An Army Soldier swabs each cheek during the Department of Defense Salute to Life event at the Rock Island Arsenal. Kits are provided by Department of Defense Salute to Life for events like the one recently held at RIA.

Wayne Richards (left) helps Rock Island Arsenal Garrison employee Robin Gains (right) read and understand the instructions provided in the kits. “Knowing that drives like this have saved lives in the past gives me hope that a life may be saved from the event we held at RIA,” said Richards.

Erica Slattery, an Army Sustainment Command employee, completes the required information provided in the kit, prior to completing her cheek swabs.

Billy Hallmark (left) helps an Army Soldier understand how best to complete the cheek-swabbing according to the directions in the kit. “The benefit of hosting a bone marrow drive provides hope to thousands of individuals that are still waiting for the chance to possibly find their match. That little hope that today may be the day, could be the only thing that helps some individuals continue to fight the fight,” said Hallmark.

An Army Civilian completes the required cheek-swab during the Department of Defense Salute to Life event at the Rock Island Arsenal.

Ignite for Life, a team of Rock Island Arsenal employees currently enrolled in Army Sustainment Command’s Journey to Leadership Tier II Program, coordinated a bone marrow registry drive, held Feb. 28, with the support of the Department of Defense Salute to Life Program.

The DOD program is offered to all military, Civilians, family members, and contract employees. Thanks to the Ignite for Life team, another 60 plus people have joined the national registry.

“All it takes is a few minutes to complete the required paperwork and do a cheek-swab to join the marrow donor registry,” said Justine Barati, director of Public and Congressional Affairs at the Joint Munitions Command’s headquarters. “The benefit of joining the registry is potentially being a match for someone in need of a bone marrow or stem cell transplant.”

JTL Tier II is a one-year program designed to develop future leaders by networking with peers and leaders, seeking out new challenges, and learning how to communicate more assertively. One requirement of JTL II is to complete a team project, such as this year’s marrow registry drive.

The four JTL participants who planned and implemented this year’s event are RIA employees from four different commands: Wayne Richards, Joint Manufacturing and Technology Center; Yuliya Rutherford, Combat Capabilities Development Command; Oralia Szuma, Army Sustainment Command; and Billy Hallmark, Rock Island Arsenal Garrison.

“I’m extremely grateful that ASC’s JTL Program was able to host another DOD Salute to Life Bone Marrow swabbing event,” said Lisa Schuldt, the JTL program manager. “Being part of this worthwhile event, that could potentially help someone become cancer free, was truly an honor. Thanks to everyone who took time out of their day to become a potential donor. Hopefully it'll result in a successful match.”

RIA hosted its first-ever registry event in March 2020. JMC has been a sponsor and key-stakeholder for these events.

Every three or four minutes, someone in the United States is diagnosed with a blood cancer like leukemia or lymphoma. It can happen to anyone, at any time. The marrow registry is the connection between patients searching for a cure and a life-saving bone marrow or stem cell donor. By joining the registry, volunteers become potential lifesaving donors for patients battling blood cancers or blood diseases.

“At the beginning, I was mostly interested in learning how events of this scale are organized. As I was working with my team on this project, I became aware of the real-life impacts of a marrow donor registry event,” Rutherford said. “I was amazed at the multiple stories of saved lives, lifelong connections made, and the overall message of hope that this program sends into the world.”

The DOD Salute to Life Program was created to help the DOD community become volunteer bone marrow donors in 1991. Since then, they have recruited more than one million potential donors and coordinated more than 8,000 donations.

“By hosting this registry event, we have contributed to the national and international registry,” Szuma said. “For me, this was and is very personal; it may give someone a chance of living a longer, and hopefully a healthier life.”

If you missed the event at RIA in February, it isn’t too late to join the registry: Join Now! - Salute to Life

Other related content:

• Rock Island Arsenal’s Announcement of Marrow Donor Drive: Bone Marrow Drive to be held Feb. 28 | Article | The United States Army

• Army Sustainment Command’s Journey to Leadership Program: Journey To Leadership - Home (army.mil)

• JTL’s Marrow Donor Drive Recruiting Video: DVIDS - Video - Rock Island Arsenal Salute to Life bone marrow drive (dvidshub.net)

Resources:

• DOD Salute to Life: salutetolife.org

• Be The Match / National Marrow Donor Registry: bethematch.org

• DKMS – United States: US | DKMS