News 6 Mashup: May 18, 2020
Here are the top stories for the week of May 18, 2020, straight from AWN News 6 Correspondent, Jolene McNutt:
30,000 Military Moves Will Happen in Next Two Months
About 30,000 military families will move during the next two months, despite the stop movement order, Federal News Network reported.
“The 30,000 families are what we have in the system now that have been approved,” said Rick Marsh, director of DoD’s Personal Property Program.
He added, “The services and personnel communities are working to identify their projections for the rest of the year and the demand will be significant. I absolutely anticipate moves going well into the fall and winter. We won’t have the notion of the typical peak season as we know it historically.”
Connecting Patients with Behavioral Health
The Psychological Health Center of Excellence shared tips on how to access a Behavioral Health consult. In fact, if a patient visiting their primary care physician has concerns, the physician can often reach out to the Behavioral Health team while the patient is still at the clinic for a same-day meeting. The story shared that Behavioral Health consults consist of “psychologists and social workers integrated into primary care to assist the team in helping patients to improve their health, increase adherence to treatment plans, and manage behavioral health concerns or conditions.” If you think that you could benefit from a Behavioral Health consult, contact your primary care manager today. Visit PDHealth.mil to learn more about the approach to connecting patients with the Behavioral Health team.
Nine Military Teens Celebrate Prom Safely
Nine teens who are also employees of the exchange food court at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany made the most of their missed prom due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The teens got creative and wore their prom attire to work, practiced social distancing, and limited their prom activities to before and after their shifts and during their breaks, reported Military Times.
“The students cast ballots for prom king and prom queen, dined on hors’ d’oeuvres, and had a brief but physically distanced dance in the food court dining area.”
The idea was created by three managers of the food court restaurants.
“Even though things are tough right now, we wanted them to have the opportunity to get dressed up and get their photos taken,” said Michelle Hetcher, food court manager.
WWII Veterans Virtually Remember V-E Day
Earlier this month, we celebrated the anniversary of V-E Day, the end of WWII in Europe on May 8, 1945. Army.mil shared stories of WWII veterans who recalled their experiences virtually, including soldiers like Harold Radish, a reconnaissance sergeant with the 90th Infantry Division. He was taken captive by Germany in February 1945. Just one week before the official victory was declared, he was released from the prison camp.
“In his video, Radish said that he and other prisoners were flown to Brussels. There, they were cleaned up, fed, clothed in British uniforms, and given a couple of hours off in the city,” said Army.mil.
“We went into a bar, we drank some beer, and then we went to sleep,” he said. “And that was true liberation.”
In a letter home following his release, he wrote, “I don’t think anyone can get me home fast enough, though they are using airplanes and ship,” he said, reciting the letter. “Freedom is worth any price. It took a long time, but I [finally] found out.”
