From the Desk of:   

COL Francisco Rentas, Director, ASBPO

One of the Military Blood Program's Own Wins MEDCOM Soldier of the Year!         

Every year, participants in the U.S. Army Medical Command's annual Best Warrior Competition go through a series of grueling physical and mental tasks to determine who will come out on top.  This year, Spc. Dusty Edwards from the Armed Services Whole Blood Processing Laboratory-East, took home top honors.

For a week in June, several competitors arrived at Fort Bragg, N.C., to compete in what Staff Sgt. Sean McPeak, laboratory non-commissioned officer of the ASWBPL-East and Edwards' sponsor during competitions, described as "many categories, all of which are gruesome and score rigorously."    

"Categories of the competition consisted of a physical fitness test, an M4 rifle qualification, M4 reflective fire, and advanced warrior task lanes which tested the warriors ability to enter and clear a hostile room, evaluate and evacuate a casualty, operation communication hardware, deal with incoming fire and hostile threats and secure a landing zone," said McPeak.      

Read the entire story on the ASBP website. 

Photo: Spc. Dusty Edwards takes home Soldier of the Year honors at the U.S. Army Medical Command Soldier and Non-commissioned Officer of the Year competition held at Fort Bragg, N.C., from June 9-17, 2011.   

When Sgt. 1st Class James Edwards died on July 22, 2011, from injuries he received in a traffic accident a few days prior, he left behind a legacy of service and reaching out to others that will leave a lasting impression on many.

A consummate professional, Edwards served as a senior instructor at the III Corps Non-commissioned Officer Academy, helping form new generations of Army leaders. He was more than qualified for the job having served with the Army since he was 18 and deploying six times, including three times with the 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood, Texas.  

Read the entire story on the ASBP website.

Photo: Sgt. 1st Class James Edwards. 

No Uniform Required 

The ASBP Focal Point civilian hero of the month!   

For the last 26 years, Brenda Brown has been part of the Georgia Military College, one many treasures in Milledgeville, Ga., and a key player in blood drives conducted on campus.  Currently serving as the college's community service coordinator, Brown began planning blood drives through the local community blood center in 1990.  In 2005, she began working with the Armed Services Blood Program and the cadets, students and faculty have consistently donated more than 100 units at each blood drive since. 

"Most of these cadets know someone who is deployed," said Brown. "Some of their classmates and friends are over there."

A history buff and a writer, originally from Richland, Ga., Brown has been known to give members and staff of the Fort Gordon Blood Donor Center a tour of the Old Capitol Building, proudly sharing history and some hair-raising stories-like the frequent sightings of the ghostly soldier seen guarding the building from the roof.  

Read the entire article on the ASBP website.  

Photo: Brenda Brown, community service coordinator at the Georgia Military College, has been organizing Armed Services Blood Program blood drives on the school's campus since 2005.    

Picture This!

The ASBP Focal Point picture of the month

Armed Services Blood Program Expands vCJD Deferral Policy             

Falls Church, Va., Aug. 8, 2011--The Armed Services Blood Program (ASBP) announces additional criteria for the current Variant Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease (vCJD) blood donor deferral.

The military blood program is adding new criteria to the current vCJD donor deferral policy after three new cases of vCJD were reported recently.  The new cases are believed to have been contracted in Saudi Arabia, therefore, Department of Defense (DoD) military blood program is implementing an indefinite deferral for potential donors who have spent six months or greater, cumulatively, in Saudi Arabia during the years 1980-1996.

Current vCJD donor deferral regulations stipulate the following:

• DoD affiliated personnel in residence or traveled to the United Kingdom for three months or greater cumulative during the years 1980-1996
• DoD affiliated personnel in residence or traveled to Europe for six months or greater cumulative during the years 1980-1996
• DoD affiliated personnel in residence or traveled to Europe for five years or greater cumulative after 1996
• Other personnel in residence or traveled to Europe five years or greater from 1980-present
• Anyone who has received blood or blood products transfused in the United Kingdom or France from 1980-present
• Anyone who has received bovine insulin prepared in the United Kingdom since 1980

Between 1980 and 1996, Saudi Arabia imported beef products from the U.K., which could have been exposed to Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE). In addition, DoD also imported beef products from the UK to DoD facilities in Saudi Arabia during this period. 

 

The new blood donor deferral policy will be in place at the DoD level by Aug. 22, 2011, with execution by each service blood program planned for the fall. No major impact on the military blood supply is expected because a significant portion of the military population who may come under this new restriction are retired, separated from service, or already deferred  based on current policy.  

Final Fellowship Graduation Ceremony Held at Walter Reed           

On June 21, 2011, the Armed Services Blood Program congratulated four new graduates of the Specialist in Blood Banking Fellowship Program.  The graduates-Navy Lt. Edgardo Guzman, Air Force Maj. Mary Burke, Navy Lt. Colleen Knaus and Army Maj. Gerald Kellar-were the last fellowship graduates to graduate from the historical Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D.C.

Read the entire story on the ASBP website.