Army-Navy Game Rich in Rivalry, Tradition

Military tradition that's spanned over a century

By Terri Moon Cronk American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Dec. 9, 2011 - The Army and Navy football teams are preparing to collide tomorrow at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., continuing a tradition of athletic competition and military tradition that's spanned over a century. This year's Army-Navy football game, the 112th, begins at 2:30 p.m. EST. CBS and the American Forces Network will broadcast the game live. President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill, Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta, and Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, are scheduled to attend. FedEx, a 85,000-seat stadium that's home to the NFL Washington Redskins football team is located in the National Capital Region, which is a fitting venue for the annual Army-Navy football clash, the Army's Black Knights head coach Rich Ellerson told reporters last week at Army-Navy Country Club in Arlington, Va. "There's a special connection between both of our institutions and our nation's capital," he said. The Army and Navy Pep Bands will be in the Pentagon today with their cheerleaders and mascots to fire up the military crowd. As they do every year, the pep bands will march through the Pentagon's halls, making stops at the offices of senior leaders and performing a pep rally or two. The longstanding "Beat Navy" and "Beat Army" banter between the two squads, Ellerson said, showcases the teams' competitive spirit. "The meaning and symbolism go so much farther than what you see on the field," said Navy Cdr. William Marks, the Naval Academy's public affairs officer. "Only in this game do brothers-in-arms become rivals for one day, knowing that ... they will be side by side defending the nation," he added. Fans of these friendly rivals feel game anticipation early before the kick-off, particularly with the pregame spirit videos, said Dennis Herring, mass communications chief in the Naval Academy public affairs office. "It really gets your adrenaline pumping," he said. That rivalry has been part of the game's storied history since its inception in 1890, when a Navy football player challenged an Army cadet to a game. Just three years into the tradition, the Army-Navy game was suspended from 1894 to 1898 after a Navy win in 1893 reportedly caused an incident between a rear admiral and a brigadier general that nearly led to a duel. When the game returned in 1899, it was moved to Philadelphia -- a neutral venue that was about halfway between West Point, N.Y., and Annapolis, Md. Most of the subsequent games were played in various Philadelphia stadiums. Army cancelled its season in 1909 after the death of a cadet in a game against Harvard. War suspended the games during World War I in 1917 and 1918. They were suspended again in 1928 and 1929 because of player eligibility issues. The games have continued each year since. President Theodore Roosevelt was the first president to attend an Army-Navy game in 1905.By 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who hoped the Army-Navy game would boost a war-weary nation, connected the game to a war bond drive. That year's 70,000 attendees were required to purchase war bonds with their tickets. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur cabled West Point head coach Army Col. Earl H. "Red" Blaik from his Pacific base following Army's 23-7 win against a tough Navy team, 23-7. MacArthur's cable read: "We have stopped the war to celebrate your magnificent success." Perhaps central to the Army-Navy game rivalry are the traditions of gags among team members, such as the cadets' annual goat-kidnapping of the middies' mascot. Since 1982, the midshipmen of 13th Company have run the game football from Annapolis to the playing field to try to get the "unlucky" company off the yard. A more involved gag in the name of rivalry is the teams' prisoner exchange, when certain cadets and middies spend a semester of their junior year in "enemy territory." On game day, the middies and cadets return to their own school's sides of the field for the duration of the game during the "prisoner exchange." Another tradition is the Victory Bells, two of which flank the steps of the Naval Academy's Bancroft Hall. One, the Enterprise Bell, originated from World War II's most-decorated ship, the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. A kamikaze attack off Japan destroyed its forward elevator and killed 14 people. The carrier was decommissioned in 1947 and eventually scrapped. Now the ship's bell rings continually from the time of the game's final score until the team returns to Bancroft Hall. On the other side of Bancroft Hall stands the Japanese Bell, a replica of the bell presented to Navy Commodore Matthew C. Perry in 1854. Each time Navy defeats Army, the Enterprise Bell is rung from the time the results are known until the team returns. At the team's reception, the Navy score is rung on the Japanese bell by the team captain, coach, superintendent and commandant, followed by each team member. On the field just before the kick-off is the March On, the military presentation of the Brigade of Midshipmen and Corps of Cadets marching onto the field. Herring called it "truly one of the greatest spectacles in all of sports." For the many that can't attend the game or watch it in the comfort of their homes stateside, the American Forces Network broadcasts the game to service members worldwide. Marks recalled watching the game last year on a movie screen at 2 a.m. aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln while deployed in the Arabian Gulf. "You could feel the electricity among the 5,000 crew members," he said. "It was an amazing experience and it meant the world to us to be able to cheer on Navy during our overseas deployment. "I think as a country," Marks added, "we can take a moment to step back and marvel at the quality of these men and the virtues and values they represent." �

Related Sites: Army and Navy Pregame Events Game Day AFN TV Schedules

Black Hawk helicopters prepare for takeoff

Two U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters prepare for takeoff at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, Dec. 4, 2011. (DoD photo by Tech. Sgt. Matt Hecht, U.S. Air Force/Released)

Scholarship Paves Way to Better Future for Army Spouse

By Alicia Brown
Special to American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Dec. 8, 2011 - Army Sgt. 1st Class Lizandro Mateo-Ortiz suffered serious injuries when he was run over while serving in Iraq in 2007. At the time, he was the family's sole breadwinner, supporting his wife and two teenage daughters.

Milena Mateo-Ortiz earned her bachelor's degree in health administration with help from a National Military Family Association scholarship. Courtesy photo

Suddenly, Milena Mateo-Ortiz found her life changed. She now had to find a way to support her family, and knew education was the answer. Their daughter, Stephanie, decided to postpone her college experience so that her mom could earn a degree.Milena now has a bachelor's degree in health administration, and is working on her master's degree, thanks to the generosity of companies and organizations such as Dominion Virginia Power, which recently presented $250,000 to the National Military Family Association. NMFA provides scholarships to military spouses like Milena, who wish to improve their education and become more employable.
Military spouses don't always fare well against the civilian workforce. According to the Defense Department's Military Spouse Employment Partnership, 85 percent of military spouses want or need to work, and military wives earn 25 percent less than their civilian counterparts. The program is one of many that experts encourage spouses to seek out for guidance, information and empowerment.
Without the assistance, Milena said, she couldn't have afforded to pursue a degree that will land her a good enough job to support her daughters and her husband, who remains on a feeding tube. Now she's also well on her way to what will be a proud accomplishment when she graduates in 2013.
For more posts like this one, visit�AFPS' Family Matters Blog.
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Workshop on Common Eye Disorders

100 General Practitioners attended the workshop
Ludhiana//9th December,2011//Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria

The Department of Ophthalmology, Christian Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana organized a Workshop on Common Eye Disorders in the Hospital Auditorium on 9th December 2011 in collaboration with CBM, an International NGO. Approximately 100 General Practitioners from NIMA (National Integrated Medical Association) and AIIMA (All India Integrated Medical Association) along with others attended the workshop.
Giving information regarding this workshop, Dy.Medical Superintendent and Head of the Eye dept. Dr.Nitin Batra said the focus was on the Awareness and Primary management of Common Eye Disorders like Diabetic Retinopathy, Pediatric Cataract, Computer Vision Syndrome, Glaucoma and Lids and Ocular Surface Disorders.
The chief guest, Dr. Kim J. Mammen, Associate Director, CMCL, welcomed the guests and, encouraged them to participate in similar workshops in the future. The guest of Honor Dr. Kanwal Masih, Medical Superintendent,CMCL, acknowledged the spirit of the participants.

Parents moved a petition against an unaided school

Hearing on Monday December 12, 2011

Parents through Advocate Ashok Agarwal have today moved a petition before the Delhi High Court seeking directions against the St. Lawrence Convent Secondary School to forthwith stop discriminating against those students who have not made payment of Rs.400/- per month each in the name of smart class and to allow them to attend classes along with those students who have made payment for smart classes and to revert back to old pattern which was in practice before 17.10.2011, prohibit the school from demanding fees on account of Smart Classes without first getting permission from the Directorate of Education, as required under Section 17(3) of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973 and direct the Director of Education, Govt. of NCT of Delhi to enquire into the allegations of humiliation, harassment and insult subjected to the students who did not make payment on account of Smart Class by the authorities of the respondent school as mentioned in the complaint dated 17.10.2011, 20.10.2011 and 24.10.2011 and to take appropriate action against the erring authorities of the respondent/school in accordance with law.

The matter is likely to be heard by the Hon’ble High Court on Monday, 12.12.2011.

His heel shattered when he stepped on a landmine

Ryan Blanck, a prosthetist and developer of the Intrepid Dynamic Exoskeletal Orthosis brace, fits one of his braces on Army 1st Lt. Matthew Anderson, an infantry platoon leader, at the Center for the Intrepid in San Antonio, Nov. 10, 2011. Anderson's heel shattered when he stepped on a landmine in Kandahar, Afghanistan, in October 2010. The brace reduces his pain and enables him to run again.Blanck now is fitting troops from around the country with his device. After hearing of Blanck's and Owens' success, Army 1st Lt. Matthew Anderson traveled here from his unit at Fort Carson, Colo., hoping for similar results.




DOD photo by Linda Hosek 

Medical Tourism in CMC Helps NRI Patients

Mr Notra had severe heart disease
Ludhiana// 8th December, 2011//Shalu Arora and Rector Kathuria

Patient Randhir Singh Notra in happy mood with Dr. H S Bedi

Punjab is slowly developing as the hub of medical tourism in North India after New Delhi. In view of the excellent cardiac surgery results of CMC Hospital–a number of NRI patients are being referred as a part of medical tourism. Not only are the services up to International standards but the cost is much less. 

The latest patient referred was Randhir Singh Notra from Dubai. His healthcare provider - Fathima Healthcare Management Services– UAE – after doing a thorough background check– decided to refer Mr Notra to Dr Harinder Singh Bedi– Head of Cardio Vascular Surgery at the Christian Medical College & Hospital in Ludhiana. Dr Bedi told that Mr Notra had severe heart disease and underwent a minimally invasive total arterial beating heart bypass.

Mr Notra said that he was extremely satisfied with his treatment at CMC . He felt that the quality of the doctors, the paramedical staff, the technology available was on par with the best in the West. Additionally the compassion and care that he saw being given to all patients was priceless. Added to this is the fact that the same therapy in the West would cost about 10 times more. His healthcare provider had told him that Dr Bedi was a world leader in the beating heart technology which gives a safe and long lasting therapy to heart patients. Dr Bedi has his name in the Limca Book of World Records for innovating in the field of beating heart surgery.

Dr Abraham G Thomas–Director of CMC Hospital  reiterated that the CMC being one of the oldest Institutes of India was always in the forefront on imparting quality medical care to not only people of this region but also patients from all over the country and abroad.