Eagle BELVOIR
Annual parade, covenant ‘validates‘ community partnership Page A2
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February 23, 2017
Up Front Wedding, Bridal Show Saturday
Join the Officers’ Club, Saturday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., for a morning of inspiration at the Wedding Fair and Bridal Show. The event features tastings; fashion; music and trends in table designs, flowers, cakes, linens, stationery, accessories and more. Those who go can win gifts and giveaways throughout the event. The entry fee is $10. For more information call the O’ Club at 703780-0930.
Field Sanitation Team Training
Photo by Paul Lara
From left, Steve Warnecke, Lions Gate Entertainment; Eric Patterson, dean, Robertson School of Government, Regent University; Marc LiVecche, managing editor, Providence; and Col. Timothy Mallard, Fort Belvoir installation chaplain, engage in a discussion of the moral, ethical and spiritual leadership dimensions of combat, after an audience attended a screening of the movie “Hacksaw Ridge” in Thurman Hall Feb. 15.
Leadership forum addresses moral, spiritual injury By Adrienne Anderson Staff writer The U.S. Army Command and General Staff School and Fort Belvoir Installation Staff Chaplain Office hosted a Leader Professional Development Forum, Feb. 15 in Thurman Hall. The forum focused on the moral, ethical and spiritual leadership dimensions of combat. Before an hour-long panel discussion, attendees watched “Hacksaw Ridge,” a film based on the story of Desmond T. Doss, a World War II veteran and conscientious objector who refused to kill people and received a Medal of Honor for saving the lives of others. According to the Library of Virginia, he rescued 75 men under heavy gun and mortar fire. He was the first conscientious objector to receive the Medal of Honor. Panelists for the forum included Chaplain (Col.) Timothy Mallard, Belvoir Garrison command chaplain; Marc LiVecche, managing editor of the “Providence and Scholar in Just War Ethics;” Eric Patterson, dean of the Robertson School of Government at Regent University; and Steve Wamecke of Lions Gate Entertainment. “Great stories are powerful because they either challenge or affirm
timeless values,” Mallard said, adding that they create thought-provoking questions. Audience members, after the film and panel introductions, were encouraged to ask questions. Mallard asked the audience to think about Doss’ actions in the movie and to consider the moral and ethical conflicts he faced. For example, contentious objectors have been part of the U.S. society since the Quakers, Patterson said. Questions asked by the audience included what principles should guide triage situation? Is it morally acceptable to lie to someone on the eve of their death to comfort them? What strategies can be used to treat moral injuries? Mallard has seen firsthand what moral injuries can do to people. He met with a Soldier who was in jail. The Soldier was suicidal and drinking heavily. The man told Mallard he was consumed by a transgression that he couldn’t escape. He had to take the life at the command of someone else and he was consumed by his guilt. That Soldier’s circumstances, and those displayed in the movie, reminded Mallard of the truism: “There are some Soldiers who leave the battlefield, but the battle-
field never leaves them,” he said. Moral injury is described as stemming from doing or seeing acts, like harming or killing others; witnessing deaths; failure to prevent deaths; and giving or receiving orders that conflict with the person’s personal moral code, according to the National Center for PTSD. Individuals who suffer from moral injury may feel shame, guilt, anxiety and anger about their actions; but these feelings may manifest themselves through suicide attempts, alcohol or drug abuse, and self-sabotage. “There are many experiences where Soldiers in combat don’t do anything, that is, they don’t take an action that results in the harm of another, but they experience the effects of that and that wounds them in a deep and powerful way,” Mallard said. To combat these types of injuries, effective personal communication is necessary to address the psychological injuries Service members face. “The real interjection of one warrior into another warrior’s life, there’s simply no other way to get around that,” Mallard said. “To me, that is the most effective way to engender healing of any kind that is going to outlast their circumstances.”
Army Regulation 40-5 mandates all company-sized units have a Field Sanitation Team. The Environmental Health section of Fort Belvoir Community Hospital is enrolling students for a Field Sanitation Team certification course and seats are limited. The course has 40 hours of classroom instruction and handson practical preventive medicine concepts that protect warfighters from disease and non-battle injuries. The class is Monday to March 3. Soldiers get promotion points and skills that are important for future deployments. RSVP via email to dha.belvoir.ncr-medical. mbx.fbch-eh-service-request@ mail.mil.
Welfare grants
Applications are available for the Belvoir Officers’ Spouses’ Club’s welfare grants. Applications are due by Wednesday. Any organization that needs a grant should consider applying. Applications are available under Welfare at the club’s website, belvoirosc.org. People with questions may email BOSCWelfare01@gmail.com.
Legal hour changes
Due to limited staff and resources, the Fort Belvoir Legal Assistance Office will be open from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m. on regular duty days. Additionally, on Fridays, power of attorney and notary services are available from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. only. Call 703-805-2856 for more information or questions.
Scholarship
The Belvoir Enlisted Spouses’ Club scholarship window is open and all the details are available at http://www.belvoiresc.org/scholarships/. Club members are also preparing for their Second Annual Scholarship Gala, March 11 in Springfield. Information is available from http://www.belvoiresc.org/gala/.