REDSTONE ARSENAL, Alabama -- With all that goes on at U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, people sometimes forget they can still call the doctor.
The USASMDC/ARSTRAT Command Surgeon's office has important roles both inside and outside the command as the commanding general's sounding board on all medical issues within the command.
"We have Soldiers stationed everywhere in the world," said Col. William K. Baxter, SMDC command surgeon. "These Soldiers are so dispersed one of our main tenants is 'The sun never sets on SMDC.' In each dispersed area, our service members traditionally get care from their local military treatment facility in that area of operation. At times, there are medical events or issues which can affect the mission and mission success. This is when I primarily get involved in assessing the situation, making recommendations, and help in solving any problems.
"Here are three examples," he continued. "First, our Soldiers in Colorado Springs, Colorado, are actually stationed on Peterson Air Force Base. Some of these Soldiers were having complications and delays in having their periodic health assessments entered into the system. The solution required liaison with the Air Force personnel, Army Soldier Readiness Processing personnel, and the Region Medical Readiness coordinator.
"Second, on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, the Space and Missile Defense Command has many research and space monitoring mission requirements," he continued. "This is a small island and the weather is brutal on all buildings. In summary, Kwajalein's hospital is old and beyond repair. SMDC has been a part of a global team of excellent personnel from U.S. Army Medical Command, Installation Management Command and Pacific Regional Medical Command in trying to show how a new facility is mandatory.
"Third, personnel at Fort Greely, Alaska, for a temporary time did not have after hours health care due to a retiring local physician," Baxter added. "Coordination between SMDC and MEDCOM has led to the building and staffing of a brand new health clinic which is due to open in February."
SMDC's Office of the Command Surgeon was established in 2010. There were four people in the office in 2010 and now it is down to two. The command gets a new surgeon approximately every two years and Baxter is the third command surgeon. Also serving in the office is Abigale Ricks, SMDC Readiness and Resilience coordinator.
Inside the command, Baxter develops training plans, provides advice and staff assistance to the commanding general. He ensures Soldiers are mission ready for deployment from a medical readiness point of view as well as ensuring periodic health assessments are complete.
"I advise the commanding general on all topics medical," Baxter said. "We provide compassionate medical advice and serve to ensure medical access for active duty and family members in some of the most remote locations in the world. This can be from emerging threats such as Ebola Virus Disease and MERS from across the world. But it can also be locally. I participate in the Community Health Promotion Council which is sponsored by Redstone Arsenal."
The command surgeon's office also promotes the Army triad of getting quality sleep, engaging in activities and improving nutrition to all SMDC personnel. The office also fulfills Army requirements for its Readiness and Resiliency Campaign.
"As the only medical officer in SMDC, I provide medical liaison to not only Redstone Arsenal organizations and Fox Army Health Center, but also Army commands, Army service component commands and direct reporting units," Baxter said. "I work closely with Command Safety to ensure all command functions such as Organization Day, have medical representation for health risk assessment and amelioration.
"Soldiers, family members and Department of the Army civilians can come by and I welcome all," he continued. "I am happy to discuss all topics both medical and non-medical. If we do talk medical, I can provide insights into most disease processes and lab results. I can provide suggestions on questions to ask your primary provider.
"I cannot assume care of any person for two main reasons," Baxter added. "First, I am an anesthesiologist and not a primary provider. Second, I do not have a reliably present clinic nor medical staff to support a clinic in regards to traditional Joint Commission standards."
Outside of SMDC, Baxter engages in flight surgeon duties at Fox Army Health Center. He meets flight surgeon requirements of four hours per months of flight time at Reagan Test Center. He also attends Team Redstone activities and participates in command sponsored activities such as Survivor Outreach Services and Army Space Professionals Association.
"I go to Fox Army Health Center for many reasons," Baxter said. "First, all physicians need credentialing. On Redstone Arsenal, FAHC provides this. Second, as a flight surgeon, Fox allows me to practice flight medicine in their facility. Third, I have developed professional contacts there and working with them routinely keeps those relationships current.
"Yes, practicing medicine at Fox keeps me proficient, but it also allows good interaction and relationships amongst professional colleagues and commands," he added.
The Command Surgeon's Office also has oversight of SMDC's role in the Army's Ready and Resilient Campaign, or R2C.
"The Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness program falls under the Ready and Resilient Campaign and I am the lead for that," Ricks said. "These initiatives are the result of the Army's desire to bring about an enduring cultural change.
"A big emphasis of this campaign is that it is aimed at improving readiness and resilience of the total Army," Ricks said. "That includes active duty, Reserve and National Guard Soldiers, civilians and families. The Army family has endured many challenges over the past years and there are clearly more to come."
Ricks majored in psychology and completed her bachelor of science at Athens State University. She started working for the command as a summer hire and has been at the command for 11 years. She also participated in a course at the University of Pennsylvania in order to become a level-1 master resilience trainer.
"I have played a role in the office from the beginning," she said. "Helping stand up a new office has been a challenge as well as an invaluable learning experience. Falling into this assignment straight out of my internship was one of those 'sink or swim' experiences. My role has evolved with the needs of the office."
Ricks said the Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness, or CSF2, program is part of the Army's overall R2C. She reiterated what Baxter said about their involvement outside of the command and talked about how Redstone Arsenal is standing up a Community Health Promotion Council, or CHPC, and how the Command Surgeon's Office has been involved along with the other organizations on the installation.
"I am passionate about both of these and believe they can be avenues of positive change for individuals, teams, and entire organizations," Ricks said. "In spite of my passion, when using the correct terminology, such as CSF2, R2C or CHPC, to discuss these initiatives, I see people's eyes glaze over. It's easy to get bogged down by the lengthy acronyms and miss the overall purpose of what we are trying to accomplish.
"CSF2 is based in positive psychology," she added. "As part of the CSF2 curriculum, I teach people how to build resilience skills and performance enhancement skills that have practical application. These skills can be used improve the quality of professional and personal interactions and build better internal strategies for approaching life in general. CSF2 is a holistic approach that seeks to positively impact the five dimensions of strength: physical, emotional, social, spiritual and family. The program is for all Soldiers, their families, and Department of the Army civilians."
Ricks emphasized that Active Constructive Responding is one of the skills covered in resilience training.
"When a person chooses to share their good news with you there are four possible ways you could respond, and only one of those will promote trust and connection in that relationship," Ricks said. "Wouldn't you want to know about this so you could choose the one that builds up your relationships and avoid the other three options that cause damage. This is just one example of the skills covered and there are a total of 14 skills. This training makes for a great team building opportunity."
Ricks and Baxter both talked about what they have enjoyed most about being at SMDC and supporting the space Soldiers and civilians who dedicate their lives to defending the nation.
"This is a definite broadening assignment for me," Baxter said. "As a physician, we get busy with patient care and running health facilities that we sometimes lose sight of how expansive our Army really is. I have really enjoyed learning and participating in the inner workings of this Warfighter command. This assignment's unique challenges has made me a better officer with a more strategic point of view.
"Working with this leadership and seeing the constant concern regarding quality of life issues and health care access, reaffirms my knowledge that the Soldiers and families, both retirees and civilians, are indeed well cared for within this command," he added.
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