STEM-disciplineddegree programs and to assistthem with stimulating their stu-dents’ interest in becoming scien-tists, engineers or technologists.In the classroom, educators canhighlight real-world connectionsand career possibilities in theircurricula, a strong component ofSTEM education.

Networking opportunities be-tween the researchers and teach-

ers help strengthen relationships,leading to more guest speakers inthe classroom and increased op-portunities for internships.

“Any time teachers have theopportunity to get away from thebooks and into professional labo-ratories it strengthens their cur-riculum and makes the conceptsthey are teaching more applicableto the students,” said Lauren Bee-son, the U.S. Army Medical Re-search and Materiel Command’sSTEM coordinator.

For more information regard-ing NICBR news and events, pleasevisit www.nicbr.mil.

Researchers Reach Out to Local Studentsand Educators to Promote Careers in Science

NICK MINECCIUSAG PUBLIC AFFAIRS

The Black Maria was the firstlaboratory facility built to accom-modate top secret research onFort Detrick. Construction be-gan on the two-story temporarytar paper-covered shack dubbed“Black Maria” at what was thenCamp Detrick in May 1943. Sci-entists completed interior equip-ment installation and the boilerwas operated by Alex Bryant, thena Soldier.

Camp Detrick continued toexpand, and would include morethan 245 structures, including ahospital, firehouse, theater and

library. By August 1945, the baseheld nearly 250 Army officers and1,457 enlisted Army personnel, 87naval officers and 475 enlisted na-val personnel, and nine civilians.

The heart of CampDetrickwas a50,605-square-foot hangar housingtwo plants that made anthrax andbotulinum toxins for the scientiststo study, with the larger plant hold-ing a 10,000-gallon fermenter andtwo 3,700-gallon fermenters.

Personnel assigned to work atCamp Detrick attempted to devel-opmunitions that could spread bi-ological agents, but met only lim-ited success and themilitary endedup using bombs that the Britishhad developed in their testing.

Fort Detrick in History:Black Maria

U.S. Army photo


LISA MORRISUSAMRMC PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Applications for the 2015 Gains in the Education ofMathematics and Science program near-peer mentor andresource teacher opportunities with the U.S. Army MedicalResearch and Materiel Command have opened for the 10thyear at Fort Detrick.

The GEMS program began in the early 1990s with Dr.Marti Jett and Dr. Debra Yourick at the Walter Reed ArmyInstitute of Research, where they decided young studentsneededmore hands-on involvement in the lab if they want-ed to maximize their potential in science, technology, engi-neering and mathematics fields.

Today, the GEMS programmaintains program locationsthroughout the country, fromMaryland to NewMexico, in-cluding all seven of the USAMRMC labs in the U.S.

As a summer STEM enrichment program, the GEMS pro-gram creates opportunities for middle and high school stu-dents as well as college students and teachers.

Although students commit six weeks of their summers,the GEMS program requires nine weeks from its near-peermentors. Mentors receive training the first and fifth weekswith three weeks dedicated to leading lab activities aftereach training week, and a ninth week of conclusions.

“Dr. Jett and Dr. Yourick coined this whole near-peermentor concept - college students teaching individuals whoare close in age to them - which is really the cornerstoneof the GEMS program and sets it apart from the rest of theSTEM programs around the country,” said Lauren Beeson,educational consultant and program coordinator for FortDetrick’s GEMS program.

A mentor must be an undergraduate student majoringin a STEM or education field. Mentors’ primary responsi-bilities include supervising participating students, beingavailable as resources for students seeking academic andcareer guidance and providing activity instruction, as wellas setting up and cleaning up each activity.

The GEMS program leaders, such as Beeson, stress thementorship aspect, encouraging mentors to have lunchwith the students to provide additional opportunities fordiscussion.

“I think students need so much to be successful. I thinkthey need mentors they can look to and see someone whohas done something they want to do, and this program kindof provides that for them,” said Beeson. “College students

are the ones helping themwith the experiments, and there’sless of an age gap. With that smaller age gap come comfortand a lot more open communication.”

In an effort to keep the boredom out of the lab when in-troducing an activity or experiment, mentors cannot exceedfive PowerPoint slides and 10 minutes.

“GEMS is all about hands-on learning. We won’t standup there and lecture; it’s about getting your hands dirty be-cause we want to keep that excitement up,” said Beeson.

Through this paid internship, mentors work 40-hourweeks, Monday through Friday. In addition to offering thissummer program as a paid internship, the GEMS programalso offers networking and educational opportunities forthe mentors.

“A lot of our near-peers say the program helps themwithsoft skills like public speaking, how to make a presentationand networking with scientists and engineers,” said Beeson.“I’m always encouraging them to make business cards andgive them out.”

During the ninth week of conclusions, the mentorspresent pieces of curricula they’ve written throughout thecourse of the program, giving them an opportunity to becreative and distribute resources for teachers to use duringthe regular school year.

The GEMS program applications mock college applica-tions in their requirements of an unofficial transcript, let-ters of recommendation and essay answers. Out of 60 stu-dents who applied to be a near-peer mentor last year, FortDetrick’s GEMS program only accepted 13.

Resource teachers also have critical roles to ensure thesuccess of the program. They supervise the near-peer men-tors and manage the classrooms at a semi-removed level,floating among the different classes and allowing the men-tors to take most of the lead.

They also work with the mentors to develop their cur-ricula and guide them through several drafts.

Applicants must be current certified teachers; however,they do not need to be STEM teachers.

The supervisory role resource teachers take gives themthe experience they would need if they want to become anassistant principal.

“A lot of them have expressed the program is refreshingfor them and rebuilds their faith in education. Teaching canbe difficult and GEMS is all of the best things about teach-ing - no grading and they get to work with individuals whoare excited about what they’re doing. It’s fun for them too,”said Beeson.

Unlike the near-peer mentors, resource teachers have acouple of choices for the duration of their participation inthe program. They can either commit to four weeks or thefull eight weeks.

Fort Detrick’s GEMS program usually receives approxi-mately 15 applications for resource teachers, and they onlyaccept a couple.

Jett and Yourick designed the program a few decades agoaround the near-peer mentor concept, hoping they couldprovide a stimulating experience and a unique chance forstudents to dream big.

“We encourage our near-peer mentors to talk to thestudents about what the dream-world college experienceis like, making them aware at a very young age as to whatthey’re going to have to do in order to have this incredibleopportunity,” said Jett. “We have them bring in pictures oftheir college rooms, something an eighth grader doesn’tthink about. Suddenly, an incredible utopia is presented tothem and it provides a little incentive.”

Applications for the near-peer mentor and resourceteacher opportunities close Feb. 6.

GEMS Program Provides Gains for Everyone

Students participating in Fort Detrick’s GEMS pro-gram explore pill bug habitat preference.

Photo by Katie Lynch, GEMS 2014 Near-Peer Mentor

NATIONAL MUSEUMOF HEALTH AND MEDICINE

The National Museum of Health andMedicine continuesits pledge of working to develop tomorrow’s future innova-tors as it hosts its first “GEMS@NMHM” program for middleschool students the summer of 2015.

GEMS, which stands for Gains in the Education of Math-ematics and Science, was introduced in 2006 by the U.S.Army Medical Research and Materiel Command and isoffered at various Army Laboratory locations throughoutthe country. The program is an extracurricular Science,Technology, Engineering and Math education programthat enables youth to experience science in a hands-on, in-quiry-based setting during the summer. Students who areselected and successfully complete the program qualify foran educational stipend ($100 per week).

The “GEMS@NMHM” program will introduce studentsto the lines of scientific evidence critical to the militaryidentification of human remains. Students will also havethe opportunity to participate in a mock case study wherethey will use different scientific methods and forensic tech-niques to identify the remains of an unidentified AmericanService Member.

The program aims at nurturing interest and excitementin STEM and to educate participants about careers in theSTEM fields with a particular focus on STEM careers in theArmy and Department of Defense.

The “GEMS@NMHM” program utilizes near-peer men-tors (college students in STEM fields) and resource teachers(licensed K-12 teachers) to provide instruction andmentor-ship to program participants. Students will examine skeletalremains from the NMHM teaching collection and interactwith professionals involved in the process of human iden-tification. Additional lab activities will also include creatinga biological profile of an individual, recoveringmaterial evi-dence during an archaeology exercise and extracting DNAfrom a strawberry.

“We are excited to bring the NMHM’s unique collec-tions and STEM knowledge to the GEMS program. I thinkthe student interns will gain new insights into STEM fieldsand careers through our program,” said Gwen Nelmes, tourprogram manager at the NMHM.

Andrea Schierkolk, public programs manager at theNMHM, commented that she is proud to support Army ef-forts to “build the bench” with a competent and ready fu-ture work force.

“GEMS@NMHM” will be offered during the followingweeks:

• July 6-10, 2015: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.• July 13-17, 2015: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.• July 20-24, 2015: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.• July 27-31, 2015: 8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.To submit an application to participate as a resource teach-

er, near-peer mentor or student intern, call (301) 319-3312.

GEMS@NMHM Summer Science Program Set for 2015

Gathered around a set of model skeletal remains,Gwen Nelmes, National Museum of Health and Medi-cine tour program coordinator, answers a student’squestion during a Forensic Fridays workshop held atthe museum.Photo courtesy of the National Museum of Health and Medicine


JENNI BENSONUSAG PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Another successful year of OperationHappy Holiday took place Dec. 17.

Each year Fort Detrick coordinates Op-eration Happy Holiday to assist families E5and below, civilians GS 1-4 and NAF em-ployees who could use a little extra help dur-ing the holiday season. This year, 122 fami-lies were supported through the generosityof on- and off-post sponsors.

“I’m a single dad with three kids and thedollar can only stretch so far. This programhelps with the financial strain Christmascan put on a family,” said Sgt. Todd Ridley.“It’s a nice program here at Fort Detrick; it’smore personal than other base programsand I like that.”

For more information on this and otherprograms offered by the Army CommunityServices division at Fort Detrick, contact(301) 619-3455 or e-mail: [email protected].

Operation Happy Holiday

Another successful year of OperationHappy Holiday at Fort Detrick takesplace Dec. 17.Photo by Jenni Benson, USAG Public Affairs

First Snowfall of 2015

Fort Detrick and Frederick County experienced its first snowfall of the seasonTuesday, Jan. 6. An early morning band of weather brought roughly three inch-es of powder to the area and continued through the early afternoon.

Photo by Chelsea Bauckman, USAMRMC Public Affairs

CATHERINE DAVISUSAARL PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Medical evacuation operations are verycomplex and dangerous for evacuationhelicopters, crewmembers and patients.Medevac missions consist of retrieving thewounded from a dangerous environmentand transporting them tomedical triage or amedical treatment facility. In the event thata helicopter cannot land, medevac crew-members are trained to send down a medic,who evaluates and secures the patient anduses a rescue hoist device to lift the medicand patient into the aircraft.

One complication of medevac hoistoperations is the uncontrolled spinning ofthe stretcher at the end of the hoist cable.This spinning can cause harm to the medicand patient.

Scientists and engineers of the U.S. ArmyMedical Research and Materiel Command’sU.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laborato-ry Enroute Care and Airworthiness Divisionand Flight Systems Branch at Fort Rucker,Alabama, recently tested an anti-rotationaldevice that when used on a hoist cable isintended to reduce the spinning of a loadwhen lifted from the ground to the helicop-ter. The purpose of the test was to observehow the device interacted with the rescuebasket and hoist system during helicoptertransport over open terrain, an urban en-vironment and a ravine. The USAARL alsotested the tagline hoist that is currently usedin many hoist missions and compared theperformance of the tagline hoist to the per-formance of the anti-rotational device.

The USAARL conducted the mock rescue

hoist missions using an HH-60M Medevachelicopter, an Army medic trained in hoistoperations, a rescue basket and an anthro-pomorphic test device or crash test dummythat was wearing a standard rucksack. Eachhoist configuration was tested at 40 feetover open terrain, at 80 feet over an urbanterrain and at 100 feet over a ravine. Dur-ing each test scenario, the ECAD assessedthe safety, usability and effectiveness of theanti-rotational device in comparison to thetagline hoist.

“The USAARL develops, tests and evalu-ates performance solutions within the mili-tary environment,” said David Jones, a US-AARL test manager assigned to the ECAD.“Testing equipment is one of the ways wecontribute to preserving the health, safetyand performance of the Warfighter.”

After data collection is completed, analy-ses will be conducted to verify whether theanti-rotational device allows for a safer andmore efficient hoist mission than standardhoist techniques. Results may be used todetermine if the tagline currently used forhoist operations should be replaced withthe anti-rotational device.

The USAARL provides knowledge andexpertise to plan and conduct studies to im-prove patient outcomes by addressing patientmovement equipment and patient care capa-bility gaps related to ground or rotary-wingtransport. Specifically, the studies includeresearch, development, tests and evaluationsto support the selection of medical devicesused in air and ground ambulances, as wellas to improve knowledge and treatment of in-jury and disease under the unique physical,mechanical and physiological stresses of thepatient movement environment.

USAARL Works to MakeMedevac Missions Safer

A U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory medic participates in a mock rescuemission to test an anti-rotational device that could reduce or eliminate the spinningof a load when lifted by a hovering helicopter. The USAARL is a subordinate com-mand of the U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command.

Photo by Scott Childress

SHANNON BISHOPUSAG PUBLIC AFFAIRS

For25years, theFisherHousehasbeenpro-vidingmilitary familieswitha safe, comfortableplace to stay during a family member’s hospi-talization for an illness, disease or injury.

According to the official Fisher Housewebsite, the foundation has served morethan 220,000 families and provided over 5.2million days of lodging, saving familiesmorethan $200million in lodging and transporta-tion costs during a medical emergency.

Maurice Borde, Fisher House managerat Forest Glen, says the foundation providesmilitary families a “home away from home.”

“WehaveroomforsevenfamilieshereatFor-estGlen,”saidBorde.“It’sabout14to16people.”

Many times military families are facedwith needing medical treatment in a center

that isn’t local to their homes. The FisherHouse allows families of patients to stay ina home, complete with living spaces, a fullkitchen and a furnished bedroom, whiletheir loved ones are being cared for at amajor military and Veterans Affairs medicalcenter.

“We want the Fisher House to feel asmuch like home as possible,” said Borde.“Families that come here are usually tiredand need a comfortable place to stay andhave a meal in between hospital visits withtheir loved ones.”

The Fisher House relies on donationsand volunteers to serve military families.Thanks to the support of the local commu-nity and donors, military families do not payto stay at the Fisher House.

The Forest Glen Fisher House has around120 volunteers throughout the year to help

with landscaping,maintenance, holiday dec-orations and other tasks, according to Borde.

“The Combined Federal Campaign is ahuge part of our funding,” said Borde. “Wereally appreciate the support we get throughthe CFC and our local community each year.This past year we also received a very gener-ous donation from a local furniture store al-lowing us to refurnish one of our suites withbrand new furniture.”

There are 64 Fisher Houses located on24 military installations and 24 VA medicalcenters. Each home can accommodate be-tween 16 and 42 family members.

For more information about the FisherHouse Foundation, including informationabout how to get involved, visit www.fish-erhouse.org.

Local Resource Provides Support to Military Families

For 25 years the Fisher House Founda-tion has been providing military fami-lies a comfortable place to stay whiletheir family members received treat-ment at a nearby major medical centeror Veterans Affairs hospital.Photo courtesy of the Fisher House Foundation


ELLEN CROWNUSAMRMC PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Experts from the Departmentof Defense and Health and Hu-man Services jointly sponsored anEbola vaccine workshop Dec. 12 inRockville, Maryland.

The goal of the workshop,“Immunology of Protection fromEbola Virus Infection,” was forparticipants to discuss aspects ofEbola virus and vaccine immunol-ogy critical to guide future clinical,scientific and regulatory decision-making for Ebola vaccine develop-ment. HHS attendees representedthe Food and Drug Administra-tion, the National Institutes of Al-lergy and Infectious Diseases andthe Centers for Disease Controland Prevention.

Col. Stephen Thomas, deputycommander of operations at theWalter Reed Army Institute of Re-search and team lead of the EbolaResponse Management Team forthe U.S. Army Medical Researchand Materiel Command, said theevent brought together all of thekey players in the current Ebola vi-rus disease response effort.

“We are in the midst of anEbola virus outbreak with globalsignificance and national secu-rity relevance,” said Thomas. “Theoutbreak provides an opportunityto assess the potential for effec-tive preventive vaccine and drugtherapies to efficiently proceed tolicensure and deployment in animpactful way for global health.”

Added Thomas, putting the cur-rent Ebola relief effort into con-text, “This pace of rapid vaccinedevelopment and testing was notthought to be feasible based on pastoutbreaks, which were somewhatlimited in scope and duration.”

Thomas also added that whileexperts want to move quickly, theyalso agree that they must moveguided by safety considerationsand in true partnership with thegovernments and communitiesof the affected nations. Currently,there are no FDA-approved vac-cines for Ebola. The WRAIR, lo-cated in Silver Spring, Maryland,began testing an experimentalEbola vaccine, called rVSV-ZEBOV(BPSC1001), on healthy humanvolunteers in October 2014 and theNIH published promising initial

results of another candidate vac-cine in the New England Journal ofMedicine in late November 2014.The DoD and HHS are also evalu-ating other vaccine candidates.

“We aremoving from a data-lim-ited to data-rich period of time, notonly with regards to vaccines, butalso the virology and pathogenesisand treatment of Ebola,” explained

Col. Nelson Michael, director of theU.S.MilitaryHIVResearch Program,whose program performed the firstclinical study of an Ebola vaccinecandidate in Africa in 2009 and isabout to test two newer Ebola vac-cines there in early 2015. “This iscritically important informationto inform the way ahead for Ebolavaccine development. Government

agencies, the World Health Organi-zation, pharmaceutical companies,academia, philanthropic organiza-tions, non-governmental organiza-tions and Nations are engaged in anunprecedented collaborative effortto develop vaccines that will be crit-ical to the long-term control of thisthreat to global health and security.”

Ebola Workshop Highlights Collaborations to Develop, Test Vaccines

Image of Ebola virus. Courtesy image

COL. JOANNA REAGANREGISTERED DIETITIAN, U.S. ARMY

PUBLIC HEALTH COMMAND

Soon the snowflakes will be fly-ing, but don’t use this as reason toslow down on your winter healthplan. Winter is a great time to joina gym, try a new class or get into anew winter sport. Winter is also atime to prevent dehydration. It isimportant for warrior athletes toremember their sweat rate doesnot change just because the tem-perature drops. This is becausesweat rate is determined by nu-merous factors, including fitnesslevel, pace and acclimatization--not just ambient temperature.Warrior athletes are just as likelyto become dehydrated during win-ter workouts as summer workouts.

The message to drink water iseasy in the summer, but not somuch in the winter. Dehydrationcan come because warrior ath-letes feel less thirsty during win-ter workouts. Second, some mayoverdress for cold-weather exer-cise sessions by wearing too manylayers of clothes. Third, athletesmay convert to indoor workoutsduring the winter, and sweat morewhile inside.

Warrior athletes can check fordehydration by checking the colorof their urine. If the urine looks likelemonade, this indicates properhydration. If it is darker and lookslike apple juice or pale ale, thenmore fluids are needed. In con-trast, if the urine looks clear, thiscan indicate over hydration anddrinking too much. Other symp-

toms of dehydration may include:drowsiness, headaches, dry skin,dizziness or nausea. Remember,don’t rely on thirst as an indicatorof hydration status. Usually an in-dividual is already 3 percent dehy-drated when they become thirsty.

So what are the recommenda-tions for healthy drinks? Water isthe best choice: It’s calorie-free,inexpensive and it’s easy to find. Itis the perfect choice to re-hydrateathletes and restore fluids lostduring a workout. As a basic guide,an adequate intake of total waterfrom fluids and foods is 12 cups aday for men ages 19-30 years oldand nine cups a day for women ofthe same age based on the DietaryReference Intake. For most peo-ple, about 80 percent of this watervolume comes from beverages; therest comes from food.

Sports beverages are designedto give athletes carbohydrates,electrolytes, and fluid during high-intensity workouts greater thanone hour. For other folks, they’rejust another source of sugar andcalories. If your workout consistsof moderate to heavy intensity for45-60 minutes, then a sports drinkwould be recommended. Exam-ples would be activities where youhave minimal conversation, an in-creased sweat rate, heavy breath-ing and a high heart rate.

Try to avoid drinks that haveadded sugars for flavor such assugar-sweetened soda, sweet teaor energy drinks. One bottle ofregular 16-ounce soda has about185 calories; one 16-ounce bottleof sweet tea has 200 calories andone 16-ounce energy drink has

about 250 calories. Energy drinkshave as much sugar as soft drinks.They contain caffeine to raise yourblood pressure, and additiveswhose long-term health effectsare unknown. For these reasons,it’s best to skip energy drinks.Over time, the extra calories addto weight gain and increased riskof Type 2 diabetes, heart diseaseand gout.

For some people who are ac-customed to drinking flavoredbeverages, water can initially tastebland. One recommendation is toincrease water consumption with-out losing flavor or increase dailywater intake by trying infused wa-ter. Instead of purchasing expen-sive flavored waters in the grocerystore, infused water can be madeat home by adding sliced citrusfruits or zest (lemon, lime, or-ange, grapefruit), or crushed freshmint. One could also add slicedfresh ginger, sliced cucumber ormaybe crushed berries for someother ideas. Sparkling water witha splash of juice is another idea toincrease fluids.

Other drinks to try in the winterare sugar-free apple cider or sug-ar-free hot chocolate. Coffee andtea, without added sweeteners, arehealthy choices, too. Try carryinga water bottle throughout the day,to sip at work or at home. Also tryeating foods high in water contentsuch as oranges and grapefruit.

Winter is a great time to focuson your health. Remember, it isalso a time to drink more fluidsto stay hydrated and achieve yourperformance goals.

What Should I Drink During Winter Workouts?

Choose water instead of sugar-sweetened beverages. This tipcan also help with weight management. Substituting water forone 20-ounce sugar-sweetened soda will save you about 240calories. Courtesy photo


ELLEN CROWNUSAMRMC PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Time magazine named the “Ebola fighters” as their 2014‘Person of Year’ Dec. 10, highlighting among others Dr.Thomas Geisbert, a virologist formerly with the U.S. ArmyMedical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, who con-ducted some of the first trials of the drug TKM-Ebola.

In an interview for the magazine, Geisbert talked abouthis experiences during the 1990s and early 2000s at theUSAMRIID, which is a biosafety level 4 lab located on FortDetrick in Frederick, Maryland. At the time, as they studiedEbola virus and potential vaccine candidates, others werenot as interested. Geisbert described how excited he wasthat the USAMRIID’s scientific contributions led to drugsthat supported the current outbreak response.

“In this Ebola outbreak, we know at least four to five peo-ple got the TKM drug, and all have survived. But we don’twant to say the drug was the reason they survived. While wehope they helped in patients, we can’t say for sure becausethe patients got so many other things. There are so manyconfounding variables, so how can you say any one thingmade the difference? But it’s a great feeling knowing I wasinvolved in the development of something that hopefullysaved somebody. And if it saved one person, it matters,”said Geisbert in his Time magazine interview.

Although Geisbert has since moved on to the Universityof Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, other researchers atthe USAMRIID have continued the fight against Ebola. Infact, the efforts to develop diagnostic capabilities, in addi-tion to prevention and treatment countermeasures, haveincreased dramatically for the USAMRIID and the otherunits within the U.S. Army Medical Research and MaterielCommand.

For example, the Walter Reed Army Institute of Re-search, located in Silver Spring, Maryland, began testing anexperimental Ebola vaccine, called VSV-EBOV, on healthyhuman volunteers in October. They hope to have early re-sults by the end of the year.

Since April 2014, the USAMRIID and the National Insti-tute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases-Integrated ResearchFacility have provided personnel, training and diagnosticlaboratory support to the Liberian Institute for Biomedi-cal Research on a continuous rotational basis, accordingto Randal J. Schoepp, Ph.D., chief of USAMRIID’s AppliedDiagnostics branch. He and several others helped to set upan Ebola virus testing laboratory in Liberia and trained localpersonnel to run diagnostic tests on suspected Ebola hem-orrhagic fever clinical samples.

Schoepp said the USAMRIID has been working on a col-laborative project in West Africa since 2006. Because theteam was working on disease identification and diagnosticsin the region, he added, “We had people on hand who werealready evaluating samples and volunteered to start testingright away when the current Ebola outbreak started.”

In addition to providing laboratory testing and trainingsupport for the current outbreak, the USAMRIID has collab-orated with the Medical Countermeasure Systems-CriticalReagents Program to provide more than 10,000 Ebola assaysto support laboratory capabilities in Liberia and Sierra Le-one. The institute also supplied personal protective equip-ment to Metabiota Inc., a non-government organizationinvolved in the testing.

The USAMRIID also developed the primary diagnos-tic test used by the Defense Department and Centers forDisease Control and Prevention for identification of Ebola-infected patients. Collaborative efforts by the USAMRIID,the U.S. Army Medical Materiel Development Activity andthe Joint Program Executive Office – Chemical and Biologi-cal Defense, Medical Countermeasure Systems resulted inthe EZ1 PCR Assay being implemented on a national scaleunder the Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency UseAuthorization. This test has been used in the diagnosis andmanagement of all Ebola patients in the U.S.

Additionally, as part of Operation United Assistance, theUSAMRIID has also been providing 2-person mobile teamsto train deploying personnel how to properly put on andtake off life-saving personal protective equipment. The mo-

bile teams have trained more than 4,000 military personnel.These forces are not expected to be in direct contact withEbola patients or suspected Ebola patients, according to theDefense Department, however, force protection and publichealth safety is key.

The USAMRMC has established an Ebola Response Man-agement Team that focuses on logistics support; laboratoryoperations; force health protection; training the force; andresearch and development, to ensure the intense mission iswell-coordinated world-wide.

In a video message, Time editor Nancy Gibbs acknowl-edged the “tireless” mission of the Ebola response effort.

“Ebola is a war, and a warning. The global health systemis nowhere close to strong enough to keep us safe from in-fectious disease, and ‘us’ means everyone, not just those infaraway places where this is one threat among many thatclaim lives every day,” said Gibbs. “The rest of the worldcan sleep at night because a group of men and women arewilling to stand and fight.”

Former Army Ebola Researcher Nameda TimeMagazine 2014 ‘Person of the Year’

Technicians set up an assay test for Ebola within theU.S. Army Medical Research Institute of InfectiousDiseases’ containment laboratory. Samples are han-dled in negative-pressure biological safety cabinet toprovide additional layer of protection.

Photo by Randal Schoepp, USAMRIID

The Walter Reed Army Institute of Research locatedin Silver Spring, Maryland, began testing an experi-mental Ebola vaccine, called VSV-EBOV, on healthyhuman volunteers in October. They hope to haveearly results by the end of 2014.

Courtesy image

Dr. Randal Schoepp, a researcher with the U.S. ArmyMedical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases,inspects packing cases filled with laboratory suppliesprior to departing for Liberia Sept. 25 to support Ebolavirus diagnostic efforts.

Photo by William Discher, USAMRIID

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