News Briefs

Dear AAPA-OM Members,

AAPA-OM has started an Outreach program to show our support for the troops. We have adopted the 2nd platoon of Alpha Company of the 1st Marine Division. They are getting ready to be re-deployed to Afghanistan next year. We will be sending our adopted unit care packages 4 times per year and encourage you to participate in our collection drive. You can make a difference in a soldier's life through your individual donation or through an organized office-wide collection drive.

2010-2011 AAPA-OM Outreach Program

The Plan

The AAPA-OM wants to reach out to our military brothers and sisters who are now on active duty. Several of our members are former Navy hospital corpsmen who spent time with the U.S. Marines and felt this branch of the service would be the unit of choice. One of our members served with the 2nd platoon of Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 1st Marine Division (better known as Alpha 1/1.) By adopting this small unit, AAPA-OM could have a significant impact on that unit. Also, it will introduce the AAPA-OM to possible ex-corpsmen entering a PA program and then specializing in occupational Medicine.

We started this program by sending 5 boxes of goodies to the Marines for Thanksgiving. They were very appreciated of these gifts and were able to share with the 60 members of this unit.

Please send any item or a gift card or a check and I will purchase a gift card and send you a receipt. I would like to thank everyone who sent items for the first shipment, it was way more then I was expecting, and I'm sure it was the same for the Marines.

Future donation shipments will be sent to our adopted unit to reach them by the following holidays: Memorial Day and Labor Day. Submission deadlines for these future collections are:

• August 9, 2010
• October 4, 2010
• January 24, 2011
• April 25, 2011
• July 25, 2011
• October 31, 2011

We will send reminders to alert you of upcoming deadlines.

We will send them a "Care Package", no matter where they were deployed. It would always go to 2nd platoon Alpha 1/1. AAPA-OM leadership decided to gather items from our members that this unit could use and send this "Care Package" to them four times a year. Suggested items that Alpha 1/1 will need include such items as phone cards, soap, AA and AAA batteries, and non-expendable goodies. Below is a list of other items that could be sent. I understand that beef jerky is a commodity that they really like.

Items that Could be Included in Each Care Package:

• Maruchen® Ramen Noodles
• Chewing gum, blister pack
• Crystal Light® or Gatorade® drink mix
• Baby wipes
• Chapstick® brand lip balm
• Phone cards
• Batteries AA and AAA size
• Small size toothpaste
• Small size shampoo
• Razors and shaving cream
• Toothbrush
• Peanuts
• Sunflower Seeds
• Assorted hard candies
• Paperback novel (titles and author vary)
• Pad of paper and/or envelopes
• Ink pen
• Socks, black or white
• Toiletry: either deodorant, lotion, or body wash
• 5 Single-dose Bayer® aspirin packages
• Playing cards, single-use camera, DVD, or other entertainment items
• Beef jerky

The Delivery

All items will be shipped to Ed Sorace's home address, and he will package and send the items collected to the Platoon Commander to be distributed to the 2nd Platoon, Alpha Company, 1st Marine Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division. Ed has agreed to cover the postage, but he will gladly accept donations to help cover this cost.

There will not be any expense for the Academy in implementing this program.

As mentioned above, this program will serve the dual purpose of letting the troops know that we support them while seeking feedback and communication from them and, hopefully, publish an article from a corpsman serving with A 1/1 in the AAPA-OM Newsletter. We plan to submit a summary of this outreach program to the AAPA Awards Committee. A 1/1 is currently in California awaiting orders for deployment overseas. Currently they do not have a corpsman assigned to the unit while they are in garrison.

I would like to thank the leadership of the AAPA-OM and the staff at AAPA for assisting in this "plan". I would also like to thank the Marine Officers of Alpha 1/1 for assisting me in getting this project started. Now let's show how AAPA-OM can support the troops. Keep receipts and they should be tax deducible.

Send all items to my home address:

Edward Sorace
174 Monticello Place
Elizabethtown, Kentucky 42701