Andrews 050815

AN INDEPENDENT PUBLICATION OF COMPRINTMILITARY PUBLICATIONS AT JOINT BASE ANDREWS,MD.

DCMILITARY.COM FRIDAY, MAY 8, 2015 | VOL. 4 NO. 18

BUSINESS

Veteran business owners sought

for training program, Page 3

HEALTH

Hypertension,

the silent killer, Page 6

COMMENTARY

Celebrating Asian American,

Pacic Islander Heritage Month,

Page 2

BY SENIOR AIRMAN

MARIAH HADDENHAM

11TH WING PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Members of Joint Base

Andrews recognized the ac-

complishments of threemili-

tary working dogs during a

retirement ceremonyMay 1.

Sam, Guero and Besy

served approximately sev-

en years each under the

care of their handlers at

the 11th Security Support

Squadron, with the excep-

tion of Besy, whose career

started at Joint Base Ana-

costia-Bolling.

With a sense of smell

20 times more powerful

than a humans, MWDs

are a vital asset to Air

Force operations and are

considered essential for

detection of explosives,

narcotics and can be used

as attack dogs when neces-

sary, said Tech. Sgt. Man-

uel Garcia, 11th Security

Support Squadron mili-

tary working dog section

training supervisor.

Combined, these

MWDs completed more

than 31,000 search hours

and cleared approximately

297,000 vehicles. Their ef-

forts provided detection

capabilities for more than

180 foreign heads of state

and dignitaries transition-

ing through the National

Capital Region, and sup-

ported more than 100 mis-

sions for the Department

of State and United States

Secret Service.

During the ceremony,

all three dogs were award-

ed the Meritorious Service

Medal and were ofcially

retired from service.

Besy, Guero and Sam

have blazed their trail

following in the legacy of

those canines who have

served before them, said

Joseph Rector, 11th Secu-

rity Forces Group director.

They have made Joint

Base Andrews a safer

place to work and live.

The Military Working

DogAdoption program, en-

acted by Congress in 2000,

allowed adoption of retir-

ing dogs to law enforce-

ment agencies, former

handlers, and other per-

sons capable of caring for

the dogs. Thanks to this,

following the ceremony,

the dogs were collected by

their new families.

Paws for retirement

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/ SENIOR AIRMAN MARIAH HADDENHAM

Guero, military working dog, yawns after receiving his Meritorious Service Medal

during a retirement ceremony on Joint Base Andrews, May 1. After being ofcial-

ly retired during the ceremony, Guero left with his new adoptive family.

BYBOBBY JONES

STAFF PHOTOJOURNALIST

Surrounded by a sea of

more than 2,000 exuber-

ant and colorfully clad par-

ticipants, Senior Master

Sgt. Demetrica Jefferis and

Tech. Sgt. Jenne Markov-

itz prepared mentally and

emotionally to participate in

the 2015 Avon 39 The Walk

to End Breast Cancer near

the Washington Monument

on May 2. The walk drew

approximately 260 cancer

survivors.

The Airmen, both survi-

vors of breast cancer,became

friends and shared their sto-

ries of triumph with other

survivors while attending

monthly meetings of a new

breast cancer support group

called Together in Pink,

established by Jefferis at

the Malcolm Grow Medical

Clinics and Surgery Center

on JointBaseAndrewsmore

than a year ago.

It would be their first

walk in the annual event

with participants from all

over the nation. They were

committed to completing

the combined length of 39.3

miles 26.2 miles on May 2

and 13.1 miles onMay 3.

Jefferis wore several

Airmen meet Avon 39 challenge

BOBBY JONES

Senior Master Sgt. Demetrica Jefferis gets high ves

as she passes by a tunnel of supporters during mile

one.

COMMEMORATIVE AIR FORCE

BRINGS B-17 TO JBA

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTO/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS PHILIP BRYANT

Braden Licciardi, an event participant, gets inside

the ball turret of the B-17G Texas Raiders at Joint

Base Andrews, May 4. See photos on page 4.

see AVON, page 3

BY LESLIE C. SMITH

STAFF WRITER

Its 2 oclock in the morning in Bowie. There are

few carsmuch less peoplearound in the darkened

shopping center parking lot. Alone in the Chick-Fil-A

parking lot sits a large touring bus,wrapped in images

of service members and rst responders. It is only up-

on approaching the bus do you see a little movement

three people readying for a 5-mile trek to Landover by

bicycle.

John Driscoll, Lane Riley and Tommy Morrow tak-

ing on the moniker Raiders of the Night (for the night

shift they take on during the relay) prep for the next

leg of the relay.

Each has special reasons for taking on the chal-

lenge.

A journey to bring back the

meaning ofMemorial Day

see RELAY, page 5

PHOTO BY LESLIE C. SMITH

TommyMarrow, LaneRileyandJohnDriscoll Raiders

of theNight prep tostart the2a.m. legof theCarry the

Load,a27-mile relay fromWestPoint,N.Y., toDallas.

Andrews Gazette

2

Friday, May 8, 2015

Andrews Gazette is published by Comprint Military

Publications, 9030 Comprint Court, Gaithersburg,

Md., a private firm in no way connected with the U.S.

Air Force or any branch of the United States military.

The appearance of advertising in these publications,

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by the Department of Defense, the Department of the Air Force or

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COMPRINT MILITARY PUBLICATIONS

Maxine Minar, president

mminar@dcmilitary.com

John Rives, publisher

jrives@dcmilitary.com

Tiffany Arnold, page design

tarnold@gazette.net

Leslie Smith, editor

lsmith@dcmilitary.com

Bobby Jones, photographer

bjones@dcmilitary.com

May 89

11th Annual Green Man Festival

Roosevelt Center, Crescent Road and Southway

Drive, Greenbelt

Join us, rain or shine, for two days of green cel-

ebration and fun in beautiful Historic Downtown

Greenbelt! Festival activities will reconnect us to

the folklore of ancient civilizations through science,

art, music and myth by featuring many local artists,

musicians and performers from Maryland as well

as other parts of the country. Visit www.greenbelt-

greenmanfestival.org.

May 8

Live At Montpelier: Ken Navarro

8 p.m.

Montpelier Arts Center, 9652 Muirkirk Road,

Laurel

During the past 25 years, Ken Navarro has per-

formed in every major U.S. city and has had nu-

merous Top 5 hits on national radio. He began his

recording career in Los Angeles performing and

recording with artists like Doc Severinsen, Nell

Carter, John Patitucci, Ann Jillian and Alex Acuna,

and has shared the stage with artists such as Spy-

ro Gyra, Chuck Mangione, Najee, Chris Botti, The

Rippingtons, Jean-Luc Ponty, Keiko Matsui, David

Benoit, and many others. ($) Call 301-377-7800 or

visit www.arts.pgparks.com.

May 10

Mothers Day Brunch & Jazz

Noon4 p.m.

Prince Georges Sports & Learning Complex,

8001 Sheriff Road, Landover

Come celebrate all mothers, while enjoying a de-

licious catered Brunch and listening to the sounds

of smooth Jazz. If that is not enough, participate in

a Fashion Show and model your most elegant, im-

pressive spring hats. ($) Call 301-583-2400 or visit

www.pgparks.com.

May 10Sept. 27

Movies on the Potomac

6 p.m.

National Harbor, 137 National Plaza, National

Harbor

Nothing says summer like an evening under the

stars-and theres no better way to enjoy the season

than Movies on the Potomac at National Harbor on

Sundays. The 2015 season runs through Sunday,

Sept. 27. Meet us at the Plazas big screen for a

evening of ocean breezes and all-ages fun! Bring

your lawn chairs and enjoy the show! Free. Call

1-877-NATL-HBR or visit www.nationalharbor.com.

Hot tickets

around town

Wi-Fi in

Commissaries

Commissary patrons

now have Wi-Fi access. Ma-

ny patrons come to the com-

missary with smart phones

and tablets. Wi-Fi helps

them maximize their com-

missary benet, said a De-

fense Commissary Agency

(DeCA) spokesman. Anyone

can access the stores Wi-Fi

from the sales oor area.Us-

ers must accept the DeCAs

terms of service agree-

ment and somewebsites are

blocked. Patrons with ques-

tions about access should

contact the stores customer

service representative.

Claims Processing

Improved

More than 1.3 million

veterans received deci-

sions on their VA disability

compensation and pension

claims in 2014a record

number, surpassing last

years production by more

than 150,000 claims. This

second year of record-break-

ing production comes as

VA continues to transform

the way it provides benets

and services. The disabil-

ity claims backlog (any dis-

ability claim pending longer

than 125 days) was reduced

by 60 percent from the peak

backlog in March 2013. Ac-

curacy of VAs decisions

continues to rise from an 83

percent in 2011 to a 90 per-

cent accuracy level today. At

the medical issue level, ac-

curacy is at 96 percent. VA

once processed 5,000 tons

of paper annually. Today, it

processes 93 percent of its

disability claims electroni-

cally. For more information

on VA benefits and pro-

grams, call 1-800-827-1000.

Circle the Date

Retiree Appreciation

Day, hosted by the 11th

Wing, will be observed Sat-

urday, Oct. 27, at Joint Base

Anacostia-Bolling. The an-

nual event alternates be-

tween JBAB and Joint Base

Andrews. Retired Col. Jim

Daugherty, director of Retir-

ee Activities Ofces at both

bases, made the announce-

ment in conjunction with

Col. Brad Hoagland, 11th

Wing commander. Activi-

ties will be centered at the

Bolling Club, starting with

a Health Fair offered by

the 579th Medical Group at

JBAB.Annual inuenza im-

munizations are scheduled

for the fair.Ballroompresen-

tationswill provide informa-

tion updates on a variety of

subjects of interest to the

military retirement commu-

nity. The Bolling Exchange

and Commissary are also

expected to provide special

sales incentives.

The Retiree Activities Of-

ce is open 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.,

Monday throughFriday.Vis-

it the ofce in Building 1604

at California and Colorado

Avenues or call 301-981-

2726. Call before your visit

to ensure a volunteer is on

duty.The RAOhas awebsite

at www.andrews.af.mil.

Retiree Corner

BY DR. ROBERT B. KANE

AIR UNIVERSITY,

DIRECTOR OF HISTORY

In 1978, Congress es-

tablished Asian-Pacific

American Heritage Week

to celebrate the achieve-

ments and contributions of

Asian and Pacic Islander

Americans to U.S. history

and culture. In 1990, Presi-

dent George H.W. Bush

extended the celebration to

the entire month.

On Oct. 23, 1992, Con-

gress ofcially designated

May of each year as Asian

American and Pacic Is-

lander Heritage Month

to recognize the achieve-

ments and contributions

of Americans of Asian or

Pacic Islander ancestry to

the rich heritage and cul-

tural fabric of the U.S.

The theme for 2015 is

Many Cultures,OneVoice:

Promote Equality and In-

clusion.

Congress selected May

for this celebration be-

cause it includes the anni-

versaries of the arrival in

the U.S. of the rst Japa-

nese immigrants on May 7,

1843, and the completion of

the rst transcontinental

railroad on May 10, 1869,

partially by the labor of

thousands of Chinese im-

migrants

The term Asia-Pacic

Islands includes the con-

tinent of Asia; the Pacic

island groups of Melanesia,

Micronesia and Polynesia;

the island groups of the

Western and Central Pacif-

ic, such as the Philippines

and the Marianas; and Ha-

waii, the 50th state of the

U.S. About 5 percent of the

population of the U.S. is of

Asian or Pacic Islander

descent.

Perhaps the most well-

known Air Force member

of Asian-Pacific Islander

ancestry is Ellison Onizu-

ka. Born in 1946 in Ha-

waii, he entered the Air

Force in January 1970 and

ew a variety of aircraft,

eventually logging more

than 1,700 ying hours. In

January 1978, he became

an astronaut candidate for

NASA.

Onizuka ew his rst

space shuttle mission

aboard the Discovery in

January 1985. He was a

mission specialist aboard

the orbiter Challenger

when it exploded a little

over one minute after

launch from the Kennedy

Space Center, Florida, on

Jan. 28, 1986. Congress

posthumously promoted

him to colonel, and the Air

Force renamed Sunnyvale

Air Force Station, Califor-

nia, after Onizuka on Jan.

26, 1994. The Air Force of-

cially closed the installa-

tion in September 2011.

Another part of the

Asian-Pacific American

heritage is the Armys

100th Infantry Battalion

and the 442nd Regimen-

tal Combat Team, which

was made up of Japanese-

Americans from Hawaii

and others that were held

in detention camps. The

detention camps were es-

tablished by the U.S. gov-

ernment in February 1942

in result of the attack on

Pearl Harbor by the Japa-

nese Imperial Navy on

Dec. 7, 1941, and housed

120,000 Japanese-Ameri-

cans who had been living

in Pacic Coast states.

They, like the Tuskegee

Airmen, fought prejudice

at home, as well as tyran-

ny overseas, during World

War II.

By May 1945, the 442nd

RCT and the 100th IB,

ghting in Italy and south-

ern France, had become the

most highly decorated U.S.

military units of their size.

They had accumulated

more than 18,000 individ-

ual decorations for brav-

ery, including 18 Medals

of Honor; 52 Distinguished

Service Crosses; and 9,500

Purple Hearts, with many

Soldiers earning multiple

awards. In addition, the

two units collectively re-

ceived seven Presidential

Unit Citations.

One of the most well-

known members of the

442nd RCT was Daniel

K. Inouye, the first U.S.

congressman of Japanese

ancestry and the second

longest-serving senator.

During World War II, he

received a battleeld com-

mission and promotion

to second lieutenant. He

also received many deco-

rations to include the Dis-

tinguished Service Cross,

which was later upgraded

to the Medal of Honor

in 2000. He is among 30

Asian-Americans who have

received Americas highest

military award. He served

as U.S. senator from Ha-

waii from to 1963 until his

death on Dec. 17, 2012.

Commentary

CelebratingAsianAmerican, Pacic IslanderHeritageMonth

COURTESY PHOTO/NASA

STS-51L crewmembers pose during a break in

countdown training in the White Room at Launch

Pad 39B in November of 1985. From the left are

Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik,

Francis Dick Scobee, Ronald McNair, Mike Smith

and Ellison Onizuka.

Andrews Gazette

Friday, May 8, 2015

3

pink several pink satin

strips with the names of

cancer survivors and dona-

tion supporters around her

waist,whileMarkovitzwore

a pink sash with the word

survivor across it.

Im wearing the names

of survivors who suffered

from this disease and peo-

ple who died as a public

display in honor to them

and tribute to their ght. In

doing this, its not just their

name Im carrying. Its the

burden, the pain, fatigue

and struggle of them tell-

ing their loved one I have

cancer, only to leave them

alone. All of these things

went through my mind as I

did the walk, said Jefferis,

Air Force Element Depart-

ment of Defense superin-

tendant and First Sergeant.

Ive supported the ght

against breast cancer for

a long time, because my

mother passed from it, and

my cancer is actually ge-

netic. It runs through the

family onmymothers side,

said Jefferis.

A cancer survivor of just

over 14 months, Jefferis is

thankful to be spared from

the long-term treatments

that can some time take

their toll on cancer victims.

Mine was detected very

early on. I was diagnosed

with a common,but less life-

threatening form of breast

cancer called Ductal Carci-

noma in Situ (DCIS), but I

needed a bilateral mastec-

tomy because it was in both

breasts. I didnt need chemo,

I didnt have to go through

treatment for radiation or

hormone therapy, said Jef-

feris, anAir Force veteran of

26 years.

When I retire this sum-

mer, I would like to start

volunteering and enlist the

support my Air Force coun-

terparts, Jefferis shared.

A fewyears ago,Markov-

itz found out that she was

in stage two of Ductal Car-

cinoma in Situ cancer while

stationed at Little Rock Air

Force Base as a medical lo-

gistics technician. She no-

ticed a lump in her breast

but thought it to be harm-

less because she was young,

in good physical shape and

didnt have any family his-

tory of cancer.

Id gotten a 97 onmyPT

test. I thought I was super-

healthy, said Markovitz.

Fortunately, she men-

tioned the lump to one of

her friends in the Womens

Health Clinic, who advised

her to come to the clinic im-

mediately. Six months later,

she was diagnosed with

cancer.

At one point in her ca-

reer,Markovitz thought her

current job as an Airman

Leadership School instruc-

torwas in jeopardy.Shewas

selected for the special duty

assignment at the 707th

Force Support Squadron

Airman Leadership School

at Ft. George E. Meade pri-

or to her diagnosis.Her new

bosses questioned if she

could perform her job with

this disease.

I knew that I could do

the job. But by the time I

started teaching I was bald

as a bat, said Markovitz

jokingly. At first, it was

somewhat of a distraction,

because the students didnt

know about my cancer.

Eventually, I used my story

in my teaching to further

motivate them. I believe

that surviving the cancer

helped me to overcome any

challenge after that, said

Markovitz, now a four-year

cancer survivor.

Although the both were

newcomers to the event,

they enjoyed the new found

friendships and stories they

heard along the way with

veteran walkers.

When the walk got

tough, I thought of those

moments of fear,doubt, inse-

curity and I pushed myself,

thinking if I can go through

treatment and surgeries, I

absolutely can do this.

Markovitz painfully re-

counted when she went

underwent chemo therapy,

noting, I had such bad neu-

ropathy that I couldn't walk

sometimes at all while going

through the treatments. It

hurt so badly. A lot of it re-

ally came down to digging

deep and grabbing what I

haddown in thereandpush-

ing through whatever the

featmaybe,Markovitz said.

The walk ended with a

wonderful and emotional

closing ceremony that re-so-

lidied my connection with

every person there: The

crew that made it possible,

the walkers that walked for

someone they loved, some-

one going through treat-

ment right now, the walker

that walked for everyone,

Avon for creating the event,

all the hospitals and clinics

who treat patients, the uni-

versities that research cures

and better treatments and

the survivors that still ght

today, added Markowitz.

The entire weekend was

awesome and I'll denitely

be doing it again.

For more information

about AVON 39 The Walk

to End Breast Cancer, visit

www.avon39.org or join the

#Powerof39 conversation on

Facebook, Instagram, Twit-

ter, andYouTube.

AVON, from page 1

Apply now for the Na-

tional Center forVIP train-

ing program at the Bolger

Center Hotel and Confer-

ence Center in Potomac

from June 9-11.

Veteran Institute for

Procurement (VIP) is an

educational program for

owners, principals and C-

level executives of veter-

an-owned businesses. The

VIP is a 27-hour, three-day

comprehensive certifica-

tion program designed for

veteran businesses to in-

crease their ability to win

government contracts. To

date, 446 veteran-owned

businesses have graduated

from the program.

The VIP classes are of-

fered to one executive from

each enrolled businesses.

Class size is limited to 50.

The program is funded

by Montgomery County

Chamber Community

Foundation, partners and

VIP sponsors, and is of no

cost to participants.Enroll-

ment is open to veteran-

owned businesses nation-

wide.

Eligible applicants:

1. Must be an owner,

principal or C-level execu-

tive for a veteran-owned

business

2. Have been in busi-

ness for at least two years

with a minimum of three

full time employees

3. Have experience

working on Federal gov-

ernment contracts as a

prime and/or sub-contrac-

tor to a prime

4. Be a small business.

VIP is for veteran busi-

ness executives with in-

terest in best business

practices in these areas:

accounting/budgets/devel-

oping rates; compliance;

contractingteaming,

joint ventures, RFI; nanc-

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human resources; insur-

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program management/in-

ternal controls.

Formore information or

to apply, please visit www.

nationalvip.org.TheBolger

Center Hotel and Confer-

ence Center is located at

9600 Newbridge Drive.

Montgomery County

Chamber Community

Foundation

Veteran business

owners sought for

training program

1050791

1051067

U.S. AIR FORCE PHOTOS/AIRMAN 1ST CLASS PHILIP BRYANT

Capt.DeniseDuriga,11thWingProtocolchief, looksout thewindowof theB-17GTexas

RaidersatJointBaseAndrews,May4.TexasRaiders isoneof two in theCommemorative

AirForceorganizationandoneof11still ying.

B-17GTexasRaiders,sitsontheightlineatJointBaseAndrews,May4.Theaircraftwason

display tocommemorateVictory inEuropeDaywhichwillbecelebrated today.TheTexas

Raiders isaBoeingB-17GFlyingFortress that ispartof theCommemorativeAirForce,a

nonprotorganization locatedoutofMidland,Texas.

Chief Master Sgt. Todd Cole, 89th Airlift Wing command chief, walks through the

bomb bay of the B-17G Texas Raiders at Joint Base Andrews, May 4.

CommemorativeAir ForcebringsB-17 to JBA

4

Andrews Gazette

Friday, May 8, 2015

1051014

1051016

Experiencing his rst

year, Riley comes from a

military family, It has

been impressed upon me

that the freedom we en-

joy everyday wasnt really

free. It was a good way to

show appreciation. This

perhaps provides a way for

people in my generation to

honor and celebrate Me-

morial Day.

I dont necessarily

come from a military fam-

ily like Lane does; but

when you are asked to do

something like this and

you really do see that Me-

morial Day has become

more or less a vacation day

you cant say no, shared

Driscoll in his second year

of participating.

Marrow, retired Army

and 20 years as a reght-

er, is one of the drivers for

the bus for the relay. He

shared, It was such an

opportunity, a way for us

to remember. You meet so

many people and as you

are walking you quickly

get to know people and

their stories strangers no

longer after that. I drove

last year and I didnt hesi-

tate to do it again.

This journey started in

West Point,N.Y., onApril 28

and will only end once they

reach Dallas on Memorial

Day weekend some 2,000

miles later. It was on May

4th that this journey passed

throughMaryland.

What is this journey

about? It is Carry the

Load, a 27-day relay that

provides a way to honor

and celebrate military, law

enforcement, firefighters

and rescue personnel who

have sacrificed for this

country, as well as their

families.

According to the cre-

ators, it is a way to restore

the true meaning of Memo-

rial Day while raising mon-

ey for non-prot partners.

This nonprofit was

founded by Clint Bruce

and Stephen Holley, two

former Navy SEALs. The

genesis of the relay was

when Bruce had become

frustrated with what Me-

morial Day had become

just another day off from

work and not about sacri-

ce. Bruce strapped on a

pack and walked, honoring

fallen brethren and shar-

ing their pain.

Driscoll hops on the bi-

cycle and Riley jumps in

the chase car. It is a quick

20 minute trip to the next

legs starting point. People

at the gas station approach

the bus, intrigued by the

pictures and Restoring

the True Meaning of Me-

morial Day emblazoned

across the side.

It becomes apparent

this scene repeats itself

numerous times during

the journey as they share

story after story of people

inquiring about their pas-

sage withmany joining the

relay spontaneously. It was

4 a.m. when they began

the next leg from Landover

to cross over into Wash-

ington, D.C. They asked,

Do you want to walk? It

was then that the report-

er joined the numbers of

spontaneous journeymen.

During the trek, Riley

shared stories of those

that have joined the relay

on different legs.

People start talking

and start sharing they

talk about their experi-

ences, about their loved

ones. Its somewhat heal-

ing.There have beenmany

stories that really touched

my heart, Riley shared.

It is still dark while

crossing the D.C. line; the

walkers stop for a quick

sele tomark themilestone.

While walking along

the road somewhat pre-

carious in some places

there are horn beeps as

people look over to see the

American Flag and the

Carry the Load Flag the

walkers are carrying.

As dawn appears, the

next meeting point is at

hand. There are team

members there to greet

with high-ves and a great

big bear hug from Bruce.

It started out for me

just being really angry

the reason I startedwalking

was because I was mad; to

now, to just not being angry

at all. How can you be an-

gry after seeing this? How

can you be angry when a

reporter walks up at two in

themorning trying to gure

this thing out; and then just

walks because they just get

it.You cant stay angry after

that, Bruce said

For me, one of my big

missions is to continue to

pool the numbers of people

who need to see that this

still matters and that these

sacrices matter. And, then,

extend that recognition to

what I call the sacricial

services: law enforcement,

fire fighters rescue/EMT

personnel. The risk is that

you could not come home at

night;andtheydo it overand

over again.Weve taken a lot

of ground in helping the na-

tion celebrateMemorialDay.

We want to take the whole

monthofMay tohonor these

other men and women who

have sacriced for us and

say, Hey, what you do mat-

ters, Bruce noted.

Every year I look for-

ward to these spontaneous

moments I love when

people sign up but those

spontaneous moments

when someone walks up

to you and goes, Hey what

are you doing? and you

tell them and they say,

Okay Im walking, Bruce

shared.

Visit CarryTheLoad.

org to join the relay, make

a donation, or volunteer.

Follow Carry the Load on

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The relay team joins with several local walkers to start the rst Washington, D.C.

leg of the relay just after sunrise.

5

Friday, May 8, 2015

Andrews Gazette

1050788

Andrews Gazette

6

Friday, May 8, 2015

BYMAJ. DERRIC

WHITESIDE

779THMEDICAL OPERATIONS

SQUADRON

High blood pressure,

called hypertension, is one

of the most common con-

ditions seen in a doctors

office. Blood pressure is

identied through screen-

ing with the use of a blood

pressuremachine, ormanu-

ally by a technician. Its of-

ten called the silent killer

because patients typically

do not feel when their blood

pressure is elevated but

the elevation can cause a

heart attack, stroke, kidney

damage or even premature

death.

High blood pressure

places stress on the kidneys

and is particularly danger-

ous for those with uncon-

trolled diabetes or kidney

disease, who may already

have injury to their kidneys.

The extra stress from high

blood pressure could lead to

needing dialysis. Individu-

als with diabetes or kidney

disease, regardless of age,

shouldmaintain their blood

pressure at 140/90 or less,

said Lt. Col. Assy Yacoub,

Internist, 779th Medical

Operation Squadron.

Those under age 60

should maintain a blood

pressure of 140/90 or less.

Those over age 60 should

maintain a blood pressure

of 150/90 or less. Individu-

als are diagnosed with hy-

pertensionwhen their blood

pressure is greater than

150/90 on two separate oc-

casions, said Yacoub.

It is very important to

monitor your blood pres-

sure and follow up with

your doctor when you notice

that your blood pressure is

not in the normal range.

Your physician will advise

you on the best option to

get your blood pressure un-

der control. Typically, this

includes a lifestyle modi-

cation such as weight loss

through diet and exercise.

A low salt diet is recom-

mended along with mod-

erate aerobic activity for

at least 30 minutes a day,

three to ve days a week. If

that does not work,medica-

tion may be required, said

Yacoub.

I suffered from high

blood pressure for over 20

years and more recently

diabetes. I didnt want to

cut my life short so I made

some simple changes to my

lifestyle, which included,

watching my diet, limiting

salt and sugar, and exer-

cising three times a week.

With the help of Dr. White-

side, Ive been able to con-

trol my diabetes without

insulin and have reduced

my blood pressure, saidMr.

William Gage, an Air Force

retiree and patient of Dr.

Whiteside.

I monitor my blood

pressure several times a

day to ensure it remains un-

der 140/90 and always take

my medication at the same

time each day. If my pres-

sure goes up I take time out

to rest. I also follow up with

my doctor about four times

a year, said Gage.

Hypertension:

Thesilentkiller

U.S. AIR FORCE/79TH MEDICAL WING

Dr. Derric Whiteside, 779th Medical Operations

Squadron, Internist, takes the blood pressure of

Senior Airman Timothy McSheehy, 779th Medical

Operations Squadron, Medical Technician.

I didnt want to cutmy life short

WilliamGage, Air Force retiree

While getting a large tax

refund is nice, its not much

of a benet to allow the

government to hold your

money until it refunds your

overpayment. By changing

your withholding amount,

you might receive more

money on your paycheck

that you can save in an

interest-bearing savings ac-

count throughout the year.

There are rules about how

much you must have with-

held or paid in estimates to

avoid IRS penalties. Con-

sult your tax advisor to

make sure you are properly

covered.

Fund your 401(k),

403(b), TSP or tradi-

tional IRA. By deferring

wages into your pre-tax re-

tirement plan,youwill keep

your taxable income lower.

With these plans, you can

save money for retirement

and enjoy the benets of

getting tax-deferred com-

pounding of earnings with-

in the accounts.

Maximize your ex-

ible spending account.

Contribute pre-tax earn-

ings to an employer-spon-

sored health or dependent

care exible spending ac-

count. You can reduce your

tax liability and use the

money saved for medical,

dental and dependent care

expenses.

Give. For 2015, you can

gift anyone in the amount

up to $14,000 without

having to ll out a gift tax

return. If youre married,

both you and your spouse

can give gifts, doubling the

$14,000 to $28,000. Just

make sure that the gifts are

given by Dec. 31.

Estimate taxes if

youre self-employed. To

avoid an underpayment

penalty on the unpaid

amount,your estimated tax

must be at least the lesser

of the following: 90 percent

of the tax liability shown on

the return for the current

year or 100 percent of the

tax liability shown on the

return for the prior year.

You may want to use the

safe planning technique

to avoid a possible under-

payment penalty, where

you make estimated tax

payments of at least 100

percent (or 110 percent if

the AGI was in excess of

$150,000 for the prior year)

of the actual tax liability for

the prior year.

Learn more by visiting

the Andrews Federal On-

line Education Center at

www.andrewsfcu.org/mem

bereducation.

Year-round tax strategies

1050446

Andrews Gazette

Friday, May 8, 2015

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Friday, May 8, 2015

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