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Stewart opens Army Wellness Center
Center serves as life skills training facility
Col. Eggleston Winn  MEDDAC Cdr
Winn Army Community Hospital and Stewart-Hunter Medical Activity Command Commander Col. Kirk Eggleston spoke at the ceremony. - photo by Photo by Randy C. Murray

A new Army Wellness Center officially opened at Fort Stewart this week with a ribbon cutting by 3rd Infantry Division and Stewart-Hunter Commander Maj. Gen. John “Mike” Murray, Winn Army Community Hospital and Stewart-Hunter Medical Activity Command Commander Col. Kirk Eggleston, Winn Preventative Medicine Chief Lt. Col. Shannon Ellis, Wellness Center Director Megan Amadeo and Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness Training Center manager John Gaddy.
Also attending were the Marne commander’s wife, Jane Murray, and 3rd ID Command Sgt. Maj. Edd Watson.
According to Winn public-affairs officer Michelle Gordon, Army Wellness Centers are part of Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. Patricia D. Horoho’s “performance triad” program, which includes activity, nutrition and sleep. She said wellness-center services include metabolic testing, physical-fitness testing, stress management with biofeedback, and tobacco, nutrition and general wellness education.
Gordon said the first Army Wellness Center opened in 2005 in Heidelberg, Germany. The center on Stewart is the 17th opened by the Army, she said.
“We have a huge problem in this country,” Eggleston told guests. “Our population is not fit. We’re out of shape. We’re overweight. We don’t eat right. We don’t sleep right, and we don’t get enough exercise.”
He said the Army Wellness Center is designed to encourage wellness or preventive health. When patients come to Winn, he said they already are in the second stage of prevention. He said something already is amiss, and now the hospital’s medical team has to fix it.
Eggleston said the Army will have 19 Wellness Centers by the end of this year, with a goal of having 38 centers throughout the Army. He said soldiers, their families and — if space is available — military retirees and their families can come to the center for a free evaluation, risk assessment, nutrition advice and general wellness education that could prevent them from having to visit the hospital.
He emphasized that what the center needs most is for commanders to tell their soldiers about the wellness center and encourage them to use it.
Murray echoed many of Eggleston’s remarks, saying the center is about teaching better lifestyles and better stress management. He also stressed the importance of encouraging soldiers and families to use the center.
“I would hope that this center is overbooked and overused,” Murray said. “I hope the hours that we have posted are not nearly enough and we have to get some additional staff.”
Following the ribbon cutting, Amadeo and Ellis escorted Murray and other guests around the new facility, pausing in each room to explain how risk-assessment equipment works.
According to Gaddy, the center essentially is a life-skills training facility. He said there is a distinct difference between a fitness center and a wellness center.
“Instead of being reactive to physical challenges, we can be proactive,” Gaddy said. “Any soldier can walk in here and make an appointment for an assessment. We can train one-on-one or as a unit.”
Amadeo said the center’s staffers are professionals with specialized certifications or master’s degrees in exercise science or other health fields.
“We’re more of a primary preventive and assessment program,” Amadeo said. “We’re not diagnosing; we’re assessing where they are. We’re trying to (help) them before they have to go get treated for things like diabetes or some other chronic disorder.”

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Exchange Service salutes Vietnam vets with custom truck design
Army and Air Force Exchange Service redesigned logo 2011

To thank Vietnam veterans for their sacrifices, the Army and Air Force Exchange Service is debuting a new truck design, part of the Department of Defense retailer’s efforts alongside the United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration to honor veterans during the 50th anniversary of the war.

“The Exchange is privileged to have the opportunity to recognize Vietnam veterans through our fleet,” said Exchange Director/CEO Tom Shull, who served in the Army during the Vietnam era. “These trucks will serve as rolling billboards, expressing gratitude for all who served during this era.”

The truck design features the silhouette of a lone service member set against the background of a faded horizon with a call to “thank a Vietnam veteran for service to our nation.” The single military member represents the warfighters who served during this time.

Three trucks in the fleet feature the commemorative design and will deliver merchandise to Exchange stores from the organization’s distribution centers in the continental United States.

The West Coast Distribution Center at Sharpe Army Depot in California; Dan Daniel Distribution Center in Newport News, Va.; and the Waco Distribution Center in Texas will each have a truck in service on their standard delivery routes, serving the whole country.

Air Force veteran Pat Thompson served in Vietnam before coming to the Exchange as a truck driver and mechanic. In his 18 years with the Exchange, he has deployed four times to support the troops. The new design means a lot to him.

“They remember,” said Thompson, who is based at the Exchange’s Waco Distribution Center. “We want to be remembered.”

The trucks also highlight the veteran online shopping benefit, which launched in November. The lifelong online military exchange benefit authorizes all who served honorably to enjoy tax-free shopping and exclusive military pricing at ShopMyExchange.com.

The United States of America Vietnam War Commemoration is a program administered by the Office of the Secretary of Defense to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War. The U.S. began commemoration of the Vietnam War’s 50th anniversary in 2012 and will continue through Veterans Day 2025.

The Exchange is a 50th Anniversary Vietnam War Commemorative Partner, planning and conducting events and activities that recognize Vietnam veterans and their families for service, valor and sacrifice in conjunction with the commemoration.

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