News from the AOA's Blog

I typically fly out of Nashville most of the time to take trips on behalf of the AOA. Because it’s closest to my home in Benton, Ky., I’m there quite frequently. When traveling, I always go by the military base in Fort Campbell, Ky., home of the 101st Airborne. I see a lot of soldiers deploying to Afghanistan, Iraq and places all over the country and world.

On the way back from one such trip, as I was coming off the jet bridge to enter into the terminal, I heard a lot of clapping and cheering. My first thought was that there must be a country-western singer in town because typically you see a lot of country-western entertainers come through the Nashville airport. As I entered the terminal, to my surprise and pleasure, I witnessed a great sight. About 15 soldiers had returned from deployment and were walking down the middle of the terminal. As they walked, people stood up and clapped for them and shouted “USA!” and “God Bless America!” People clapped for them for about 10 minutes or more as they proceeded out of the terminal.

Seeing this energetic and enthusiastic honor made me think about all of our fellow optometrists who serve in the armed forces all over the world, some of whom make the ultimate sacrifice and call to service with their lives. People such as Maj. Charles Robert Soltes Jr., who served as a public health officer with the 426th Civil Affairs Battalion, U.S. Army Reserves, in Mosul, Iraq. In 2004, he was deployed to command a public health team charged with setting up seven hospitals to help provide the Iraqi people with access to a range of health care services.

On Oct. 14, 2004, he was in a convoy returning from a meeting with Iraqi health officials when a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device rammed his Humvee, resulting in his death. Maj. Soltes, 36, had only been in Mosul a few weeks when he was killed in the line of duty. He was the first-ever Army optometry officer killed in action while on active duty. This past spring, a new rehabilitation center in Long Beach, Calif., was named in his honor. We honored Maj. Soltes’ contributions during the House of Delegates meeting in June. Visit www.youtube.com/aoaweb and our AOA Web site to learn more about Maj. Soltes and his endearing story.   

There are many soldiers who make a difference daily in the lives of both their fellow servicemen and civilians alike. Two that I would like to mention are Cmdr. Ken Whitwell, O.D., and Lt. Cmdr. Margaret Read, O.D., both of whom are stationed in Kuwait.

Cmdr. Whitwell is the director of Branch Clinics, which includes all dental departments. His directorate is one of the largest, both in scope and personnel. He is responsible for the manpower and operations of four medical departments and three dental departments at five separate camps. He also oversees clinical support services at these locations, which include pharmacy, radiology, laboratory, physical therapy and mental health.

As the Transition Officer, Cmdr. Whitwell coordinates with the U.S. Army to ensure a smooth transition from a Navy-led medical facility to an Army medical command in Kuwait. As part of the transition effort, Cmdr. Whitwell has been instrumental in partnering with Kuwaiti medical facilities to enhance the care of deployed personnel.

Lt. Cmdr. Read is the only U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) clinical optometrist in Kuwait. She is deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn. Lt. Cmdr. Read is responsible for the eye care of 20,000 personnel. Her patients are soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines, DoD civilians and contractors from the Iraq and Kuwaiti area of operations, which include sailors from ships in the Persian Gulf. She averages more than 550 encounters per month. The optometry clinic provides nearly 350 spectacles and ballistic eye protection inserts to personnel monthly, fabricating the majority on site.

In addition to her optometric duties, Lt. Cmdr. Read is in charge of the labor pool and litter bearers for any mass casualty event.  She is the chairperson of Dashboard, which collects and analyzes productivity and utilization trends at the command. She also serves as chairperson of the Medical Records Review Committee, documenting compliance with peer-review process and standards, and reports directly to the Executive Committee of Professional Staff.

As an organization, we work diligently to support our members in any way that we can. We respect the hard work, dedication, commitment and sacrifice that our servicemen and women give, not only for optometry, but for our country and the entire world. We have many AOA members in the Armed Forces Optometric Society (AFOS) and the armed services whom we work to support each and every day with our advocacy efforts.

On behalf of the entire board, I’d like to take this time to honor our fellow optometrists who serve in our armed forces – many of whom may be away from their loved ones this holiday season. Let’s keep them in our prayers as we continue to fight and advocate for them and all of our members in the coming year.

Joe E. Ellis, O.D.
AOA president