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HEALTHY BASE INITIATIVE

Healthy Base Initiative ends, Team March continues concept

by Karen Jowers goals and objectives in the long term strategy for all members to reduce obesity.”
Military Times staff writer The initiative is part of DOD’s overarching Operation Live Well program, which supports

The Defense Department’s Healthy Base Initiative is about to end, but the em- the National Prevention Strategy of improving health and well-being using a prevention-
phasis on health and wellness is merely making a transition. oriented approach. Through Operation Live Well, DOD will continue “implementing and
supporting demonstration of research that supports Total Force fitness,” Sakrisson said.
The Healthy Base Initiative, a DOD demonstration project at 14 installations that
tested ways to improve the health and wellness of troops, civilians and their fami- The goal of HBI was to provide each installation with a full year of the demonstration. In-
lies, is ending this month. However, the successful ideas that have emerged from the formation was not available about the cost of the initiative, but when it was launched, officials
project will be made available next spring for other installation commands. said $5 million had been budgeted to pay for site visits and develop a comprehensive report.

Since the test was launched in early 2013, the focus has been on tobacco-free living, ac- One of the early findings was a comparative scarcity of healthy food choices on
tive lifestyles, healthy eating and healthy community environments. Bases tested a variety of military installations. Officials rated the food options on the 14 test sites using DOD’s
ideas and programs, some of which were started before the Healthy Base Initiative demon- Military Nutrition Environment Assessment Tool, which helps health promotion pro-
stration project, in order to identify effective ways to improve the overall health and wellness. fessionals, commanding officers and others measure accessibility to healthy food op-
tions. On a 100-point scale, dining facilities scored 82 and commissaries 88. But fast
March Air Reserve Base was the only Reserve base selected to participate in food outlets rated 38; convenience stores, 36, and vending machines, 17.
the Initiative. Changes were made at March to increase the number of tobacco-free
areas on base, increase opportunities for members to exercise, increase awareness As a result of those findings, officials ordered a comprehensive study of the food
of proper nutrition through the commissary and club, and to provide health and situation on military installations to provide a baseline assessment of that issue.
wellness information and education for the March community. Information was not available on the status of that study.

“HBI gave March personnel opportunities to experience healthier foods at the However, food services at the Hap Arnold Club and Back Street Café revealed a
Back Street Café, while services personnel learned better food preparation by the healthier menu as a result of the initiative.
Culinary Institute of America (CIA),” said Lt. Col. Scipiaruth Curtis, HBI program
manager. “HBI shifted the March personnel mindset by providing the funding for Three programs were implemented there--Smarter Food Movement, Go for
implementing WellBeats--wellness resource for innovative group fitness solutions, Green and Menu Renovation. They improved the food selection for members, and
which invigorated our physical environment with total fitness activities.” increased their knowledge for better health and fitness.

Officials won’t know about the success of the ideas until all results are in and tal- The demonstration project may be ending at the 14 locations, but the emphasis
lied. Base officials are submitting final data and completing an assessment survey on healthy living isn’t necessarily going away. At Defense Logistics Agency head-
by the end of August. They’re measuring factors such as changes in the rates of quarters at Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the HBI team has transitioned to a new title — the
obesity and overweight; change in the usage of tobacco; change in the percentage Headquarters Complex Health and Fitness Council, which will continue the HBI
of total sales at commissaries that is fresh produce; the percentage change in desig- projects, according to a news release from the agency.
nated tobacco areas; and the percentage of schools that have made positive changes.
Although the test did not officially extend to the agency’s field activities, those activities used
The final phase of the analysis is expected to be completed in September, said the headquarters’participation in HBI to put changes in place to make healthy living easier.
DOD spokesman Air Force Maj. Ben Sakrisson. Lessons learned will be docu-
mented in a report this fall. A toolkit with resources and details on best practices “Since rolling out the Fitness Kiosk ‘WellBeats’ (at the March Fitness Center),
will be available to installation commands next spring. we have updated our monthly fitness schedule to include many online fitness activi-
ties that are attended weekly by civilians and military members,” said Curtis.
Although the final numbers have not been tallied, Team March will continue to
strive toward health and wellness. On the Unit Training Assemblies the Force Support Squadron continues to find
new, innovative ways to include spouses and family members, such as the HBI
“HBI implementation strategies will require senior leadership support and commitment by Wingman Day, held last September.
several functional areas in the Force Support Squadron, such as the Fitness Center and Servic-
es,” said Curtis. “To assist unit members in learning about total fitness, health and wellness, we “This year we plan to have the Annual Kids and Adult 5K Run in conjunction
found that the Unit Fitness Monitors and Physical Training Leaders are instrumental in setting with the 1st Sergeant’s Council during our combined UTA in September,” Curtis
said. “As evident from last year, the 5K event will be well attended and fun for all!”

(Linda Welz, Beacon editor, contributed to this story.)

From HERO page 2 sessing any other threats in the area. happens for a reason. Every moment in international hero!’ screaming over the
“My friend (pointed) out the guy who got life leads to the next. He said that there phone. My mother, sister, friends, family
came up and took the AK. But he just kept was a reason he and his friends were on neighbors — everyone is excited for me.”
pulling weapons left and right. He pulled a hit in the neck,” Stone said. “I don’t know that train and that they moved to first class.
handgun and it seemed liked he pointed it how he got hit but he was spurting blood ev- The story has been played out in the public
back at me and I heard it click.” erywhere. So I yelled out ‘I’m a medic I’m a “I feel good that we were able to light over the past few days and is certainly
medic!’and took the guy and held him down. save those people there in that right an intense ride. Many said that it feels like a
It is not apparent why the guns malfunc- I just stuck my finger in his neck, found what I moment,” Stone said. movie in the making. Jokingly, Stone said
tioned so many times, but it gave the trio time thought was an artery and just pressed down. that if they ever do make this into a movie,
to wrestle them away from the gunman. I held that position until authorities came.” Stone, 23, has been in the Air Force he knows exactly who he wants to play him.
for nearly three years. His training as
“I saw him making a slashing motion,” At this point, Stone was pretty badly a medic prepared him for how to react “Denzel Washington, but I don’t think
Stone explained. “When I leaned over his wounded. His thumb was nearly severed in a situation like this, but his family that would ever happen,” Stone joked.
shoulder I see he has about a six-inch box cut- and he had sustained gashes that were taught him to help those who need help.
ter blade and I look down and my thumb is dangerously close to major arteries. The Despite his fairly calm demeanor
hanging halfway off.” nurses later told him that he was lucky “I would say it was more so how I was only days after the attack, Stone was
that the cuts were not further over. raised and the Air Force just gave me the able to reflect on the event as a day that
At this point Stone lost his grip on tools I needed to be the person I have al- could have gone a lot differently.
the gunman. Despite his wounds he never had a sec- ways wanted to be I guess,” Stone said.
ond thought about helping someone else. “There have been a bunch of influential “If it wasn’t for Alek and Anthony,
“I let him go and by that point the shooter people in my career so far that have just I’d be dead,” Stone said. “I wouldn’t
was in the middle and me,Alek andAnthony “I felt like I was the only person who helped me gain the knowledge that I have.” have been able to do it by myself. He
are just surrounding him and we just started could help him,” Stone said. “I didn’t re- definitely woulda’ got me.”
pounding him,” he said. “I got him in another ally care about my injuries at that point When asked about his family, Stone
choke and I choked him out until he went un- because I thought that guy was gonna die, cracked a smile. The gunman had multiple magazines
conscious and my friend kept hitting him in so I wanted to give him a fighting chance.” and almost 300 rounds of ammunition.
the face with the gun.” “Oh yeah; my family is proud of me.
Stone said that he believes everything My brother is yelling ‘My brother is an “He seemed like he was ready to fight
The gunman was down.The trio began as- to the end,” Stone said. “So were we.”