Meet Your Military
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PHOTO: Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Steven Acevedo, New Horizons onsite team lead and pediatrician, assists with distributing medications during a medical readiness training exercise at the Isabel Palma Polyclinic in San Antonio, Belize. Belizeans received medical care through Belizean health care workers, as well as Canadian and U.S. military care providers. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Kali L. Gradishar PUNTA GORDA, Belize– Lt. Col. (Dr.) Steven Acevedo has enjoyed a variety of assignments in his Air Force career. For five years, he was a medical laboratory officer before going to medical school while in the Inactive Reserve. After that, he found himself as a pediatrics flight commander until he journeyed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, followed by assignments in Lakenheath, England, and Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. His travels continue, as he is now off to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas for a neonatal intensive care fellowship.
"I'll stay in for 20 years and retire, but I'll make sure I have a well-rounded career before it's time to move on to something else," he said. Acevedo already had been accepted to medical school before joining the military, but he said he just wasn't ready to go until he had served as a lab officer for five years. He resigned his commission as a captain to attend school at the University of Texas-Galveston, and then completed his residency at the San Antonio Military Medical Center. "It really worked out well, I think," the lieutenant colonel said. "Because I had already been a captain, I got promoted ahead of my peers, so it all catches up." A handful of assignments later, Acevedo found himself tasked as the lead for a team of medical providers during the New Horizons Belize 2014 medical readiness training exercise, in the southern Toledo district in Belize.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Medical Officer Has Varied Assignments
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PHOTO: Retired Marine Corps Gen. Charles C. Krulak, who’d served as the 31st commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995-1999 and is now president of Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, proudly displays mementos of his service as a Marine Corps officer in his office. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Jon Holmes BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – As a young man, Charles C. Krulak, now age 72, respected his father’s values: selflessness, moral courage and integrity. Krulak’s father, Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Victor H. Krulak, who passed away in 2008, imparted in his son the same values introduced to him as a Marine. Following in his father’s footsteps and making the transformation to become a United States Marine, the younger Krulak, who went on to become a four-star general and the Marine Corps’ 31st commandant, embodied those values. They are still a part of who he is today. “My father instilled in his three boys a solid foundation of trying to be men of character -- being selfless, having great moral courage and having integrity. [And] at the same time, taking those values and seeking to do the most good for the most people,” Krulak said. After retiring from the Marine Corps in 1999 after 35 years of military service, Krulak worked in the business world.
In March 2011, he was selected to become president of Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama -- a position he says is one of the most challenging of his life. Mismanagement and a growing debt foreshadowed the college’s future. Budget cuts cost students their educational programs and professors their jobs. Dropping enrollment, a demoralized faculty and a community that lost confidence in the school posed additional problems making Birmingham-Southern College’s future uncertain. One of Krulak’s first decisions as the college’s new president was to refuse a salary. “They were pretty surprised when I did that,” he said. He also turned down the university vehicle and even lived in a dorm instead of the Birmingham-Southern College President’s house. “Why turn down the salary?” Krulak asked. “Because of the sacrifice everyone else had gone through. If all of the sudden I came in and had this salary and drove around in a college car and lived in the house of the president, I wouldn’t be doing what all Marines do -- setting the example.” Krulak continued that example by visiting every classroom on campus and meeting with the faculty, staff and students.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Former Marine Corps Chief Lives Father's Values
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PHOTO: Army 1st Lt. Jamie Mueller at work at Forward Operating Base Spin Boldak, Afghanistan, April 30, 2014. U.S. Army photo FORWARD OPERATING BASE SPIN BOLDAK – A U.S. Army medical officer saved an Albanian soldier’s life last month thanks to a medical exchange program here. During a routine procedure, 1st Lt. Jamie Mueller, a physician assistant with 4th Infantry Division’s 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, noticed a troubling growth on her patient’s back. Mueller consulted with Army Maj. (Dr.) Michael Rossi here and with other physicians throughout Afghanistan and Germany, and they determined the soldier had cancer and needed immediate surgery. Rossi credited Mueller’s professionalism and competence as the catalyst for getting the soldier the care he needed. “She was able to gain their confidence,” he said. “As a result, they were able to find the cancer.” That confidence Rossi added, was gained through Mueller’s hard work.
When Mueller arrived here in February, a 12-foot wall separated the coalition forces. Though a physician assistant typically works directly with a supervising doctor, Mueller found herself as the only medical professional at the clinic. Shortly after she arrived, Mueller and her team were functioning at a high level and had begun to conduct medical exchanges with their NATO partners. “I’m just an old medic that went to [medical] school,” Rossi said. She’s the one that makes things happen. Before she got here the Albanians were on one [base], and we were on another.” Within weeks of beginning the medical exchanges, the U.S. and Albanian forces were regularly eating meals together in the American dining facility. Rossi said the crowd at meal time is getting bigger and bigger as the partnership grows.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Physician Assistant Saves Lives, Builds Bonds
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PHOTO: Twin brothers Army Master Sgts. Frederick and Derick Aidoo joined the Arizona National Guard together in 1993 and continue to serve side by side. U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Matthew Murphy PHOENIX – Twin brothers Derick and Frederick Aidoo recently pinned on the rank of master sergeant here -- literal brothers in arms who serve the state and nation in the Arizona Army National Guard. Their colleagues say they serve with two times the dedication, two times the commitment and two times the honor. Like many twins, the Aidoos have a tendency to finish each other’s sentences. About his service in the Guard, Derick said, “The Army has kept me on track. It keeps life on track with fitness and lifestyle.” Then Frederick said, “It’s a foundation. Something to tell your kids,” and Derick chimed in with, “about being a soldier and proud to tell people who you are.” The brothers are two-time combat veterans, having served in Iraq in 2004 and in Afghanistan 2010.
While Frederick is an architect in his civilian life and Derick is a construction engineer, their military careers and training are mirrored. Army Chief Warrant Officer Hector Mendoza deployed with the brothers to Afghanistan. Frederick served as Mendoza’s noncommissioned officer in charge. Mendoza had an opportunity to observe the brothers in action. “If one does one thing, so does the other. Their work ethic, their fitness level, their commitment -- it’s exactly the same,” he said. “Frederick worked with me and Derick worked with another chief warrant officer. During the entire deployment, the brothers worked nonstop and refused to take a day off. I really admire them.” Looking back at their 19 years of service, the brothers chuckled over their memories of basic training and advanced individual training. “The drill sergeants didn’t like us too much, because they couldn’t tell us apart and we were in the same group,” Derick said. “So if they told one of us to drop and do pushups, the other had to do them, too.” The Aidoos trained in supply and logistics.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Twins Share National Guard Experience
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PHOTO: Air Force 1st Lt. Laura Jones poses for a photo after preparing for a flight April 21, 2014, at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas. Jones was involved in an automobile accident Jan. 2, 2014, that kept her from flying for three months. Jones is a 85th Flying Training Squadron T-6A Texan II instructor pilot. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Jimmie D. PikeLAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – Her career seemed ruined, her dreams grounded. "At the beginning, I thought I'd never fly again," Air Force 1st Lt. Laura Jones said, recalling her Jan. 2 accident. On her way from San Antonio International Airport back to base, a car next to her had a tire blow out. The driver lost control and swerved into Jones's vehicle traveling at about 75 mph, she said. "Shortly after, a passing National Guardsman arrived, held my neck to immobilize and keep me from damaging my cervical spine and talked to me until the paramedics arrived," said Jones, a T-6 Texan instructor pilot from the 85th Flying Training Squadron. "It all happened pretty quickly -- from getting hit to the helicopter taking me to San Antonio Military Medical Center, only a couple of hours had passed. I maintained consciousness the entire time." Jones suffered broken bones and other injuries during the collision -- injuries that grounded her flying career.
"The accident left me with a shattered left femur, lacerations on my kidney and spleen, my right wrist was broken in four places, my jaw was broken in two places, and my lungs were bruised, among other scrapes," Jones said. "After I heard there were no neck, spine or eye injuries, I knew I would be flying soon enough." The accident was followed by 11 days in the hospital and several grueling months of physical therapy and rehabilitation. "We started her with basic range-of-motion exercises to work up to light weights and ensure she didn't overwork herself," said Kira Pie, a physical therapy assistant. "We now have her going through impact workouts, like skipping, to get her body adjusted to the feel of pressure on the joints and bones." Even though her body was aching and her workouts were strenuous, Jones worked through the difficulties with a single goal: to return to flying.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Pilot Flies Again After Highway Crash