A public health nurse gives an immunization injection.

When the school year began last September, large numbers of Pennsylvania school children lacked immunizations or the proof that they had received those immunizations. The Pennsylvania Department of Health notified families that they would have eight months to obtain immunizations, file the correct paperwork or provide the paperwork giving their student an exemption for medical, religious or philosophical reasons. The deadline passed and was extended for two weeks. Yesterday was it.

It was up to the district superintendents to ban students or not ban students for lack of immunizations. Some schools are permitting unvaccinated students to attend classes while others have refused and banned them from the building. The push to obtain immunizations and correct records has been successful in other districts.

The Pocono Record reports that some local schools have full compliance with the immunization policy. Two local schools were banning some students. The East Stroudsburg Area School District has reduced its backlog from 650 student to 70, and they were going to be banned. Pocono Mountain had gone from 300 to 50 by Tuesday’s deadline, and these students were set to be banned.

Wilkes-Barre Area and Wyoming Valley West are taking the opposite tack. The Times-Leader reports that Wilkes-Barre has about 300 students without all their immunizations. They are being allowed to finish the school year but will not be permitted to attend in the fall if the situation has not been corrected. WNEP-16 reports the same policy at Western Wayne, with the number of non-compliant students in that district at 67.

In Erie, 350 students were not allowed in class on Tuesday. By day’s end the number had been reduced to 206, as reported by GoErie.com.

In the Scranton area, the Times-Tribune surveyed local school districts. Many had full compliance while others reported very low numbers of students that would be banned. The Scranton district had about 300 students needing immunizations at the lend of last week and 155 students were banned on Tuesday.

Pennsylvania is one of twenty states that permit parents to exempt their children from immunizations based on a philosophical belief. The statute describes it as “a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief”. The state has reported nearly 500 cases of pertussis, whooping cough, in 2012 and ranks fifth nationally in the number of reported cases.

Illness
Susan Hoffner, a spokesperson for the Putnam County Health Department, states that approximately 150 people were taken ill. Symptoms of the illness include vomiting, diarrhea, nausea and dehydration. Many became ill after they left the event. By evening, the Times Herald-Record states that local emergency services had received reports of dozens of cases of illness in travelers between the monastery and New York City. The outbreak is believed to be caused by some form of food poisoning.



Police Response
The Kent, NY, police department responded to the incident. Detective Gerald Locasio, a spokesman for the department, said that four officers from Kent and assistance from the Woodbury Police Department, responded. Fifteen patients were transported by ambulance from the area of the monastery. While there were some language barriers, Locasio said, there were enough English speaking individuals who could translate. The monastery shut down food service when notified of the problem. Detective Locasio states that there is no current indication that the incident was criminal in nature or that there was terrorist involvement. The investigators are working closely with the Putnam County Health Department.

Medical Response
The Putnam County News and Recorder reports that several fire and ambulance agencies from the region responded to the monastery as calls flooded the Putnam County 911 center. Triage was performed by EMS personnel on site and some patients were taken to nearby hospitals.

In Orange County, buses transporting people from the event stopped at a local shopping mall, where some of the travelers became ill. About two dozen patients were taken to local hospitals from this location. A spokesman for the Orange County Regional Medical Center, located in Middletown, estimated that around a dozen patients were treated and released from their facility. St. Luke’s Hospital in Cornwall reports that it treated eight from the incident. All were released. Good Samaritan Hospital in Suffern also treated and released several patients.

Health Department Response
The Putnam County Health Department will be working with experts from the New York State Health Department to investigate the outbreak. Peter Constantakes, spokesman for the NYS Department of Health, said that the DoH has personnel on the ground in Putnam County at this time working with the county health department. The followup with patients is requiring the DoH to translate the standard questionnaire into Chinese. They will also need to translate the answers when they are received. Constantakes stated that any outbreak follow up in Chinatown would be conducted by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. If there is any indication that the illnesses resulted from a food product sold commercially, the Centers for Disease Control would be advised of the situation.

Attendees to the opening ceremony of the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute participate in the ribbon cutting May 9, 2012 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. The Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery will be able to train up to 800 students, both male and female, a year in nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, lab and dental services. Photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

The Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute held a ribbon cutting ceremony May 9,2012. The Nursing and Midwifery facility is one of only eight similar facilities in the country and will be able to train up to 800 students, both male and female, per year. The facility will teach students nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, lab, and dental services, with an emphasis on improving maternal and infant mortality rates in Kandahar, as well as surrounding provinces.

The May 9, 2012 ribbon cutting ceremony for Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute marked a big step in the improvement of medical facilities in Afghanistan. The Director of Public Health, Dr. A.Q. Pokhla, Provincial Governor, Toryalai Wesa, and the Minister of Public Health, Dr. Suraya Dalil attended the ceremony along with many of the U.S. military and civilian partners who assisted in the project.

The speakers spoke about the importance of the facility and what it will mean for Afghanistan.

“Today we celebrate the transition to Afghan authority,” said Minister Dalil. “We should stand on our own feet to deliver services for our people.”

The Nursing and Midwifery facility is one of only eight similar facilities in the country and will be able to train up to 800 students, both male and female, per year. The facility will teach students nursing, midwifery, pharmacy, lab, and dental services, with an emphasis on improving maternal and infant mortality rates in Kandahar, as well as surrounding provinces. The compound consists of male and female dormitories, a dining hall, a schoolhouse, mosque, recreation field and administrative buildings.

The new facility will greatly increase the institute’s capabilities from those provided at the former site at Mirwais hospital.

“The nursing and midwifery facility will provide students with a better learning and living environment.” said U.S. Navy Lt. j.g Kimberly Gaines, Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team senior medical officer. “As well facilitate the growth of a multitude of health services in Kandahar City.”

U.S. Navy Lt. j.g. Kimberly Gaines, Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team, listens to a translated speech through a headset during the Kandahar Nursing and Midwifery Institute grand opening ceremony May 9, 2012 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Kandahar PRT is a joint team of U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy service members and civilians deployed to the Kandahar province of Afghanistan to assist in the effort to rebuild and stabilize the local government and infrastructure. Photo by Staff Sgt. Timothy Chacon

Local Afghan contractors conducted the building of the facility with the assistance of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team. The Kandahar PRT is a joint team of U.S. Air Force, Army, Navy and civilians assigned to the Kandahar province to assist with the effort to rebuild and stabilize the local government and infrastructure.

Leonard Sinfield, South District hydrogeologist, inspects well pipes stacked and ready for installation in a new well site on the Afghan National Army 9th Commando compound in Herat province, May 1. Photo by Dave Melancon

DVIDS
Story by Dave Melancon

Water is a critical element for rebuilding Afghanistan’s economy and security, according Afghanistan Engineer District-South’s hydrogeologist, Leonard Sinfield.

“Without water, nothing can happen,” said Sinfield, one of about a dozen hydrogeologists working for U.S. federal, military, or non-government agencies in Afghanistan. Sinfield assesses water resources for the Afghan National Security Forces and U.S. forces facilities and installations.

“The Corps of Engineers looks to see if there are adequate groundwater resources because you cannot build a facility without water,” he said during a site visit to wells in Herat and Qala-i-Naw May 1 and 2. “We try to predict if there is good water or not.”

A U.S. Navy civilian employee from San Diego, Calif. working on an interagency detail with the south district, Sinfield has studied test results for more than 50 wells in the district and conducted hands-on site assessments and tests for 10.

Sinfield also supervises well drilling projects on Kandahar Airfield and is helping Kandahar City officials to develop its water resources master plan.

“We are trying to help Afghanistan develop drinking water for the city,” he said. “We are reviewing all the wells, looking for good locations, doing all the things we do to assist Kandahar City officials correctly build wells and tap into good water for the city.”

Sinfield said he is helping the Afghans with technical aspects of drilling several deep aquifer exploration wells in and around Kandahar City. These wells will help the city diversify the number and types of reliable water sources it has available to ensure a water supply that is not subject to droughts in the future.

“As we close bases, we want to transition responsibility for the water wells over to the Afghans,” he said. “We do not want to just close them. So, we may have to retrofit the wells with hand pumps and train village residents on maintenance.”

Additionally, Sinfield advises area combat commanders and civil affairs teams in Regional Command South with their long-term planning and with drafting water-related policies.

Meetings, documents and written test results provide only a partial picture of a well’s capacity and quality. There is no substitute for an on-site assessment, Sinfield said.

“We talk with the Afghan drillers, making sure they are doing the right things technically,” he said. “We are able to ask the right questions to obtain good information on the well site.”

But the most important part of these face-to-face, well-side discussions is preparing the Afghans to take over their water operations.

“We try to get the Afghans to use the information to help them make good well drilling decisions,” Sinfield said.

During site visits to several wells on Corps projects in the Herat area, Sinfield found two 500-meter deep dry holes drilled into steeply sloping bedrock which is forcing the water under the mountains on Camp Zafar, three intermittent wells on Camp Stone with some minor salinity problems and “tons of good water” on the 9th Commando compound. The three sites are adjacent to one another.

“We saw a pattern: no water, OK water, very good water,” Sinfield said. “We know where the good water is.”

In Qala-i-Naw, where the Corps of Engineers is building a new resident office to oversee several projects taking place in Badghis province, Sinfield found one well drilled into dry clay that should be sealed, another seasonal well that could serve as a back-up water source and the remains of an abandoned well.

The abandoned well could be restored, he reported. It needs a new well house, pump, electric system, a 500-gallon day tank and a booster pump.

During his assessments, Sinfield used a portable salinity meter to test the salt content, known as total dissolved salt or TDS, of the well water and had good news to report.

“The water coming out of those wells was as good as the water that was being delivered by truck,” he said.

The delivered water has a salinity level of about 1,600 parts-per-million while the water on a nearby Spanish army forward operating base had TDS of approximately 1,800 ppm, he said. Water throughout the Qala-i-Naw area has salinity ranges measuring from about 1,250 to 1,800 ppm.

“It is all good water,” Sinfield said. “It may just taste a little salty and makes bad coffee or tea.” However, it is safe and potable, he said.

The higher salt content came as no surprise, Sinfield said, salty water is an issue throughout the region.

“You have a lot of water that is really salty, really hard,” he explained. “The first aquifer that you hit is usually really salty. In some areas of the country that is all you can get, especially along the Iranian border area.”

Wells drilled deeper than 300 meters can usually overcome the salt problem and have other benefits, he said. The added depth yields higher pumping capacity and higher quality water.

Without water, Afghanistan cannot grow and prosper, Sinfield said.

“You can’t develop anything without water. Water drives the economy here. Electrical subsystems need water, hydroelectric systems need water, agriculture needs water,” he said.

“Afghanistan used to export a lot of agricultural products in the pre-war years. Hopefully we can help them get back to that point.”

Sailors with the Preventive Medicine Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, place traps along a tree line aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 8, 2012. Throughout the year, PMU performs many tasks to keep the living conditions on base at a high standard. The unit is now working hard as the summer months approach to catch and test mosquitoes from across the base for malaria. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Franklin E. Mercado

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Franklin Mercado

According to the Center for Disease Control, in 2010 an estimated 216 million cases of malaria occurred worldwide and 655,000 people died from the disease.

Sailors with Preventative Medicine Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group are working diligently to ensure diseases, such as malaria, do not threaten Marines and sailors aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Throughout the year, PMU performs many tasks to keep the living conditions on base at a high standard. They inspect chow halls, barracks and working facilities for health hazards.

Complaints about pests are constant with the warm weather and rising number of insects. The heavily wooded and wet areas aboard the base are also conducive to a thriving mosquito population.

On May 8, Sailors with PMU ventured across the base to plant traps and conduct their research of the installation’s mosquito population.

There haven’t been many outbreaks of malaria in the U.S. compared to other stricken places, but it doesn’t stop the unit from doing all they can to keep it that way.

“We don’t have any cases in the area,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Charles A. Hill, a preventive medicine technician with PMU. “We still do regular trapping and testing of mosquitoes from around the base.”

Camp Lejeune has a large quantity of grassy and moist areas, which is why it is important for traps to be spread out across the vast installation, explained Hill.

Sailors with the Preventive Medicine Unit, 2nd Marine Logistics Group, place traps along a tree line aboard Camp Lejeune, N.C., May 8, 2012. Throughout the year, PMU performs many tasks to keep the living conditions on base at a high standard. The unit is now working hard as the summer months approach to catch and test mosquitoes from across the base for malaria. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Pfc. Franklin E. Mercado

“We spread the traps out as far as we can,” he said. “We put them on Midway Park, Onslow Beach, around the Naval Hospital, and a lot more places on the base, so we can get a wide variety of mosquitoes.”

There are many types of mosquitoes – with the most common breeds being Culex and Aedes mosquitoes – and the trapping process gives PMU a chance to test a large number of them. In the peak mosquito season, traps are regularly found with 300 to 400 mosquitoes each, said Hill.

“When we get the traps back, we get a good idea of which mosquitoes are in the area,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Justin Munger, a preventive medicine specialist with PMU. “We can better identify the ones that are harmful to people, and conduct population control.”

The traps are collected 24 hours after they are set out. They set the traps with carbon dioxide and lights, which attract approximately 80 percent more mosquitoes, said Hill.

“We don’t only rely on how many traps we lay out, we rely on the carbon dioxide and lights to help almost double the amount of bugs,” Hill said. “Malaria is a serious disease, so we need to do the best we can to keep it away from the people on base.”

The traps are rarely seen by personnel on base; sailors with the PMU do their best at hiding them in the tree line. If a person happens to run into the mosquito trap, the PMU strongly encourages people to leave them alone.

ORISKANY, N.Y. — More than 700 National Guard soldiers and airmen from New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands come together next week at the New York State Preparedness Center here to prepare for certification as a regional disaster response force.

Residents may notice increased military traffic in the Oriskany, Rome and Utica areas as the HRF arrives and conducts its final training preparations and validation exercise.

The organization, known as a National Guard Homeland Response Force, will train both at the New York National Guard Armory in Utica and Oriskany at the New York State Preparedness Center to certify their readiness to assist responders following a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high explosive incident.

Registered nurse 2nd Lt. Rebeccah Collins vaccinates Alexia Woods, 12, for chicken pox and meningitis during the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center School Physicals and Immunization Clinic at Fort Hood, Texas. Photo by Jeri Chappelle, CRDAMC Public Affairs

Every state mandates a set of immunizations in order for a child to enter public school. Some also require immunizations as the student gets older. The list varies slightly but a pertussis (whooping cough) immunization is required in all states.

Not every student in public will have all their immunizations. Every state also provides for conditions of exemption from one or more of the mandated immunizations.

The medical exemption is the easiest to understand. A physician certifies that the student has had the illness, or that there are medical reasons for the child being unable to receive the immunization. An allergy to one of the vaccine’s ingredients would be an example of the latter.

Most states also provide for a religious exemption. The method of requesting this sort of exemption and the proof required varies by state. The exemption is granted to students whose religious beliefs do not allow immunizations. There are very few organized religions that hold this belief.

Twenty states allow a third type of exemption from immunization. It is called a philosophical or personal exemption. The request and the proof varies by state. In general, the state requires the parents or guardians to assert that they have a personal or philosophical objection to immunization. Several of these states have modified their laws recently to provide that the parents be counseled by a physician to the benefits and risks of immunizations in order to receive the exemption.

The states permitting some sort of personal or philosophical exemption from immunizations are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) collect and publish data on a number of reportable illnesses in the United States. The finalized data is available on line for 1996 to 2008. The preliminary data for these illnesses is available from 2009 to 2011, and monthly data for 2012 through May. Since pertussis (whooping cough) is in the news, the CDC pertussis case counts provide a basis for analyzing the effects of personal exemptions on case counts for the years 2005 through 2011.

• From 2005 to 2011, the average number of yearly pertussis cases in the United States was 17,801.
• The twenty states that allow the personal / philosophical exemption reported an average of 11,192 pertussis cases per year. That is 63 percent of the national average.
• Exemption states ranked first, second and third in pertussis case counts for the years 2005,2008, 2009 and 2010.
• In 2007, exemption states accounted for 54 percent of the total pertussis cases reported in the United States. This is the lowest percentage in the period studied.
• In 2010, exemption states accounted for 72 percent of the total reported cases. This is the highest percentage in the period studied.
• In the four years where exemption states reported the top three pertussis case counts, they account for 27 to 42 percent of the national total.
• Texas holds the most top three rankings, ranking in five out of seven years.
• California had the most reported cases of pertussis in four of the seven years. All four years, the state reported the highest number of cases in the nation.
• Minnesota ranked in the top three for three of the seven years.

Pertussis cases are surging in 2012. Year to date, the number of reported cases is up 44 percent from the same period in 2011.

The last year with this level of illness was 2010. In that year, California had a whooping cough epidemic. The states of Washington, Texas Ohio and Michigan also had large numbers of cases.

Data analyzed at that time indicated that the pertussis outbreaks in those states were centered in counties where the residents were above average in income. Many were also home to major universities and large academic communities.

• California
• Michigan, centered in the wealthy Detroit suburbs and around Ann Arbor
• Ohio, centered around Columbus
• Texas, centered around Austin

Prepared by Charles Simmins from CDC data. Click for a larger image.

In 2012, through May 5, 2012, six of the nine states reporting over 200 cases of whooping cough are exemption states. They account for fifty percent of all pertussis cases nationwide. The CDC reports that through week 18, ending May 5, there were 8,159 pertussis cases reported in 2012. That is a 44 percent increase over the same period in 2011.

Airman 1st Class Andrew McCutchen receives an immunization. U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Nathan Bevier

Parents are asked to approve a variety of immunizations for their children. The various recommended vaccines are given beginning within a few months of birth and continue for the next dozen years and more. Some parents believe, without a scientific basis, that vaccines routinely harm children and that children are better off unvaccinated.

The United States Army has some experience with infectious disease. They keep records. The historical data for some diseases which we now prevent with a vaccine is available on line. Here are just some of the costs to the Army and the troops.

All four of these illnesses are preventable through immunization. The Army varied in number during those years but never exceeded three million men.

Registered nurse 2nd Lt. Rebeccah Collins vaccinates Alexia Woods, 12, for chicken pox and meningitis during the Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center School Physicals and Immunization Clinic at Fort Hood, Texas. Photo by Jeri Chappelle, CRDAMC Public Affairs

The United States population is estimated to be 313,515,695 as of May 10, 2012. Let’s look at the case counts for these illnesses for the year 2011, the last full year.

Diphtheria – 0 No reported cases in the U.S. since 2003.
Measles – 222 cases
Mumps – 370 cases
Smallpox – 0 No reported cases since 1949.

Look at the difference that routine immunizations make. Each case of mumps, for example, cost the Army 17 days back during World War I. The 2011 case count for mumps is 0.16 percent of the Army total. The savings in days out of work due to mumps is clear.

Add in the people who did not die from diphtheria or smallpox. Add in the reduction in illness related disabilities. Immunization for vaccine preventable diseases saves lives and money.

Sunday’s New York Post reported on the ordeal by fire that Enrique Ruiz suffered at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. As doctors were trying to insert a breathing tube, Ruiz caught fire. The pain was severe enough that he woke up from sedation. An electronic scalpel being used to cut an opening in his neck combined with the oxygen he was being given causing a flash fire around the surgical site.

Surgical Fires

Mark Bruley, vice-president of investigations for the ECRI Institute, stated in the Post article that 500 to 600 surgical fires occur in the United States each year. The results can be serious or fatal. A spokesperson for the New York State Health Department (NYSDoH) states that the fire was originally reported as minor but additional information has now been provided. All injuries to patients are required to be reported to the DoH.

Causes of Surgical Fires

A fire needs oxygen, an ignitions source and fuel – something that will burn. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) points out that all of the requirements for a fire are routinely found in a surgical environment. The patient is supplied with oxygen. Alcohol skin preparations, anesthetics and surgical draping are among the fuels present. Ignition is provided by electronic surgical tools such as scalpels and lasers.

Other Surgical Fire Cases

Kira Reed was undergoing a cesarean-section in March 2010, according to the Syracuse, NY, Post-Standard. She was awake and smelled something burning. She was on fire. Her baby was delivered without injury but she suffered third degree burns to her side. An alcohol-based antiseptic skin preparation is being blamed.

In September 2009, Janice McCall died some six days after being burned by a fire on the operating table, MSNBC reports. While her death was ruled accidental, her family is pursuing legal action against Heartland Regional Medical Center in Marion, Il.

In early December, 2011, two separate fires left two patients with severe burns to the face. ABC reports that Kim Grice was burned while undergoing an outpatient procedure in Crestview, Fl. Seattle’s qFox 13 has the story of Tommy Beams, who also suffered facial burns after a fire at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

These fires are preventable, according to Mark Bruley in the Post. The FDA has a website with information for both patients and medical professionals on how to prevent surgical fires. The agency has no mandatory reporting requirement but does ask that voluntary reports of surgical fires be submitted.

An aerial view of debris from an 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck northern Japan. The debris was inspected by a helicopter-based search and rescue team from the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Alexander Tidd

Debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami are beginning to arrive on the Pacific Coast. The debris is a collection of items that both float and have a high enough profile off the water to catch the wind. The wind-driven debris, as predicted, is arriving before the current-driven debris.

The Montreal Gazette reports on the discovery of a Harley Davidson motorcycle two weeks ago on a beach in British Columbia. It was stored in some sort of cube that floated, and had a Japanese license plate.

After surviving one the most devastating earthquake and tsunami ever recorded and a full year unmanned and adrift on the world’s largest ocean, the Ryou-Un Maru, aka the Tsunami Ghost Ship, has finally met its demise at the hands of the U.S. Coast Guard. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Brandon Thomas

In April, the U.S. Coast Guard used naval gunfire to sink the Ryou-Un Maru, a Japanese fishing vessel that had drifted to within 100 miles of the coast. The ghost ship was unsalvageable and a danger to navigation.

Debris from the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 lies on the ocean floor. NOAA photo

Estimates suggest that the tsunami may have swept as much as 25 million tons of debris into the Pacific as the waters receded from the Japanese islands. Much of the flotsam has become waterlogged and sunk over the last thirteen months. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimates that 1.5 million tons of debris remain afloat.

KTUU reports that Kayak Island and Montague Island off the Alaskan coast have beaches littered with debris unlike the normal objects deposited by the ocean. Many of the items carry Japanese markings.

For Additional Information:
Tsunami Debris Project – Maritime Museum of BC on Facebook
Japan Tsunami Debris: Information and FAQs from the NOAA Marine Debris Program
Marine and Tsunami Debris News from the International Pacific Research Center

1. The son gained no advantage by claiming his mother was Indian.
2. The area where O.C. Sarah Neoma Smith was born was Indian land.
3. The census records are only a valid proof if the census taker had the option to put Indian down for race. One of the comments states that assimilated Indians were listed as white at the time.
4. The Jonathan that is claimed to be the militia member is not Warren’s ancestor but a distant  cousin. There are two Jonathans in the family tree. The report linked below only covers her direct ancestry.

Everyone is forgetting that the Cherokee were one of the “civilized” tribes. They had adopted the English way of life to a great extent, including keeping slaves. They were as civilized as any white settler in the area at that time and cannot be differentiated based on occupation or residence.

UPDATE 5/1/2012 10:19 pm: Child is correct in his research. Neoma or Sarah Smith, born 1794 in North Carolina, seems to be Warren’s Cherokee ancestor. Two caveats. The family is not enrolled with the tribe. The sole reason to believe that she was Cherokee was her son, William’s statement upon his marriage. Clearly it would seem that Warren can claim to be 1/32 Cherokee.

I can find no support for the story that Warren told to the Boston Globe about her pioneering grandmother. While she was the oldest child at the time of the Oklahoma land rush, research appears to show that her mother was still alive.

UPDATE 5/1/2012 7:38 pm: A good Boston Globe article titled Document ties Warren kin to Cherokees. It reports the Chris Child finds but points out that it is not the end of the story. I continue to explore my findings, which are based on a 1880 Census report. Which John H. Crawford married Palina Bowen?

UPDATE 5/1/2012 noon: I sent this link to Hillary Chabot from the Boston Herald. She passed it on to Chris Child. Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press, New England Historic Genealogical Society, who believes that he has discovered the Cherokee link. He believes that I have the parents of John Huston Crawford (1858-1924) incorrect. Child feels that Crawford’s paternal grandmother was Cherokee.

Elizabeth Warren is the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from Massachusetts currently held by Republican Scott Brown. During her career, she was identified repeatedly as a member of a minority. She is currently claiming that family lore says that her ancestry includes Delaware and Cherokee blood, making her part Native American.

Her life story is compelling. Small town Oklahoma girl rises from poverty to make good. However, has any part of her success resulted from affirmative action programs and policies designed to assist minorities? The record is clear. Employers and colleagues considered her a minority.

Elizabeth Herring Warren is the daughter of Donald Herring and Pauline Reed. The claim is that her Native American heritage comes through her mother. The tribes involved are the Delaware and the Cherokee.

Pauline Reed was the daughter of Harry Gunn Reed and Hannie Elvira Crawford.

Harry Gunn Reed married Hannie Crawford on June 2, 1893, in Sebastian, Arkansas. Reed was born in 1873, in Illinois or possibly Ohio. Crawford was born in Missouri in 1875 or 1876, according to Warren in a February 2012 Boston Globe interview.

Warren’s family came to Oklahoma at the end the 19th century, part of the land rush that preceded statehood.

Her grandmother, Hannie Crawford Reed, who had already lost her own mother, drove a horse-drawn wagon from Missouri to the territory at the age of 13, according to family lore. Hannie’s father rode ahead on a horse.

“Her little brothers and sisters were bouncing around in the back of a wagon,” Warren said of her grandmother, who lived to age 94. “That woman made life happen.”

Harry Reed’s parents were Joseph Reed, born in Ohio, and Charity Gorman, born in Illinois.

Hannie Crawford’s given name was, apparently, Bethanie Elvina. Her parents were John Huston Crawford, born in Missouri, and Palina Ann Bowen, also born in Missouri.

Warren’s story falls apart. Grandmother did not lose her mother at an early age. Palina Crawford died in 1905, in Arkansas. Hannie was born in Missouri. She had siblings that were born after her, in Texas 1883, Arkansas in 1889 and finally Oklahoma 1894, 1896 and 1897.

Incorrect: John Houston Crawford was a druggist in Missouri. His father was a physician, born in Kentucky. His mother came from England.

Palina Bowen’s father was born in Indiana. Her mother was born in Kentucky. Both outlived Palina and both died in Clarksville, Arkansas, where Palina also died.

Incorrect: Nothing in Warren’s maternal ancestry leaps out as Native American. Her mother’s family was raised in the Indian Territory, and that is the most that can be said about Warren’s minority status.

The story in the Boston Globe just is not possible given the other records that seem to exist.

Here is the current report on Elizabeth Warren’s maternal ancestry.

In a similar training mission, members of the Slovak Republic 5th Special Forces Regiment prepare to evacuate a simulated casualty as part of a Partnership Development Program event at the Military Training Center Lest in Slovakia. U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Donald Sparks, photo approved for official public release by MSG Donald Sparks, Special Operations Command Europe Public Affairs Officer

Lt. Col. Steve Osterholzer, spokesman for the 10th Special Force Group, confirmed today that a small element of Russian paratroopers is expected to train at Fort Carson, Colorado, in May. The twenty Russian soldiers are from a light infantry unit, not Spetsnaz.

The Russians will be participating in a training mission under the terms of a bi-lateral agreement signed last year between the Russian and U.S. militaries. It was recognized that troops that may need to work together in the fight against terrorism ought to train together. Special Forces troops conduct dozens of similar training missions for nations worldwide every year.

Osterholzer described the training as “entry level”. It will include weapons familiarization, medical evacuation, mountaineering and basic communications. The training is intended to build a basic relationship between the two militaries.

No secret or top secret items will be involved. The Russian troops will have an escort 24/7 while they are at Fort Carson.

A joint parachute jump is planned during the training. Lt. Col. Osterholzer said that it is traditional that such jumps qualify the participants to wear the jump wings of the other nation. The Americans will earn Russian jump wings and the Russians will earn American wings.

In keeping with Special Forces protocols, there will be no press releases or photos from the training mission.

The original report of this training mission was released by the EU Times with a great deal of embellishment. The errors in that story lead to much speculation and concern on message boards and other Internet sites. The Russians will not be defending Denver’s airport, or taking over either the CIA or NSA buildings in Washington.

Lt. Christopher E. Mosko, 28, of Pittsford, N.Y., died April 26 while conducting combat operations in Nawa district, Ghazni province, Afghanistan. Mosko was assigned as a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Platoon Commander to Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Afghanistan. Mosko was stationed at EOD Mobile Unit 3, San Diego, Calif.

Lt. Mosko lived in Pittsford, a suburb of Rochester, NY, for several years. His father, on his blog, has corrected some of the media reporting.

Mosko spent his high school years in Eu Clarie, Wisconsin. He attended Drexel University in Philadelphia 2002 to 2007 and received his Navy commission through their ROTC unit there. Drexel awarded him a B.S. degree in Finance and Engineering.

From 2007 to 2008 he was at the Navy’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal school at Eglin AFB in Florida. He then served as an Assistant Operations Officer until May 2009 when he received his first command assignment.

At the time of his death he was serving as a platoon commander in Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 (EODMU 3). The unit is stationed in San Diego.

He leaves behind a wife, Amanda, who is also a Navy officer. He is also survived by his father and mother, John and Gayle Mosko and a sister Meredith.

Chris Mosko on LinkedIn
John Mosko’s moving letter to his son upon graduating
John Mosko’s blog

News Media Reports
Superior Telegram – Sailor killed in Afghanistan was ECM HS grad
WEAU 13 – Friends remember Memorial High School grad killed in combat
Leader-Telegram – Memorial High graduate killed in Afghanistan

The nurse depicted in this 2006 image was administering an intramuscular vaccination in the left shoulder muscle to a young girl. The nurse immobilized the girl’s arm by clutching it tightly, while the girl held up her sleeve in order to facilitate the procedure. CDC/ Judy Schmidt

Two deadly childhood illnesses are back in the news. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) raised all sorts of flags over the number of measles cases in the United States last year. The number of pertussis cases, also called whooping cough, is also rising rapidly across the nation.

The CDC publishes the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report every week. In that report is the data from the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System. The latest report is for week 16, ending April 21, 2012.

Through week 16, the CDC has received 28 reports of measles case. For all of 2011, the number of cases was 222. There were seventeen outbreaks. The CDC held a press conference about the number, which was a spike from the historical median of sixty cases and four outbreaks. 200 of the measles cases were contracted overseas.

Measles (rubeola) is very contagious and is a serious respiratory illness. It is preventable through a series of immunizations. With 90 percent of the measles cases in 2011 having originated outside the United States, it is unclear what the reason is for the alarm. The Customs Service states that they have a program to prevent travelers with an illness from entering the country.

What was the legal status of the 200 patients who caught measles outside the U.S. but were diagnosed here?

Changing gears, the opponents to immunization place children at risk by avoiding necessary vaccinations. The same MMWR reports that the number of cases of pertussis, whooping cough, is up 29 percent over the same time last year. Eight of the top ten states in case counts allow parents to exempt children from immunizations based upon some sort of personal or philosophic objection. 59 percent of all the pertussis cases reported in 2012 originate in the 20 states that allow such objections.

Using the MMWR data, the highest number of cases of whooping cough reported in 2012 is from Wisconsin. They have reported 1,006 pertussis cases. Illustrative of the situation is a report from Fox 6 in Milwaukee. 30 students at the St. Matthias Catholic School in the Wisconsin city have whooping cough. The article quotes the school principal as saying that the cases are throughout the elementary and junior high grades.

Coming in second, with a declared pertussis epidemic, is Washington with 863 pertussis cases. Minnesota and Oklahoma are the only states reporting no cases in 2012. Here is a list of reported cases of whooping cough from the top ten states in 2012.

Only New York and Illinois do not allow a personal exemption. Also of note is the sharp drop in cases counts from New York to Pennsylvania.

Washington, on its Health Department website, reports more cases than the CDC, 1,008 pertussis cases. This is common and reflects reporting delays at the state or local level.

It is unclear why New York is reporting so many cases. In theory, without a religious or medical exemption, every student in New York ought to be immunized for pertussis. It is the law. The State Health Department has an office that audits public schools for their compliance with this issue and their record keeping on immunizations in general. Inquires to that office have not received a response.

Is it possible that some New York public schools schools do not comply with the law? The audits are not punitive and there is no punishment for not complying, so far as can be determined. It is a monumental record keeping task and schools can ill afford the loss of state revenues based on attendance. Barring large numbers of students would put one more financial strain on already tight budgets.

The U.S. Marine Corps has held the responsibility for RC-SW for some time. Helmand Province has been the scene of fierce fighting against the Taliban while Nimruz has been far calmer. MG Toolan spoke with reporters yesterday about the situation in his AOR at the end of his tour.

Toolan commanded about 20,000 Marines and just under 13,000 troops from Coalition partners. The United Kingdom made up the largest of these units, supplying 9,500 men and women. They have the responsibility for three districts in Helmand Province and also lead the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRC) for the province.

Gunner Peter Maina from Light Regiment Royal Artillery, 29 Commando, 3rd Commando Brigade, attached to Bravo Company, 1st Battalion the Rifles, and a native of Plymouth, England, checks a .50 caliber machine gun prior to taking over Sanger duty at Patrolling Base Seca in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Sept. 12. Marine Corps photo.

He had high praise for the other Coalition partners.

• The Danes are operating with the British in securing what he described as “one of the most kinetic districts in Afghanistan.”
• The Georgians have been assigned their own battlespace, evidence of their abilities, and will add a second battalion to their forces in September.
• Jordan and Bahrain have troops providing base security.
• The UAE is providing rotary wing assets in support of special operations mission. They are supplying both attack helicopters and transport helicopters.

In Toolan’s words “Things are good. Not great, but good” At this time the local population sees the Afghan security forces and the Coalition troops as the “home team”. Two years ago, it was the Taliban that was seen in that role.

MG Toolan sees corruption as the greatest threat to continued progress in Afghanistan. He talked about both “parasitic” corruption and “predatory” corruption. Parasitic corruption derives from the powerbrokers in Kabul, and consists of crimes such as skimming, nepotism, “pay to play”, bribery and the like. Predatory corruption is at the local level, when police or military use their power to steal.

Another problem that Toolan discussed was the integration of the Afghan Local Police (ALP). The ALP has been effective in adding an additional layer of security, he told us, especially in the troubled Marjah area. But there are not enough slots in the various national police organizations to accept all the ALP. He hopes that a retraining program can be created to give these men usable skills in construction, etc.

Asked to reflect on successes during his command, the general pointed to two infrastructure needs that the Marines have filled.

A Marine with Support Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion, uses a grader to improve road surfaces on Route Tiffany, April 6, 2012. Support Company cleared and constructed the improved-surface road to facilitate travel in northern Helmand province. Malrine Corps photo.

Road building opens up impoverished areas to trade and communication. The Marines have built over 1,000 miles kilometers of roads in RC-SW. MG Toolan pointed out that this alone undercut Taliban influence.

Afghan children give their approval of the new bridge constructed near Combat Outpost Rankel in the district of Garmsir, Helmand province, Jan. 29. The Marines of Bridge Platoon, Alpha Company, 9th Engineer Support Battalion endured a 5-day convoy in order to replace a temporary bridge with a more permanent structure that would increase mobility for Marines operating in the area. Marine Corps photo.

The Marine move into the region around the Kajaki Dam was the other accomplishment that Toolan cited. The hydroelectric dam was built by the U.S. in the 1960′s and for several years provided both electricity and irrigation to the Helmand River valley. These resources made the area very productive. After the Russian occupation, the civil war and the Taliban takeover, the dam fell into disrepair and was poorly used, if at all.

The Taliban controlled the dam until last October. A Marine offensive took the dam and the area surrounding it. This allowed the Government of Afghanistan to begin receiving the benefit of the dam.

MG Toolan pointed out the the Afghan security force still need support in some critical area. Electronic intelligence gathering, logistics and battlefield health care are still lagging. He would also like to see a point in time when the police can transition from anti-terrorism duties to a more traditional role of law enforcement.

Regional Command – South West resources:

• NATO / ISAF site for RC-SW
• RC-SW WordPress site for news
• RC-SW on Facebook
• RC-SW photos on Flickr
• Digital content from RC-SW on DVIDS