Staff Sgt. Matthew Roth received some extra spotlight action during the Saint Martin's University's Gala 2014 Nov. 1. Roth, a SMU senior from San Diego, California, was honored for being the University's sixth recipient of its America's Service Heroes Scholarship.

The folks at SMU have more details. ...

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A Madigan Army Medical Center employee has received a military veteran scholarship from Brandman University. In honor of graduate Bryan Fazio, Brandman University has awarded four $1,000 scholarships, and 11 $250 scholarships to military veterans who have a medical condition or disability and currently attend the school.

The Bryan Fazio Scholarship was recently established to honor the perseverance and triumph of one of Brandman's most inspirational graduates. Fazio was diagnosed with an aggressive form of Hodgkin's lymphoma while serving in the Navy. Doctors told him that he had just nine months to live, yet, upon hearing the news, Fazio doubled up on his graduate level courses and received his MBA in August 2013. He is currently attending Law School at Whittier College.  

Darcy Bockman-Wright, a veteran who attends class at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord campus, was one of those chosen to receive the inaugural $1,000 scholarship. She joined the Army in 1993, serving until 2002 in a variety of MOS fields, including an eye specialist, a combat medic and a truck driver.

"I am still in shock that I was the only Washington Brandman University student chosen," she said. "The belief that they have in me has helped me re-focus and stay dedicated. I am honored to be the first to receive such an award, especially as a fifth-generation veteran." 

The winners were chosen after each applicant submitted a 500-1000 word essay detailing where they see themselves in five years and how their Brandman education will help them achieve their goals.

Bockman-Wright, who currently works as a civilian in the Ophthalmology department at Madigan Army Medical Center, is working towards her bachelor's degree in Organizational Leadership and is slated to graduate in spring of 2015.

"Once I reach my goal, I will do as Mr. Fazio has and pass it on. Veterans have enough to deal with from doctor appointments, families, bills, work or everyday life," explained Bockman-Wright, who has personally lost 170 pounds with the help of gastric bypass surgery, a desire to be healthy and the support of her husband and children.

"The money helps of course, so I will take this gift but in the future I want to help ease the financial burden of a fellow veteran to make sure he/she achieves their goal of graduating," she shared.

That dramatic weight loss gave the older student more confidence and the drive to finish her college degree ... not that her dreams end there.

"I don't think I'll stop at my Bachelor's degree. Long-term, I know I can finish my Master's in Organizational Leadership too. I want to be a leader on base, whether it's at Madigan, the VA or a unit attached to JBLM," Bockman-Wright said. "I hope to use this degree to help institute a better organizational process for veterans to receive the aid they deserve."

Brandman University, which serves 12,000 students annually, offers more then 50 undergraduate, graduate, credential and certificate programs across its schools of arts and sciences, business, education, nursing and health. For more information, go to www.Brandman.edu.

Soldiers recovering from injuries recently got another helping hand to aid in their recovery.

A new Community Care Unit (CCU) opened at Madigan's Warrior Transition Battalion Sept. 5, beginning a shift in how the Army manages care for its wounded soldiers.

The new unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is one of 13 new CCUs to be opened by the Army as part of its Warrior Care and Transition Program. The program addition occurred at 11 Army bases across the country.

Part of the assignment of the new care units is to provide medical management. It's a shift in how the Army manages care for soldiers living in their home towns.

"Our soldiers will not be relocated, but will remain in their communities with their families," said Lt. Col. Jeffery Mosso, Warrior Transition Battalion commander. "They will continue to receive the same quality medical care and advocacy that they've been accustomed to while assigned to the Community Based Warrior Transition Unit in California."

The new CCU at Madigan manages the care for Army National Guard and Army Reserve soldiers living in their hometown communities in Washington, Oregon, Alaska and California.

The Army's Warrior Care and Transition program has undergone some changes since it first started in 2007. The recent change to the program was made because reviews showed a declining number of soldiers in the Warrior Transition Unit. The change was made so the Army could continue to provide the best care and support for its injured and ill soldiers.

Allowing soldiers to remain in their hometowns while they receive care will allow them to continue to be surrounded by their families and thereby receive the support and encouragement often needed for recovery.

The new CCU manager at Madigan is Capt. Jennifer Goulet. As a medical service officer, Goulet has been deployed to both Afghanistan and Iraq. She's also been assigned to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, where wounded American soldiers often receive initial care after being injured downrange.

In fact, many of the wounded soldiers now under Goulet's care she first saw when they went to Landstuhl for their initial care.

"Seeing them from that point to now is incredible," she said.

The new CCU at Madigan takes care of up to 83 ill or injured soldiers. Goulet praised her staff for their diligent work to get the new unit operational.

"The oversight and support for our soldiers healing at home will transition to our CCU located at JBLM," Mosso said.

Madigan's Community Care Unit will assume the mission of the Community-Based Warrior Transition Unit in California, which was located in Sacramento and was formally deactivated on Aug. 13.

This just in from Sharon D. Ayala, director, Directorate of Communication and Executive Services, Western Regional Medical Command ...

Western Regional Medical Command, Fort Lewis, Wash.: Lieutenant General Patricia Horoho, The Army Surgeon General and U.S. Army Medical Command Commander, suspended Brig. Gen. John M. Cho, the Commanding General, Western Regional Medical Command (WRMC), located at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash., effective Thursday, Sept. 4, 2014 pending the outcome of an inquiry centered on the command climate of the organization. Lt. Gen. Horoho will assign an interim commander of the WRMC for the duration of the suspension. The Army remains committed to ensuring we have the right leaders in place to lead our organizations which provide high quality medical care to our Soldiers, their Families, and our Retirees.

Farrelli's Wood Fire Pizza is all about family, and the popular local restaurant chain is doing its part to help military families living at the Joint Base Lewis-McChord Fisher House feel a little more at home.

In the next few weeks, volunteers from Farrelli's will install a new play set in the backyard of the home, which is located just down the street from the Madigan Army Medical Center on JBLM.

Since Fisher House families reside at the house while an ill or injured servicemember undergoes treatment at Madigan, it is understandably a very stressful time in their lives. They stay at the home from a few days to several months, and staff and volunteers do what they can to help make it a "home away from home."

There is a cozy living room complete with a TV, toys and books as well as a spacious kitchen, laundry facilities and backyard grill and gazebo area. There is also a beautifully landscaped garden and a fenced play area so the littlest residents can burn off some steam.

A few weeks ago, several members of the Farrell family and its management team visited the home to formalize a fundraising partnership with Harmon Brewing Company. While on a tour with Manager Jodi Land, they noticed that the play area in the backyard was in desperate need of new equipment.

The company - which in 2010 won the National Restaurant Association's National Neighbor Award - knew what it needed to do. "We saw an opportunity to lend a hand," said Clayton Krueger, Farrelli's director of marketing and communications.  So Margaret "Mama" Farrell went out and purchased a large new playground, which staff will install and assemble in the coming weeks.

"This new playground will give children staying at the Fisher House an outlet and an opportunity to get outside in a safe, secure environment," said Land. "The new equipment was badly needed, and we are thankful that the Farrell family not only donated the materials, but also that they are going to install and assemble it for us."

The family owned and operated restaurant chain, which started in Lacey in 1995 and caters to families, has always supported and honored its military neighbors. "The military is the glue that holds our community together," Krueger said. As a show of the company's appreciation to its military neighbors, service members returning from deployment get a free meal at both of the family's Farrelli's and MacNamara's restaurants.

To learn more about Farrelli's, visit farrellispizza.com. For more information about Fisher House, visit fisherhouse-jblm.org, call 253.964.9283 or stop by the home, located at 9999 Wilson Ave. on JBLM.

PHOTO CAPTION:

Jodi Land (Fisher House), Jesse Holder (Harmon Brewing Co.), Clayton Krueger (director of Marketing & Communications), Jacque Farrell (founder & COO), James Mickelson (director of Project Management & IT), Rob Rasmussen (director of Design & Promotion), Margaret Farrell (founder), Lizz Farrell-Lewis (director of Guest Satisfaction) and on the bottom row — John Farrell (founder)

Hi! My name is Alexandria Kling. I am the "Tacoma School of the Arts Intern of the Year" at the Weekly Volcano!

OK, I'm the only SOTA intern at the Volcano.

I am currently a junior at SOTA. I have been writing for the Volcano for almost two weeks. I have been writing the McChord and Fort Lewis history sections for the Northwest Airlifter and The Ranger, the newspapers covering Joint Base Lewis-McChord, and sister publications of the Volcano.

Fun fact for you: I was born at Madigan Hospital in 1997, so being able to learn more about Fort Lewis, and McChord, is pretty interesting to me.

I have also written some "blurbs" - as Publisher/Editor Pappi Swarner calls them - for the Agenda section of the Volcano. As a student at SOTA, I have been studying music, specifically vocals, songwriting, and music composition, for almost 2 years now. This makes my internship with the Weekly Volcano exceptionally fun, because I enjoy arts and entertainment, especially if it's in Tacoma.

With the Volcano I have also been updating the concert alert, and the nightlife calendar section of the weekly newspaper. This week, after previewing the Itty Bitty Kitty Committee book release event at King's Books, I attended the event Tuesday night. My review will be posted soon here on the Walkie Talkie blog.

Through this internship, I have gained so many skills, and I am glad to be able to continue to grow with the Volcano for another week. Overall, I am not a complex girl. I love music, I love to write and I want to go to college for both.

For one group of TRICARE beneficiaries, life is getting a little easier and a little more affordable ... and they won't even have to wait in line at Madigan Army Medical Center.

A new pilot program will require TRICARE For Life (TFL) beneficiaries to use the TRICARE Pharmacy Home Delivery or a Military Treatment Facility (MTF) pharmacy to fill prescriptions for select maintenance medications.

The pilot, which will begin March 14, will conclude in Dec. 2017, at which time the determination of whether to make it a permanent program or not will be made. However, after the end of the first year of the pilot, beneficiaries can choose to opt out of the program.

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Did you attend the command sergeant major change of command ceremony at Madigan medical Center Wednesday?

Staff Sgt. Christopher Klutts with the 20th Public Affair Detachment did.

When Command Sgt. Maj. Matthew T. Brady joined the active Army as a combat medic in 1987, he had no idea he would eventually become the senior enlisted service member at a hospital responsible for delivering care to more than 120,000 people.

A change of responsibility ceremony at Soldiers Field House Feb. 27 marked the end of Brady's tour at Madigan Army Medical Center and a beginning for his replacement, Command Sgt. Maj. Andrew J. Rhoades.

"Those of us who've chosen this military lifestyle, either by duty or association, accept transition as an integral part of it. And even sometimes when we don't always like it, every couple of years, leaders are going to change," said Col. Ramona Fiorey, the Madigan commander.

Read Klutts full report here.