Page 12 - Desert Lightning News So. AZ Edition, June 2 2017

12 June 2, 2017 Desert Lightning News www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb
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Pentagon displays art from wounded warriors
For retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Greg Miller, the hell of his time in Iraq still burns in his mind nearly 10 years later. Thanks to an alternative therapy tapping into his artistic side, he’s on the road to recovery.
In 2008, he was in Kirkuk as part of the Air Force civil engineers’ Prime Base Engineer Emergency Force, better known as Prime BEEF, a rapidly deployable, specialized unit designed to go into bare-bones bases near the front lines and set up working and living conditions for the troops there.
“It was a hot summer, and we got mortared a lot,” Miller said. “A car bomb went off at the gate, and I could hear everyone screaming. When I returned home, that’s when I became really became depressed and wanted to give up on life.”
The experience brought on demons that Miller still deals with to this day. But now, he’s getting better thanks to his involvement in art therapy.
“I went through a lot of inpatient programs, a lot of hospitalizations, a lot of medication,” he said. “But one of the things that helped me to heal was art. I can escape into my own little world where I don’t have a lot of distractions and can be at peace for that moment.”
Miller creates three-dimensional sculpture art with drywall screws, familiar territory for this carpenter. His work is among the 40 pieces now being displayed at the 2017 Pentagon Patriotic Art Program: Wounded Warrior Healing Arts Exhibit. Individuals from the U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, and Walter Reed National Military Medical Center’s National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Bethesda, Maryland, created the works, and photographs of the pieces hang in the Pentagon’s Apex 1 & 2 on the second floor through 2017. Miller also teaches other veterans about the benefits of art through the Air
Force Wounded Warrior Program’s Art Resiliency Work- shop. The Army and Navy wounded warrior programs also have their own art therapy programs, and information on resources is available through individual installations’ military treatment facilities.
Another of those who benefited from art therapy has been Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Jared Lenahan, who uses photography to heal. About two and a half years ago the Navy corpsman fell more than 50 feet off a mountain while rock climbing recreationally, suffering massive injuries.
“In the hospital, you get into a routine of things — physical therapy, occupational therapy, many doctor ap- pointments — and it becomes a little old,” said Lenahan, who suffered a moderate traumatic brain injury from the fall and has been severely mentally taxed by the multiple surgeries and time he hasn’t been able to walk during his recovery. “Art therapy helps take your mind off the whole process. It’s an escape.”
According to the Defense Department, nearly 150,000 service members have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder since 2000. More than 360,000 service members have been diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury during the same period. About 85 percent of mili- tary patients involved with the National Intrepid Center of Excellence’s Healing Arts Program said art therapy promotes their healing. “The art process has helped a lot,” said Lenahan.
Miller said his recovery is ongoing and still includes lows. He credited his wife Heather for the fact that he’s still here. “If it wasn’t for her, I’d be homeless or dead,” he said.
“I married the most laid-back person I’d ever met in my life, very rarely moved by any stressful situation,” she said
Courtesy photo
Retired Air Force Staff Sgt. Greg Miller and his wife Heather stand in front of Miller’s three-dimensional art made with wood screws now on display as part of the 2017 Pentagon Patriotic Art Program: Wounded Warrior Healing Arts Exhibit.
of the man who now sports dreadlocks and a bandana. “But when he got back, the simplest things, like an extension cord not reaching an outlet, set him off. I wasn’t educated [on post-traumatic stress disorder].”
Heather knew her husband needed help and sought the medical and psychological treatments important to his healing. She got him traditional care, and she also sees the difference art therapy is making. He sees the difference, too, and encourages others to use this kind of therapy to help them heal.
“I want to incorporate art into healing,” Miller said. “If my art can inspire someone, that’s a plus.”
Courtesy of Military Health System Communications Office
Airmen ensured PCS privileges
It’s the season for permanent changes of station and every Airman should know the basic PCS entitlements.
PCS entitlementS (Current 2017 rateS)
Per diem for driving
A combined flat rate calculation cost (includes lodging plus meals and incidental ex- penses)
Member: $142
Dependents per diem when traveling with the military member:
-Age 12 or older will receive 75 percent of the per diem/under age 12 will receive 50
percent Mileage
-17 cents per mile
Dependents who travel nonconcurrently from the military member:
-100 percent for one dependent, age 12 or older
-75 percent for each of the other dependents, age 12 or older-50 percent for each de-
pendent under age 12
Advances
Advance pay
Intended to assist with out-of-pocket expenses incurred in conjunction with a PCS. The maximum amount is three months basic pay, less deductions. It can be requested 30 days prior to departure or 60 days after arrival at the new duty station. Some instances may require the commander’s approval.
Advance DLA
-May be requested 10 days prior to final out date and based on rank and dependency status.
-BAH advance may be requested to pay advance rent, security deposit, and initial expenses incident to moving into a rental property/home purchase. AF Form 1039 must be completed with the unit commander signature along with lease, contract and/or letter- of-intent.
Temporary lodging expense
meal expenses incurred by the military member/dependent(s) while occupying temporary lodging at a losing or gaining base. Members must have a nonavailability letter to be reimbursed off-base lodging.
-10 days maximum for a member who PCSs to a CONUS (w/in the U.S) base
-5 days maximum for a member who PCSs to an OCONUS (overseas) base
-TLE is based on the number of eligible people and percentage rates not to exceed
$290 a day.
-TDY en route
If a spouse travels to the TDY en route location and a rental property is used for lodg-
ing, the only name that should be on the lease is the member’s name.
Flat rate per diem
-Long-term TDYs are for anyone TDY of 31 days or longer will be subject to a flat-rate per diem.
-TDYs 31-180 Days is limited to 75 percent
-TDYs more than 180 days is limited to 55 percent
What to keep while in transit
-Airport flight itineraries/airfare receipts
-Airfare receipts from AMC terminals (will look like a boarding pass)
-If the AMC receipt is lost, a lost receipt form can be filed along with a copy of the GTC
statement reflecting the charge
-Any receipt that is $75.00 or more that requires reimbursement
Government travel card
-The government travel card is to be used for all official PCS expenses such as, but not limited to: lodging cost, meals, taxi, airfare, baggage fees, CTO fees, currency conversion fees
-Ensure GTC is activated and know the PIN
-Request credit limit increase to cover all travel-related costs, especially for families traveling overseas
TLE is an allowance intended to partially reimburse military members for lodging/
Courtesy of 56th Comptroller squadron
For more information, call finance customer service.