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8a tuesday, march 14, 20066 wright GREENE COUNTY NEWS SERVICE

Breakaway
wright-patt
BRIEFS helmet strap reduces
risk of aircrew ejection injuries
Preseparation
counseling at FSC
The transition assistance
program will conduct manda-
tory preseparation counseling
for all retiring and separating
members 1-2 p.m. March 20
and 27 in the FSC classroom
244, Bldg. 2, Area C. You will
delay your out-processing if
the briefing is not conducted
outside of 90 days before your
separation/retirement. Call the
center to register.

Transition
Assistance
Program Tuesday,
Wednesday
A two-day TAP seminar
will take place 8 a.m. to 4
p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday
and March 28-31 in FSC
classroom 244, Bldg. 2, Area
C. The workshop is designed
to assist people in marketing
themselves for a second
career. You will learn about
resume writing, interviewing,
job search skills and more for
you to transition into the civil-
ian community.
Make your next
move a ‘Smooth
Move’
A Smooth Move seminar
will take place 1-3:30 p.m.
March 23 in FSC classroom
244, Bldg. 2, Area C. Join
representatives from claims,
transportation, Tricare, per-
sonal financial management,
housing and other base agen-
cies to learn how to make
your next permanent change
of station a “Smooth Move.”
Workshop to
address ‘Kids on
the Move’
The FSC offers a Kids on
the Move workshop for chil-
dren, ages 6-12 years old,
from 5:30-7:30 p.m. April 20
in the FSC classroom 244,
Bldg. 2, Area C. The work-
shop is designed to address
relocation issues with children
in a relaxed, fun environment
and to recognize any feelings
they may have about the
move.
Parents are asked to attend
the program with their child
or children. The workshop is
for military members from all
branches of service and
Department of Defense civil-
ian employees who are retir-
ing, separating or preparing
for or just completing a PCS
move. The maximum number
for registration is 15 children.
To register, call the FSC front
desk.
Air Force band
performs with
high school
Air Force Band of Flight
performs with the Fairborn
High School Symphonic
Winds at 3:30 p.m. Sunday at
Fairborn High School, 900
East Dayton-Yellow Springs
Road, Fairborn. The concert is
free and open to the public.
For more information, contact
Mrs. Jean Teti at 878-0883.
LAN party planned
for March 18
Photo by Chris Gulliford AFRL/HE Photo by Delane Bullman AFRL/HEPA
Biomedical engineer Ms. Erica Doczy makes final adjustments on a prototype This high-speed camera image captures the moment that the helmet strap’s
breakaway integrated chin-nape strap prior to testing on a stress test buckle separates during a breakaway chin-nape strap test at the Air Force
machine. The hydraulic system on the Material Testing System simulates Research Laboratory. Helmet designers notched the strap’s aluminum buck-
forces encountered during an ejection by pulling the manikin head downward le to provide a breakaway point that lets the strap separate at a predeter-
to create tensile force against the strap system. AFRL engineers are working mined force level to minimize stress on a pilot’s neck during a high-speed
to determine the optimum helmet strap design for aircrew safety. ejection.
By JOHN SCHUTTE crewmember to protect his or her head helmet-mounted systems, which are mechanical technician and life support
AFRL Human Effectiveness against blunt trauma, and releasing the frontally loaded,” said Ms. Erica specialist of the program...
Directorate helmet strap prior to inducing severe Doczy, biomedical engineer with the Now, engineers are using their ten-
WPAFB – Engineers at the Air Force neck injury,” said Dr. Pellettiere, tech- Biomechanics Branch. “The integrated sile loading criteria to pinpoint the load
Research Laboratory’s (AFRL) Human nical consultant for the AFRL Human chin-nape strap did a better job of range in which the strap should release
Effectiveness Directorate (HE) are tak- Effectiveness Directorate, Biosciences holding the helmet stable.” to provide the highest margin of safety
ing a proactive approach to reduce and Protection Division, During a high-speed ejection the during high-speed ejections. Two small
risks associated with a flight helmet Biomechanics Branch. helmet can act as a drag chute – partic- notches specially positioned in the
chin-strap system – risks that may be “We are working to be proactive and ularly if the helmet visor is not in place strap’s metal buckle provide a break-
caused by the strap actually working prevent injuries from occurring, even – catching the initial windblast that away point in the strap system.
too well. before they show up as a problem to can reach more than 520 mph (450 Recent dynamic tests on the larger of
AFRL’s biomedical engineers are crewmembers,” Dr. Pellettiere said. knots equivalent air speed), a speed at two sizes demonstrated the strap func-
working with the Air Force Human “So, looking at the current situation, which a crewmember’s neck can be tions as designed, separating when
Systems Group and helmet manufac- we began working a solution before stressed. At 575 mph (500 KEAS) and neck loading reached the established
turer Gentex Corporation of helmet-mediated neck injuries become above, which is defined as “high-speed force-release range and thereby reduc-
Carbondale, Pa., to design and test a a problem for the Air Force.” ejection,” the potential for significant ing the chance of injury, Ms. Doczy
breakaway version of Gentex’s inte- The current situation is that the Air neck injury exists. said. At the program’s critical design
grated chin-nape strap. The breakaway Force is taking a second look at its “There is no guarantee that during review held recently at Gentex, engi-
strap’s metal buckle is designed to sep- recently redesigned integrated chin- ejection the helmet will inflict these neers received the go-ahead to perform
arate at a predetermined force level to nape strap, a continuous piece of nylon high tensile loads on the pilot’s neck,” operational assessment on the larger
minimize stress on a pilot’s neck dur- webbing that is threaded through the Ms. Doczy said, “but in that dynamic buckle and strap.
ing a high-speed ejection. helmet and around both the front environment it is a possibility, and if or When tests of the smaller strap using
Researchers want to make sure that (chin) and rear (nape) of the pilot’s when that happens we’ll have a strap AFRL’s Material Testing System are
flight helmets provide head protection head. It was originally designed to that can prevent serious neck injuries completed, the breakaway integrated
and a stable platform for helmet- make the helmet more stable when from occurring.” chin-nape strap design will undergo
mounted equipment, but also reduce front-mounted equipment such as The previous two-piece chin-nape windblast tests that simulate the
the risk for serious neck injuries when night-vision goggles and cueing strap design separated during high dynamic ejection environment.
an escaping crewmember blasts into devices are attached. windblast forces, but was not suffi- If all goes well, researchers hope to
the air stream surrounding the aircraft. “The integrated chin-nape strap was ciently stable to support the frontal have a new breakaway chin-nape strap
“There is a delicate balance to keep- created when the Air Force added all loads related to extra helmet-mounted design ready for deployment by late
ing the helmet secure on the the weight up front from all the new equipment, said Mr. Brian Grattan, 2006.
Medical center prepares to implement
new electronic health record system
By LISA M. KLIEBERT-WITT take approximately four months. During this time, it offers both direct and indirect advantages to
88th Medical Group Public Affairs there will be a steep learning curve for healthcare patients.
WPAFB – The current state of the military health providers. The most obvious advantage is that their records
system’s medical records management program The 88th Medical Group will need beneficiaries are accessible to all providers involved in care from
includes a hodge-podge of paper forms and reports, to be tolerant of adjustments to appointment sched- any clinic that has AHLTA.
incorporated into a folder and manually transported ules to allow providers to gain proficiency; howev- Entries in a patient’s record are legible and auto-
across medical units throughout a medical treatment er, people should be assured that no acute need will matically logged with the date, time and name of the
facility. But in an initiative led by Dr. William go unmet. What will be affected will be access to person who wrote the note. Special alerts notify the
Winkenwerder Jr., assistant secretary of defense for routine appointments, which will take a little longer provider of any drug allergies, critical laboratory
health affairs, the president’s vision for an interoper- during the transition to AHLTA. results or medication incompatibilities a person may
able electronic healthcare record by 2014 is becom- AHLTA is the largest, most significant electronic have. Wellness reminders, specific to someone’s age
ing a reality. health record system of its kind with the potential and gender, inform health staff when screening
Much like the records management revolution that to serve more than nine million service members, exams are due.
occurred in the financial sector of the U. S. economy retirees and their families worldwide. When fully Today, many thousands of military medical
with bank records computerized and billions of dol- implemented, about 60,000 military healthcare pro- providers are using the system, and nearly 300,000
lars traveling electronically every day, today’s health- fessionals at DoD medical facilities in the United outpatient visits are captured digitally every week.
care market demands timely data transmission in States and 11 other countries will use this electron- Full deployment of the system in DoD’s 800 clinics
order to ensure patient privacy and support clinical ic health record system. and 70 hospitals is expected to happen by December.
decision making. The longer term vision, expected to be achieved Paper records will not simply disappear immedi-
Fortunately, the paper-based records system is on in the next two to three years, is a continuously ately though; this data repository is the principal
the verge of extinction, as the MHS evolves from its updated digital medical record from the point of source for a patient’s medical history.
old pen and paper ways into the electronic age. injury or care on the battlefield to military clinics For the time being, back up copies of AHLTA doc-
Wright-Patterson Medical Center is scheduled to and hospitals in the United States, all completely uments/reports will be printed out and filed in a
carry out the Armed Forces Health Longitudinal transferable electronically to the Veterans Health patient’s paper-based medical record. Over time, as
Technology Application, the new $1.2 billion Administration. Both military and civilian health care the clinical data repository is populated with medical
Department of Defense electronic health record leaders consider AHLTA indispensable for improving information, reliance on paper-based records will
system. Implementation will begin May 8 and will clinical quality, patient security and safety. They say diminish.

A Fusion LAN party is

planned to start at 2 p.m.
March 18 at Bldg. 1222,
Kittyhawk Center, Area C.
Open to all those with access
to the base. They will play
Battlefield 2 and other games.
Cover charge costs $5
(includes soda, pizza and
prizes) or $10 to get your own
personal medium pizza. Only
30 seats are available, so sign
up soon by going to
http://www.fusionlanparty.co
m. You must bring your own
computer, monitor, keyboard,
mouse, power strip and head
phones (no speakers). Your
computer must have all the
games installed and
patched/updated to the latest
version. For more informa-
tion, call 257-4032
Airmen train to fill security forces void
By DARREN D. HEUSEL
72nd Air Base Wing Public
Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE
BASE, Okla. – With the 72nd
Security Forces Squadron
tasked to provide up to 65 air-
men for an indefinite six-
month security rotation to
Camp Bucca, Iraq, concerns
over manpower are at an all-
time high.
To help with the shortage,
Tinker Air Force Base has
devised a plan to take airmen
from other career fields and
train them to Lt. Col. Joe
Hogan, acting 72nd SFS com-
mander, said 48 augmentees
have already joined his unit in
the past three weeks and more
are receiving training at the
First Term Airman’s Center
that will give the squadron a
pool of qualified candidates.
“These augmentees will
receive all the equipment and
initial training and will be per-
forming duties side-by-side
along with our security forces
guys,” he said. “The reason
(this is necessary) is because
we have so many troops
deployed right now.
“In the past, most of our
defenders would deploy and
provide air base security by
manning a guard tower,” said
the colonel. “Now, we’re
going several thousand meters
outside the wire. It’s just a
new way of life and anybody
can get tasked to perform
those roles.”
Colonel Hogan said that’s
one reason why his squadron
has begun offering
Expeditionary Combat Skills
Training to all airmen on base.
“Chances are when airmen
deploy, they’re going to be in
a convoy, so they better know
what to do,” he said. “They’re
in a combat zone and getting
combat pay, so they better
have some skills.”
The augmentees all receive
about a week’s worth of train-
ing in basic security forces
duties to include communica-
tions, guard mount proce-
dures, security forces forms,
security reporting and alert-
ing, individual challenge tech-
niques, use of force and instal-
lation challenge techniques.
The airmen also receive
training in blood-borne
pathogens, military authority
and jurisdiction, restricted
area circulation and control
procedures, force protection
conditions, security forces
tactics, searching and the
Bucca mission, Colonel
Hogan said.
“We know it’s a hardship on
them because it takes them out
of their career field for a while,
but base security is every-
body’s business,” said the
colonel.
Airman 1st Class Hector
Ortiz, an augmentee from the
752nd Communications
Squadron, said he is sold on
the additional training require-
ment and looks forward to the
opportunity to protect the base
and his fellow airmen.
“The training has been
good,” he said. “It feels good
... protecting the base and
keeping your fellow wingmen
safe.”
Colonel Hogan said he will
continue to use augmentees
until his security teams return
from Camp Bucca sometime
this spring.

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