The Army is made up of roughly 475,000 active duty Soldiers. Of those who are enlisted, more than 225,700 are eligible for the American Legion Spirit of Service Award. And of those who were nominated for this years award--one is given to each of the military branches--the Soldier chosen to represent the Army is a medic who works at Ireland Army Health Clinic on Fort Knox.
Spc. Virginia Constable--a medic who started here in same day surgery when IRAHC was a hospital, and is now also a certified hearing conservation specialist--was this year's Army recipient. She will receive her award during the American Legion annual national convention in Nevada in August.
The Legion gives the Spirit of Service Awards annually to enlisted service members in recognition of their military performance and outstanding efforts volunteering within their local communities.
While Constable does volunteer to play for the MEDDAC soccer team, the Funeral Honors Mission, the Honor Guard, and volunteered to assist with the German Armed Forces Badge testing, it's her work with a volunteer pilot program at the University of Louisville that earned her this prestigious award.
So when Staff Sgt. William Wright, Constable's NCOIC, saw the MILPER message asking for nominees, he said he knew without thinking about it that he had a Soldier to nominate.
"I immediately thought of Constable," he explained. "I know what she was doing for the unit and for the community and that's why her name came to mind. We started the packet in February. But we didn't tell her---it was a complete surprise. She more than participated in this project--she's been an influencing factor. She met its criteria and did something very unique that isn't being done anywhere else in the Army."
Staff Sgt. William Prescott, a healthcare recruiter with the 3rd Medical Recruiting Battalion which oversees the Louisville area, set up the program with the University of Louisville so beginning pre-med students could get time with medically trained personnel, learning basic procedures. But of equal importance to him was a chance to allow junior Soldiers to learn leadership skills and build confidence.
"She took the reins once she learned what to do and later the students requested her to come and teach the labs--she was highly sought after," he explained. "And because she was so professional, and did such a good job, the UofL Paris Simulation Center likes her well enough to allow her bring other medics up to train in (this) world class facility. That wouldn't have happened without her."
Constable said her motivation to get involved was the skills aspect--keeping hers polished--and to learn about teaching.
"Pre-med students don't know anything (procedural) and haven't specialized. They know books and what they have read, but nothing hands on," she explained. "We teach them IV, basic suture skills, how to do CPR…very basic stuff--we help them get up close with basic medical elements."
The students also gain military exposure and can learn to understand the military better. She said most of them don't know anyone in the military so they can't put a face to it. And too, they get to hear about the benefits of letting the Army pay for their education and about becoming a doctor in the Army.
In her 2016 teaching cycle she conducted about 14 simple-medical procedure classes, equaling 76 hours of classroom instruction, to 219 students. While the result of those classes may have enhanced the education of the students, the tangible results for the Army was a rise of 300 percent for the Louisville medical brigade's recruitment numbers.
The elevated recruitment percentage is such a significant amount over their quota that Army Medical Command asked Prescott to replicate the program across the Army--he leaves in July for Mississippi.
Col. Robert Cornes, IRAHC commander, said Constable is a highly motivated Soldier who's always volunteering to assist any mission, in any way that she can.
"She has a real desire to be a servant leader....she may only be a specialist right now - but, she has great potential for future service as an NCO," he said. "Her positivity is infectious, fun to be around and it translates to those around her."
He also said it was a testament to good noncommissioned officers with whom she works because they were the ones who nominated her for the award.
"They have been trained not just to lead from the front but to hold up those Soldiers who do great things, and this is a good example of their leadership," he explained. "They empowered her to work with these students, and they are the ones who recognized everything she was doing and submitted her for this award. Our NCOs are top notch, and as this award illustrates, our lower enlisted are at the top of their game too."
In the future many of the students Constable is teaching will become doctors, and she said it's "cool" to know she taught them first and later she'll learn from some of them. But she also gained leadership skills and kept her medical skills sharp--teaching others means she has to stay on top of those skills she used in a hospital setting but has not used much in a clinic.
Constable, who is eighth generation military--going all the way back to Col. Patrick Henry in the Revolutionary War--said it's important for other medics to be involved in the program and keep their skills up too. But she is working on another benefit for Army medics who might want to volunteer--an ultrasound program.
"We are trying to get an ultrasound program going for the medics--I'm coordinating between UofL and MEDDAC training center," she explained. "Then we can train the students and other medics. It's such an important skill that we can use to find something (in a patient), or to rule something out. It makes patient care more efficient. The simulation center has applied for a grant that might help make that happen."
In these ways Constable is giving back to the community which she said is important because, "Soldiers are seen in uniform as serious people and taught to fight and go to war. If you don't live near them or know them you don't know there is so much more to us.
"And, although we serve our country, the communities outside our gates serve us and support us and it's important for us to give back to them and show we appreciate them," Constable added.
Her favorite part of volunteering is the "Ah Ha" moment when it all clicks for someone when they find something they fall in love with, or gain that critical piece of understanding. It's enough of her favorite part to encourage other people to get involved and volunteer in something that interests them.
"I want people (to understand) not to be afraid to get out there and do things," she advised. "Get out of your room, off the couch and away from the video games and volunteer or try something new or teach someone something that you like to do.
"You don't know who you will impact and what they will do with the knowledge and skills they learn from you until you try. A year and a half ago I never thought I would be teaching someone else this kind of material--that would be crazy! But now I am, and I love it."
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