erald Union H Vol. XXIII, No. 10
Wiesbaden: Our home in Germany
WHS preps for “Little Mermaid”
Feb. 18, 2016
New visitor’s pass coming to USAG Wiesbaden 3/1
U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden Public Affairs Beginning March 1, U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden will be rolling out a new procedure for bringing visitors onto the installation. The new Escorted Visitor Paper Pass will replace the traditional sign-in procedures at most of USAG Wiesbaden’s Access Control Points, according to the Directorate of Emergency Services. “It gives people the ability to sign in once and access multiple [locations] for up to three days,” said Lt. Col. Michael Zink, USAG Wiesbaden Director of Emergency Services. The new visitor pass is intended to provide the visitor with the convenience of having the guard scan their pass for installation access, but also adds security features by capturing the visitor’s photo and fingerprints. See ‘Pass’ on page 6
Health clinic promotes 12 Months of Prevention Photo by Yoori Sung
Abigail Disney rehearses for “The Little Mermaid,” at Wiesbaden High School Feb. 10. The WHS drama department will present the play Feb. 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 and March 3, 4 and 5 at 7 p.m., and Feb. 21 and 28 at 2 p.m. For more about the play, read the full story on Page 12.
USO celebrates 75 years serving U.S. military By Jim Garamone Defense Media Activity
(Editor’s note: this article features localized information on the USO in Wiesbaden, provided by local historian Dr. John Provan). Talk about the United Service Organizations and people think it is some holding company. But mention USO, and all Americans know it is a way for them to connect with service members. Retired Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the chairman of the USO Board of Governors and former Army chief of staff, estimated that the USO has served more than 35 million Americans over its history. The USO marked its 75th anniversary Feb. 5 at a gala in Washington, D.C. Medal of Honor recipients, USO volunteers, active duty personnel, Veterans, members of Congress, and stars of stage, screen and music gathered to mark a milestone for an organization founded as America geared up for World War II. Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, called the group a family that stretches around the
Inside Vet clinic to help pets find new home See the story on page 5.
world. J.D. Crouch, the organization’s chief executive officer, thanked the celebrities for joining in the celebration and for entertaining American service members around the world as ambassadors from the American people. “You light up our service members’ lives,” he said, “and you remind Americans of the debt of gratitude that we all owe to those who serve.” The USO came into being during a dark time in history. The United States was not at war, but the rest of the world seemed to be. Hitler’s troops stood on the English Channel and launched nightly air raids against London. In the Pacific, Japan eyed the colonial possessions of France and the Netherlands — two of the countries Germany had conquered in its 1940 blitzkrieg. In face of such threats, the United States instituted a military draft, calling hundreds of thousands of men to service , and Americans wanted to reach out to their young men. President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked charitable organizations to band together to provide See ‘USO’ on page 3
Pinewood Derby
Local Cub Scouts race wooden cars, page 10.
By Amy L. Bugala
U.S. Army Garrison Wiesbaden, Public Affairs
Is your motivation to keep those healthy New Year’s resolutions waning? The Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic’s Preventative Health Awareness campaign will keep you focused on good health — one month at a time. The campaign’s goal is to help community members tune in to their personal preventative health care needs, using the national health organization guidelines, targeted outreach, and community events that offer opportunities for routine health screenings or tests. “We’re focusing very much on preventative medicine,” said Lt. Col. Tracy Ostrom, chief nurse, Wiesbaden Army Health Clinic, adding there is evidence to support the old adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. “What can we do better, where are the gaps?” she said after evaluating the clinic’s care metrics. Metrics are a tool used by the WAHC to evaluate how well the clinic is managing the health of the whole community explained Ostrom. “It’s a scorecard for us.” To address the gaps, the Wiesbaden clinic began looking at ways to reach out to community members especially those who may be overdue for annual health screenings and tests such as; blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, cervical cancer, colorectal cancer and mammography screenings, immunizations and lab tests. Some of the clinic’s efforts include personal phone calls to patients enrolled at the clinic and creating health See ‘Health’ on page 4
RoboWarriors Part 2
See the next part in this series on page 11.