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Newswise — Suicidal behavior among active-duty service members can be reduced for up to six months with a relatively simple intervention that gives them concrete steps to follow during an emotional crisis, according to a new study from the University of Utah’s National Center for Veterans Studies. The study’s findings show there was a 75 percent reduction in suicide attempts among participants who engaged in crisis response planning versus a contract for safety. Crisis response planning also was associated with a significantly faster decline in suicidal thoughts and fewer inpatient hospitalization days. Craig J. Bryan, an associate professor of psychology and director of the U’s National Center for Veterans Studies, led the research team. The study titled “Effect of crisis response planning vs. contracts for safety on suicide risk in U.S. Army Soldiers” was published online on Jan. 24 in The Journal of Affective Disorders. Co-authors include researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the University of Utah, the University of Memphis and the U.S. Army. The Pentagon said last April that 265 active-duty service members killed themselves in 2015, continuing a steady increase in suicides noted since 2001. In response to this tragic trend, the Department of Defense and Veterans Health Administration have made suicide prevention a priority, supporting interventions and studies of how to help the nation’s warriors. “Our results mark a critical next step in preventing military suicides,” said Bryan. The study compared the effectiveness of two risk management strategies: • Contract for safety, which entails getting a commitment from a suicidal patient to avoid self harm — what not to do. • Crisis response planning, which involves writing on an index card the steps for identifying one’s personal warning signs along with coping strategies, social support and professional services to use in a crisis — what to do. The researchers also conducted an analysis to see if an enhanced crisis response plan that added an explicit discussion of the participant’s reasons for living would provide even better results, but this enhancement did no better or worse than a standard crisis response plan without this enhancement. Each participant had active suicide ideation and/or a lifetime history of attempted suicide and had actively sought help at a military medical clinic in Fort Carson, Colorado, in 2013 and between January 2015 and February 2016. The soldiers were offered one of the three interventions, which varied in the combination of supportive counseling, strategies to manage emotional distress, education about crisis services and referrals to treatment services. The researchers followed the 97 participants over a six-month follow-up period.The crisis response plan was a central ingredient of another successful treatment developed by many of the same researchers at the National Center for Veterans Studies — brief cognitive behavioral therapy — which contributed to a 60 percent reduction in suicide attempts among active duty soldiers. The results of that study were published in 2015. “Our previous results showing a significant reduction in suicide attempts were based on a treatment that heavily emphasized crisis response planning,” Bryan said. “This time around, we tested crisis response planning by itself and found that it reduced suicide attempts as well. This bolsters our confidence in the technique’s effectiveness.” Overall, the findings show that giving active-duty service members who are at risk of suicide a crisis response plan may be a more effective way to keep them safe than a contract for safety. And because of its brevity and simplicity, the crisis response plan strategy could feasibly be implemented in a wide range of medical settings by diverse health care professionals. “Suicidal individuals don’t always visit mental health clinics when in crisis,” Bryan said. “They also visit emergency departments and primary care clinics or talk to friends and family members. Crisis response planning could be a practical and effective way to connect those in greatest need of potentially life-saving treatment.” The National Center for Veterans Studies at the University of Utah leads the nation in suicide prevention and PTSD research and treatment. The center has developed and tested the only scientifically supported methods to prevent suicidal behavior among military personnel. Many veterans die by suicide, often as a result of untreated PTSD, at a rate of 20 deaths each day on average. SEE ORIGINAL STUDY

Newswise — “Liberate the data.” That was a principal design goal for a team of public-private health care technology collaborators established by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Veterans Health Administration to develop a working and scalable proof-of-concept digital health platform (DHP) to support the department’s long-term vision. The open-source project demonstrated both proven and emerging technologies for interoperability and advanced functionality innovations from both the public and private sectors. The proof-of-concept delivers capabilities that VA and VHA leadership had identified as strategically important to support clinical and operational policy and program transformation plans needed to address expected changes in veteran populations, service needs and care delivery models. For example, the demonstration included the capability to obtain patient data from disparate military and commercial electronic records systems, and accept information from a broad range of ancillary services and consumer medical devices. The public-private collaboration, established in partnership with the VA’s Office of Information and Technology, included the VHA, Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), the Georgia Institute of Technology and private-sector companies providing services in analytics, customer relationship management, and application program interfaces. Georgia Tech served as the project’s lead architect and provided overall project management. “If you can liberate the data from deep inside a system and securely move it to the cloud and manage its movement through well-designed application programming interfaces (APIs), that gives you a lot of options for reorganizing work flows and processes,” said Steve Rushing, senior strategic adviser in Georgia Tech’s Health Extension Services. “We are doing for health care what has already been done for other industries that have used interoperability standards as the foundation for APIs to exchange information among different systems.” The team – including partner organizations Salesforce (CRM), Mulesoft (API gateway), Apervita (real-time analytics) and UCB (portfolio of predictive analytics solutions for epilepsy) – conducted its first demonstration just six weeks after the contract with the VA was signed. Using Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR), a standard describing health data formats and elements, and a REST API transport protocol, the team built an API gateway surrounding VistA and Georgia Tech’s testing and teaching electronic health record system, known as GTonFHIR. The project used anonymous patient data. The overall project created 21 system APIs, which control how specific types of data flow into and out of the DHP. This included data exchanges with the Cerner EHR (representing the Department of Defense and a community hospital), Duke University Medical Center (Epic) as an academic medical provider, DocSnap personal health record (connecting to a Navy medicine pilot project), and personal health monitoring devices via Apple Healthkit and Validic. Results of the proof-of-concept collaboration point to better experiences for veterans, said LaVerne Council, who was the VA’s chief information officer at the time the project was conducted. “The DHP leverages the power of public-private partnerships,” she said. “We brought together some of the brightest engineers and health informaticists from some of the most innovative companies and assembled them at Georgia Tech. There, over a period of eight weeks, we established an API gateway, the cornerstone of the digital health platform, consisting of 21 APIs that connected to three different EHR systems including our own, VistA, a class leading customer relationship management system, Georgia Tech’s Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) server, and a real time analytics system. We also developed a veteran-facing mobile app. We integrated low-cost, high-quality video communication into the fabric of the veteran experience, and we integrated internet-connected health devices that track activities and vitals including blood pressure, weight and blood glucose.” Because the architecture is not tied to any proprietary system, the proof-of-concept accommodates future developments by connecting to and from other web services, apps, devices or electronic health systems that use the FHIR or other accepted industry open standards, Rushing said. Also, by keeping much of the original VistA system accessible via the API gateway, the strategy protects the investment in and could accelerate the deployment of the agency’s existing health information technology innovations across the VHA system during the period of full DHP component acquisition and deployment, he explained. “In electronic health records, like almost any other major enterprise application, about 60 percent of the code is tied to routine workflow needed on a day-to-day basis. Changing these doesn’t add strategic value because the new programming will look much like the old,” Rushing said. “The important strategic implementation is done at the edges of the system, and that’s where the VA wanted us to focus our interoperability engineering and demonstrate the power of liberating the data. By using an architecture that is API-driven, we addressed the interoperability requirement, kept what works and added new VHA-created and private industry innovations where needed.” Among the innovations is an analytics layer. By studying the health records of service members transitioning from active duty to veteran status, the analytics layer makes recommendations about care, such as enrollment in specialized services for veterans suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI). “This is basically doing the same thing – with a different intent – that happens every time you sign into Facebook or Amazon,” said Rushing. “The system learns about you from your records to help health professionals precisely meet your personal needs. Rather than wait until a veteran has a seizure because of a service-related injury, the system would use the analytics to recommend a protocol for proactively managing the problem.” As an independent third party, Georgia Tech combined the best components from the VA/VHA and private sector companies, negotiated any differences and worked with private-sector staff in five different programming teams to meet the VA’s goals. “We just wanted the best services for veterans,” said Rushing. “That was our driving objective.” The demonstration addressed the specific challenges of three groups of former service members: Iraq war veterans with traumatic brain injuries, women veterans who need gender-specific services not traditionally provided by the VA, and Vietnam-era veterans who are now suffering age-related illnesses such as diabetes and congestive heart failure. TBIs alone affect some 87,000 veterans. The system was demonstrated to VA and VHA officials in September and October 2016, and the Georgia Tech team is now wrapping up the documentation for what has been done. “The VA is looking for a flexible, future-focused health platform and architecture focused on a services-based model,” said Jon Duke, M.D., director of Georgia Tech’s Center for Health Analytics and Informatics. “They are taking a really ambitious approach to it, and this could have a tremendous impact on care for veterans as well as on health systems more broadly.” The project illustrates the role Georgia Tech can play because it doesn’t have a medical school or hospital and isn’t tied to any specific technology platform. “When we are working with health systems, we’re neither a competitor nor a vendor,” Duke noted. “We approach each problem from a ‘white hat’ perspective, working to find the right data and infrastructure needed, often using open-source platforms.” The impetus for the project was VHA strategic planning, started in the spring of 2016, on developing a successor to VistA, which has served the agency for 40 years. The strategic planning scope was expanded beyond replacement of VistA as a single EHR application system to include best practices driving enterprise information technology modernization across other industries. This included the move to a platform of interoperable cloud-based application system components. The envisioned architecture with its “liberated data” allows for clinical and operational functionality extensions over time by connecting a robust portfolio of interoperable web services and mobile app innovations. By building out this architecture, the project demonstrated that these services and apps could be acquired and deployed in alignment with VA and VHA technology needs for systematically transforming clinical and operations work flows. The proof-of-concept’s scope of work included a tactically critical goal: treating VistA as just another EHR. The intent was for DHP to not only be agnostic regarding commercial EHRs, but agnostic toward VistA as well. This was achieved by moving VistA data and core modules to the cloud and leveraging existing successful VA initiatives to build open-source interoperable API gateway connections, such as the Enterprise Health Management Platform (eHMP). The independence from commercial EHRs and VistA showed that VA investments in VistA modernization and VHA investments in industry leading healthcare information technologies, such as telemedicine and home monitoring, could move forward within the DHP deployment cycle and not wait for full deployment, Rushing said.

On Feb. 3, 1943, the United States Army Transport Dorchester – a converted luxury liner – was crossing the North Atlantic, transporting more than 900 troops to an American base in Greenland. Aboard the ship were four chaplains of different faiths: Reverend George Fox (Methodist), Jewish Rabbi Alexander Goode, Reverend Clark Poling (Dutch Reformed) and Father John Washington (Roman Catholic). Around 12:55 a.m., a German U-boat fired a torpedo that struck Dorchester’s starboard side, below the water line and near the engine room. The explosion instantly killed 100 men and knocked out power and radio communication with Dorchester’s three escort ships. Within 20 minutes, the transport sank and more than 670 men died. As soldiers rushed to lifeboats, the four chaplains spread out, comforting the wounded and directing others to safety. One survivor, Private William Bednar, later said, “I could hear men crying, pleading, praying. I could also hear the chaplains’ preaching courage. Their voices were the only thing that kept me going.” Another survivor, John Ladd, watched the chaplains’ distribute life jackets, and when they ran out, they removed theirs and gave them to four young men. “It was the finest thing I have seen, or hope to see, this side of heaven,” he recalled. As Dorchester sank, the chaplains were seen linked arm in arm, praying. Fox, Goode, Poling and Washington were posthumously awarded the Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart, and in 1948, Congress declared Feb. 3 to be Four Chaplains Day. The four chaplains were also honored with a U.S. postage stamp that year. Every year, American Legion posts nationwide remember Four Chaplains Day with memorial services. This year, Four Chaplains Sunday is on Feb. 5 and Legion family members are encouraged to share on www.legiontown.org how they honored the chaplains.  To request information on how to conduct a Four Chaplains Memorial Service, email the Americanism Division at americanism@legion.org. Learn more about the four chaplains by visiting The Immortal Chaplains Foundation at www.immortalchaplains.org and The Four Chaplains Memorial Foundation at www.fourchaplains.org

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- U.S. combat veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan say they are outraged at the temporary ban on immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries that has blocked visas for Iraqi interpreters who risked their lives to help American troops on the battlefield. Thousands of veterans have signed petitions. One soldier says he has bought a plane ticket for his Afghan translator in case that country is added to the list of banned nations. Many veterans say they feel betrayed by the executive order signed by President Donald Trump on Friday that also suspends the admission of all refugees to the U.S. for 120 days and all Syrian refugees indefinitely. They say the fight feels personal because they gave their word to people who aided American troops that the United States would protect them and their families. "This administration just made me a liar in a very significant way, and I'm not willing to accept this," said Iraq and Afghanistan combat veteran Michael Breen, president and CEO of the Truman National Security Project, a Washington-based nonprofit think tank. The Pentagon is compiling the names of Iraqis who have supported U.S. and coalition personnel to help exempt them from the 90-day immigration ban. The list will include those who have tangibly demonstrated their commitment to supporting U.S. forces, Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said. It will contain several categories of people, such as translators, drivers and Iraqi forces who may be training in the U.S. California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, a combat Marine veteran who endorsed Trump's presidential campaign, sent the president a bipartisan letter signed by other lawmakers who served in the military, expressing support for the exemption list. "Doing so would send a strong signal to those who show such immense courage to advance U.S. security interests at a risk to their own safety, as well as the many veterans and warfighters who've relied on the service of these individuals for their own protection and to accomplish their objectives," the letter states. His spokesman, Joe Kasper, said Hunter supports the intent of the travel ban but questions how it was executed. Veterans who have been aiding translators say it would be difficult to get everyone on the list. What's more, they say the ban sends a message to Iraqi soldiers and other Muslims fighting insurgents that the United States does not want them. "Not only is this executive order a death sentence for Iraqis and Afghans who have served faithfully alongside U.S. troops, but it feels like a death sentence for our service members who are in the Middle East," said former Army Capt. Matt Zeller, who runs the nonprofit No One Left Behind, an organization working to get interpreters from Iraq and Afghanistan to the United States. "I'm only alive because my Afghan Muslim translator saved my life by killing two Taliban fighters who were about to kill me in battle," he said. Zeller said that's why he grabbed the American flag that flew over his base in Afghanistan and waved it outside the White House this weekend, joining thousands of protesters who demanded an immediate end to the travel ban. Afghanistan is not among the seven countries on the ban list, but suspension of the refugee program is affecting Afghan translators who have been given special immigrant visas for helping U.S. troops. Zeller said two Afghan translators have had their flights cancelled since Friday's order. The interpreters waited for years to get the visas, going through a lengthy vetting process, he said. Army Capt. Matthew Ball said his interpreter, Qismat Amin, who has been living in hiding after getting threats from Taliban and Islamic state fighters, got his visa Sunday, after nearly four years of interviews. Ball bought him a $1,000 plane ticket to San Francisco and plans to meet him at the airport with an attorney. "The ban is terrible. It's terrible for what it says about our country. It's terrible for what it says to our allies who we fight with overseas. It's terrible for what it does to real people, struggling to flee terrorism in their home countries, who now have nowhere to go," said Ball, who now serves in the Reserves. Amin, who talked to The Associated Press by phone, said he had mixed feelings. "I feel kind of hesitant to be honest," he said. "I'm hopeful it's going to be OK. I've never been out of my country, so I don't know the rules, and I've been watching the news. I'm a Muslim, and there are different stories saying the United States is banning Muslims, banning immigrants. I'm immigrant plus I'm Muslim, so I don't know." "I'm very excited at the moment right now and kind of terrified," he said.

American Legion National Commander Charles E. Schmidt received a check for $5,000 when he visited Post 291 in Newport Beach, Calif., early last month. The donation was in support of his fundraising project – $1 million for Temporary Financial Assistance (TFA) and $1 million for the Legion's service officer training program. "Our post motto is veterans first, so we believe in Commander’s Schmidt’s project of supporting TFA and service officers. And we believe in what The American Legion does," said Douglas Nye, Post 291 commander. "His fundraising project hits home because we have a lot of vets here in California that need our help." Upon his election as national commander during the 98th National Convention in Cincinnati, Schmidt announced his fundraising project would support service officer training and the TFA program, which provides cash grants to children of eligible veterans who need assistance with maintaining basic needs such as shelter, utilities, clothing, food and medical care. Since 1925, TFA has awarded more than $15 million in cash grants to veterans with minor children at home. “Today, The American Legion represents nearly 800,000 veterans seeking benefits. It is essential that our more than 2,000 accredited service officers have the latest and best training so they can represent veterans as well as they represented us," Schmidt said. "That means staying current on VA policies and state and federal laws. “And it is our job to take care of veterans and take care of their families. Touching the lives of veterans and their families is who we are and a great example of that is through our Temporary Financial Program." Following his election last September, Schmidt visited Post 356 in Panama City, Fla., and was presented a donation check for $1,000. Post 356 Commander Sam Spice said he has assisted 51 veterans over the past several months with VA benefits. "We have a giving heart, and we want to take care of veterans and their families," Spice said. Post 43 in Hollywood, Calif., hand-delivered a check for $1,000 to Schmidt during its Walk for Veterans in December. And Post 396 in Geneva, N.Y., made a donation of $600 because "it's a very important thing to do," said Post 396 Commander Dale VanDeViver. "It's for the good of the Legion, and it's for a good cause." To donate online to the Commander's Charity Fund, click here. Checks can be made payable to American Legion Charities; put "Commander's Charity Fund" on the memo line. Mail to The American Legion at 5745 Lee Rd., Indianapolis, IN, 46216. The fund has 501(c)(3) status and all money raised goes directly to the programs.

Newswise — WASHINGTON - The American Psychological Association thanked the Department of Veterans Affairs for exempting health care provider positions, including those of doctoral psychology interns, from the hiring freeze implemented this week by President Trump. The VA’s move came one day after APA sent a letter to Robert Snyder, acting secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, requesting this exemption. Bipartisan members of Congress also sent letters to the Trump administration calling for exemptions for the VA from the hiring freeze. “We are gratified that Acting Secretary Snyder responded so quickly,” said APA President Antonio E. Puente, PhD. “Psychology interns, working under supervision, provide critical, evidence-based care to our veterans, many of whom are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injuries or substance use disorders. With 20 veterans committing suicide each day, it would have been tragic to create unnecessary barriers and further delay their access to mental health care. We acknowledge that the VA has historically been a leader in the training of psychologists.” Puente and APA Interim CEO Cynthia D. Belar, PhD, sent a letter Jan. 26 to Snyder urging him “to exempt all those who provide health care, including doctoral psychology interns providing mental health care, as frontline caregivers to millions of veterans across this country.” Graduate students are currently applying for 600 pre-doctoral psychology internship positions within the VA. The selection process for the first round of psychology doctoral internships begins Feb. 1.“Internships are the capstone training requirement for licensure for doctoral candidates in health service psychology,” Puente said. “Thanks to the VA’s swift action, these students’ careers will not be derailed.” In addition to its outreach to the VA, APA is also advocating for exemptions from the hiring freeze for health care providers and trainees at the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the Indian Health Service. ________________________________________The American Psychological Association, in Washington, D.C., is the largest scientific and professional organization representing psychology in the United States. APA's membership includes nearly 115,700 researchers, educators, clinicians, consultants and students. Through its divisions in 54 subfields of psychology and affiliations with 60 state, territorial and Canadian provincial associations, APA works to advance the creation, communication and application of psychological knowledge to benefit society and improve people's lives.________________________________________ www.apa.org

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States is a pillar in every community across the nation, especially in times of need. VFW Post 3036 in Hattiesburg, Miss., is proving that point after a tornado ripped through eight Mississippi counties last weekend, leaving more than 700 homes destroyed or severely damaged. VFW Post 3036 is working with local leadership as well as Volunteer Hattiesburg, the city’s disaster response organization, to help organize efforts and fully assess the communities’ needs. The VFW is coordinating housing needs and providing volunteers with meals, water, and the materials necessary for rebuilding. Among the many local and out-of-state volunteers are more than three dozen from Team Rubicon. “It’s a privilege to work with Team Rubicon because of their dedication and efficiency in addressing community needs,” said George Herrington, senior vice commander of Post 3036. “Together with Home Depot and community leaders, we’re rapidly recovering from a terrible situation.” Post leadership contacted each member in the wake of the storm to assess their individual needs. Unfortunately, one member has been displaced by the storm, but Herrington and other VFW members are providing her with the support she needs. “VFW Post 3036 is proving they are a strategic asset in their community,” said VFW National Commander Brian Duffy. “I am proud of their service to others in a time of devastating need, and I hope to recognize them properly at our national convention in New Orleans in July.”  

About 200 job seekers and over 65 employers participated in a Hiring Our Heroes job fair Wednesday in Austin, Texas, in conjunction with the Department of Texas’ Mid-Winter Conference. Department of Texas Commander Walter Ivie said hiring fairs like the one Wednesday “have had great success.” “We’ve averaged probably about 70 employers, and we’ve had a couple hundred veterans attend each of our job fairs,” Ivie said. “The previous job fairs have generated jobs for employers, have generated interviews for employees, and I think in general it’s probably the most successful job fair that we have here in Texas.” The event included a free workshop for job seekers featuring résumé building and interview tips from American Legion National Headquarters Human Resources Director Rodney Rolland. “He can tell these attendees exactly how to change their résumés, how to make it so it hits the target and gets them the interest from the employers, gives them examples of all the things not to do,” Ivie said. “Probably overcomes some preconceptions where people feel like ‘I need to do this in my résumé’ when in fact it may not be the best thing to be doing in there. “His discussion of the process of interviewing, where he talks about (how) you need to focus on the job that you’re seeking, and not necessarily discuss all of your interests, and not necessarily discuss all of your skills, but actually look at the job that you’re trying to get from this particular employer and focus on that, present the information that will allow the employer to focus on your skills that are the right fit for his job.” The event was presented in partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Texas Workforce Commission, Texas Veterans Leadership Program, Texas Veterans Commission, Workforce Solutions Capital Area, Workforce Solutions Rural Capital, Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce and other local partners. “Every employer that is allowed to come to this Hiring Our Heroes fair has a job that he can offer today,” Ivie said. “We’re here to get jobs for the veterans.”

“I joined the Marine Corps for the challenge but stuck around due to pride. I am proud to be a Marine.”David Edger of Elmira, New York, took pride in serving in the Marine Corps for over 16 years. Edger was first stationed in Okinawa, Japan, and went on to serve in Iraq, Afghanistan and Kuwait. His years of service took their toll on Edger’s physical and mental health. Edger was diagnosed with PTSD after serving in Iraq in 2003, and in the years following he found that the more his body wore down, the worse his mental health became. Edger looked forward to returning home, especially because it meant more time with Kristen, his wife of 14 years, and their 5 children, ranging from 8 to 14 years old.“What I didn’t expect after retiring was the delay in VA compensation,” Edger recalled. Though he had a proposed rating of 90%, he found out a month after he was supposed to receive compensation that his claim had been cancelled, and he needed to re-submit. “August was a really tough month for my family and I, and I struggled with the transition from military to civilian life.”Fortunately, Edger’s social worker with the VA told him about the VFW Unmet Needs program. “The process was straightforward, and I was able to complete my portion rather quickly.” Edger was approved, and the grant he received helped him keep a reliable source of transportation, covered two months of mortgage payments and helped him keep up with insurance payments.The grant also came with the surprise of a $500 gift card to Wal-Mart, which Edger and Kristen used to buy groceries and other household supplies.“It is hard to ask for help to begin with. With that said, I was taken aback by the support I received. It went far beyond what I imagined; my family and I are very grateful. I honestly do not know where we’d be without it.” When asked what he would say to someone considering donating to the VFW, Edger offered simple but poignant words.“It can save a life in more ways than one.”

A former American Legion Jersey Boys State citizen and staff counselor has received the Navy’s highest non-combat decoration for heroism. Jonathan Dennler received the Navy and Marine Corps Medal on Jan. 10. He is a midshipman 3rd class at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., where he transferred after two years at George Washington University. Dennler received the honor for his actions while leading a Boy Scout troop from Texas on a camping trip in Ontario, Canada, last July. A major storm struck the Quetico Provincial Park by surprise with 80 mph gusts and lightning strikes. Two trees fell on the troop’s campsite, killing a 13-year-old Scout and a female adult volunteer, and severely injuring others. Unable to contact help on the radio, Dennler canoed more than 1.5 miles at night in 60 mph winds to a ranger station to bring back help and medical supplies. The Navy and Marine Corps medal falls in order of precedence just below the Distinguished Flying Cross and above the Bronze Star. It was first bestowed during World War II, to then Lt. John F. Kennedy, and has been awarded only about 3,000 times since. To win the award, there must be evidence the act of heroism involved specific life-threatening risk to the awardee. Dennler told the Navy News Service that the Naval Academy “has taught me how to work and think in environments where many things are out of my control, and I think the academy helps to create mindsets that put others first. I am incredibly thankful for those lessons.” Dennler attended Jersey Boys State in 2012, winning election as mayor of his city and later, state senator. He volunteered as a city counselor at Jersey Boys State in 2013 and 2014 while attending George Washington. "Jonathan Dennler embodies the virtues of American Legion Jersey Boys State," said David S. Bagatelle, director of American Legion Jersey Boys State. "Our mission is to inspire the youth of New Jersey to become good citizens devoted to American ideals. We're proud of him – for his courage and commitment to country." An active member of the academy's Semper Fi Society, Dennler hopes to serve in the Marine Corps after graduating from the academy in 2019.