Meet Your Military
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PHOTO: Army Spc. Katarus Moore picks ripe tomatoes from the Warrior Center greenhouse at Smith Barracks, Baumholder, Germany, Sept. 4, 2014. BAUMHOLDER, Germany – When it comes to healthy food, not everyone enjoys eating it, but we know it is good for us. Moore started an organic fruit and vegetable cooking course that focuses on cooking healthy with limited space and utilities. DoD photo by Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Kimball And as many military dorm and barracks residents know, it can be difficult to eat healthy, maintain fitness standards and still fulfill day-to-day military obligations. Limited kitchen space, minimal access to fresh foods and a lack of cooking knowledge are just a few of the setbacks that most first-term dorm residents face. Army Spc. Katarus Moore, a petroleum specialist here, knows what it is like to face this issue and has developed a way to teach others how to “cook fresh with less.”
Moore grew up in Dallas, learning his culinary arts from his great-grandmother and attending cooking classes in high school. He has spent his entire Army career living in the barracks, perfecting his cooking methods with minimal kitchen space and limited items. This summer, Moore and other members of the Baumholder Warrior Zone have harvested a fully organic garden full of fresh fruits and vegetables for military members to use in a cooking class he teaches that focuses on cooking enjoyable, healthy meals with limited kitchen utilities. “I have been wanting to help teach dorm residents healthy eating habits, as well as how to cook with their small dorm kitchen spaces,” he said. “Also, people kept coming to me with cooking questions, and our garden had just ripened with fully organic fruits and vegetables, so I thought, ‘Now it’s my chance to teach.’”
Written Sept. 11, 2014 By: Air Force Staff Sgt. Brian Kimball DoD News Specials and Features, Defense Media Activity
Republished and redistributed by permission of DoD.
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PHOTO: Army Pfc. Nathan Currie, an explosive ordnance disposal technician with the 756th Explosive Ordnance Detachment, recently helped save a woman's life after her car went into an alligator- and snake-infested pond on Fort Stewart, Ga. Courtesy photo Army Pfc. FORT STEWART, Ga. – A U.S. Army explosive ordnance disposal technician recently rescued a woman from alligator-infested waters here. Nathan Currie from the 756th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Company was fishing on the south dock of Fort Stewart's Holbrook Pond when he heard a splash from a sedan driving into the pond. The soldier dropped his fishing rod and sprang into action. Currie drove his car around the pond to where the submerged sedan was flipped over with only the driver's side tires visible above the murky water.
Dives into the pond Currie, who hails from Oklahoma City, dove into the water to see if someone was in the car. He felt a body in the back seat and came back up for air. He then swam back into the car and pulled the woman from the vehicle. The woman had been under the water about five minutes and was turning blue. Currie revived her with cardiopulmonary resuscitation and stayed with her until paramedics arrived on the scene. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Wylie Hutchison, the senior enlisted leader for the Fort Stewart-based 188th Infantry Brigade, joined Currie at the scene and took part in the rescue. While Currie was performing CPR on the woman, Hutchison jumped in the pond and checked the vehicle three more times to ensure no one else was inside.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Soldier Rescues Woman From Alligator-infested Pond
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PHOTO: Army Spc. Lydia Boll, left, and Army Capt. Andrea Boll receive Army Commendation Medals for their service with the 452nd Combat Support Hospital at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Sept. 5, 2014. CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – Many have heard U.S. soldiers calling their comrades family, only a relatively small number of soldiers have served overseas with a member of their immediate family. The mother and daughter pair deployed together and work in the U.S. military hospital. U.S. Army photo by 1st Lt. Isra Pananon In November 2013, Army Capt. Andrea Boll and Army Spc. Lydia Boll of the 452nd Combat Support Hospital were mobilized to prepare for their deployment to Kuwait.
Mother-and-daughter duo This mother-and-daughter duo has served in the same Army Reserve medical unit since April 2010, when Andrea joined the military. Andrea said she never would expect her children to do something she would not do, so she joined the Army Nurse Corps as a medical surgical nurse to give back to her country. “She followed me into the military, and I followed her into the medical field,” Lydia said. Lydia joined the military in 2009, after being inspired by her grandfather, who served in the Army as a saxophonist in the Army Band. Back home, Lydia resides in Wisconsin with her mother and father and Lydia’s four younger siblings. The experience of being deployed with her daughter has forced her two youngest children to grow up fast, Andrea said. Her husband, Jim Boll, has embraced this experience with open arms, and is bonding with their other kids at home, she added. The Bolls’ middle child, Emerson, also is in the Army, and will be in Afghanistan when Andrea and Lydia return home. When they first heard of the mission to Kuwait, all three wanted to deploy together and get Emerson on the roster as a combat medic. But it was not to be, and Emerson is serving in Afghanistan on a forward surgical team.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Mother, Daughter Strengthen Bond in Kuwait
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PHOTO: Army Sgt. Julie Bytnar is the first enlisted service member to be accepted into a graduate education program at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md. DoD photo by Thomas Balfour BETHESDA, Md. – Five years ago, Army Sgt. Julie Bytnar was leading a very different life. She was a homemaker living in the Chicago suburbs while her husband, Bill, earned most of the family’s income. Then, without warning, Bill became very ill after a rare blood-clotting disorder ravaged his body. Over time, his condition deteriorated, and he could no longer work. Their bills began piling up, with no reprieve in sight. Desperate to keep hope alive, Bytnar enlisted in the military so she could take care of her husband and young children. “Although I was eligible for a commission based on my education and work experience, the lead time would have been much longer, and I needed a career right away,” she said. “So I enlisted in 2009 at 38 years old and have been learning about the Army from the bottom up ever since.”
Swift indoctrination Although her uniformed career has been short, Bytnar’s military indoctrination was the swift, no-holds-barred kind. After proving herself at garrison duty assignments as a lead health care specialist, Julie deployed to Afghanistan in 2011. “It was an intense experience,” she said. “I provided a lot of hands-on care to wounded service members and local Afghans, treating everything from minor to life threatening injuries.” Bytnar said her experience in Afghanistan also changed her career focus. Instead of simply providing care, she said, she began thinking about the bigger picture and wondering how she could prevent injuries from happening in the first place. Her curiosity eventually led her to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences here, where she broke ground as the first enlisted service member to be accepted into a graduate-level program. “Even though I was hopeful, I was still very surprised when I got my acceptance letter from USU,” she said. “Now I’m working toward a Master of Public Health [degree]. I already have a few classes under my belt. They were challenging, but I feel confident I’ll survive the program. I want to prove to myself and everyone else that I can do this.”
Read more: Meet Your Military: Soldier Makes History in Graduate Program
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PHOTO: Air Force Airman 1st Class Nana Sefa is deployed to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, from Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Following this deployment, Sefa, a native of Ghana, will see his wife after two years apart. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Evelyn Chavez BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Being away from family is nothing new to Air Force Airman 1st Class Nana Sefa. The 455th Logistics Readiness Squadron vehicle management analysis craftsman deployed here for six months from Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, said he understands that being away from family is difficult, as he has experienced separation his entire life. Sefa grew up in Ghana. When he was 4 years old, his father left to go to America. After his father was gone, Sefa said, he constantly moved around Ghana, taking turns living with his mother and his grandparents and at boarding schools. “It was tough not having my mom around sometimes, especially when I was a kid,” he said. “I remember wanting to leave with her when I lived with my grandparents. I would not want to fall asleep, afraid that she would leave when I did. The next day when I woke up, I would always ask my grandparents for her.”
Although it was difficult moving around, Sefa said, he learned to overcome being away from his mother, sister and father. At 19, after graduating from boarding school, he learned that his father was hoping Sefa and his sister would come to live with him in California. Back with family “After boarding school, I was finally able to be home with my mom,” Sefa said. “We were having the opportunity to get to know each other more. Then, after graduation, my father filed for my sister and me to move with him to the U.S.
Read more: Meet Your Military: Airman's Service Helps to Unite His Family