My best time so far here at Joint Base Balad. 29:20. (My first 5K was a little more than 32 min, then next was 31 something and was about 30 something after the swim for the biathlon. So every week I get a little better.
Next run is Wed, the 10th. My goal is to break 29 min.
I was asked to be a witness to the destruction of some expired medications. Apparently there has to be two people senior ranking to the destruction officer. It meant a trip over to the far west side of the base to get to the incinerator.
Scott Kennedy brings his comedy show to Iraq once a month. He usually stops by the hospital before they do their show at night. This trip included Sam Fedele and Theo Von.
They arrived while our amazing surgeons were in the OR all day working for hours on a soldier. The comedians passed out water to the all the folks who answered the call for blood donations.
Edit (June 5th): The dust storm on Friday grounded all flights out of JBB so the comedians are still here. They came to the hospital this evening to do a show for the patients in the CASF and then for the night shift employees who weren't able to make their show at H6 Rec Center last night.
107 degrees in the shade at 11:45a on Wed 3 June. We've only just begun the summer around here. Early morning (5a) is still comfortable. I'm not sure why I still see some folks with a sweatshirt on their way to the Cadillacs (showers/bathrooms) but there is no reason why anyone is still wearing the long sweatpants for PT (exercise) yet I've seen a few at the morning 5K events. Crazy!
At the end of the "Fight Gone Bad" workout yesterday (17 really hard minutes: 1 min each of wall balls, push press, rows, box jumps, sumo dead lift x 5 rounds with only 1 min rest between rounds) we hung around talking and stretching. Jim brought out his camera and we provided a 'calendar' pose.
I am starting my 4th week of Cross Fit (4 classes a week). Still can't do a real pull-up without support, but I know I'm getting closer (that's my initial goal, to do a full pull-up on my own). Although I might have to lose another 10# to get there.
Thank you to everyone who contributed a postcard (or more) to our Dining Facility (DFAC) wall in April & May. We loved reading the little notes that were written on the backs of many of them.
By Kelly Kennedy - Staff writer Posted : Wednesday May 27, 2009 10:33:31 EDT
After learning the Defense Department’s safety testing of a burn pit at Joint Base Balad in Iraq may have “significant methodological problems,” several lawmakers have requested a review by the Government Accountability Office.
“The [military] study found that exposures to burn-pit operations were at levels that constitute an ‘acceptable’ health risk for both cancer and non-cancer long-term health effects,” states the letter, dated May 22. “Based on our conversations with independent scientists, we are concerned that long-term adverse health effects cannot be ruled out on the basis of this study, and we would like the Government Accountability Office to evaluate the study’s methodology and findings.”
The letter comes after a series of Military Times articles showed troops have burned everything from petroleum products to dioxin-producing plastic bottles at bases throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Since the first reports were published in October, more than 200 service members have come forward with complaints of asthma, sleep apnea, chronic coughs, rashes, leukemia and lymphomas.
Class-action lawsuits also have been filed in nine states against KBR, the Defense Department contractor that operated many of the burn pits, and Disabled American Veterans has begun collecting names for a database of people potentially exposed to the burn pits.
Legislation also was recently introduced to more tightly regulate the military’s use of burn pits in the war zone and more closely track the potential health effects of troops exposed to smoke from the pits.
Military officials have said there are no “known long-term” health effects of exposure to the burn pits.
The military’s testing of the burn pit at Balad — the largest in Iraq, with disposal operations at one point reaching 240 tons of garbage a day — showed troops were not being exposed to chemicals beyond the military’s exposure guidelines.
Problems with methodology “We have been informed that the joint study may have significant methodological problems and that this study cannot rule out the possibility of adverse health effects,” the letter states, referring to the testing the military conducted at Balad. “In particular, we are concerned that many service members were deployed for more than one year to Iraq or may be more susceptible for genetic or other health reasons.”
Whether the service members’ ailments are connected to the burn pits will determine whether they receive health and disability benefits from the government for service-connected injuries and illnesses.
The letter is signed by Sens. Russ Feingold, D-Wis.; Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; Ron Wyden, D-Ore.; and Reps. Tim Bishop, D-N.Y.; Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore.; Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.; Bob Filner, D-Calif.; Stephanie Herseth Sandlin, D-S.D.; Maurice Hinchey, D-N.Y.; Carol Shea-Porter, D-N.H.; Allyson Schwartz, D-Pa.; and David Wu, D-Ore.
“A significant number of the roughly two million service members who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan have been exposed to military burn pits,” the lawmakers wrote. “It is important that we fully understand the potential ramifications of this exposure to their health.”
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
