There has been a lot in the news about COL Allgood since my post on Monday.
NBC Nightly News did a nice tribute to him and the other helicopter crash victims on the air on Thursday and in their accompanying blog. The broadcast feature is available on the web from a link on that page. (There’s also a terrific story that was broadcast that same day about the Fisher House program for Wounded Warriors and their families, so please check that out while you are there.)
There has been an Associated Press story circulating in many newspapers that includes statements from his extended family. This is the version from the Colorado Springs Gazette.
There was an OpEd tribute to COL Allgood in the Saturday, January 27, 2007 Pacific Edition of the Stars and Stripes written by COL Allgood’s colleage in Iraq, COL S. Ward
Casscells.
Blog Tributes:
Here’s a link to a Heroes Memorial Blog here on blogger.com. Several of COL Allgood’s friends and family have left comments here.
Sus at One Life to Give leaves a personal tribute to her friend a colleague.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Friday, January 26, 2007
Article from the Stars & Stripes, 27 January Pacific Edition
Stars & Stripes
Pacific Edition
January 27, 2006
OPINION
Mourning a doctor who improved Iraq
BY COL. S. WARD CASSCELLS
We were on the way to church when we heard the news: a few hours earlier, on 20 January, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter had been shot down north of Baghdad, killing all 12 soldiers. “There but for the grace of God” was my first thought, as I had just returned from a tour of duty there and had often flown in a Black Hawk.
Then it became clear that one of the soldiers was Col. Brian Allgood, a West Point graduate and Ranger-turned-surgeon, whose spotless record as a military medical leader had taken him from the operating room to the fast track for general. He was the fourth American colonel, and highest-ranking doctor, to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As Gen. George W. Casey Jr.’s command surgeon for Multinational Force-Iraq, Brian oversaw the care of coalition troops, but he also had responsibility for the coalition’s support of Iraqi health care. He and I (serving as the coalition’s health policy liaison to U.S. Ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad) spent many hours together last summer and fall in Iraq, struggling to understand what we could do to help Iraqi leaders and doctors improve Iraq’s health care.
Not knowing when or if the fighting might abate, we debated whether we could somehow persuade Iraq’s Ministry of health (which would not agree to meet with us) to crack down on corruption, or went to spend its “rainy day” funds, matching them with ours, though little remained of either. Or should the focus be on repairs to hospitals, to the ancient water and sanitation systems, or on training doctors, nurses and managers, and developing functioning supply, engineering and information systems?
Not surprisingly, these vexing questions did not elicit agreement among health policy leaders within Multinational Force Iraq, the U.S. departments of State and Health and Human Services, much less with the Ministry of Health or the World Health Organization.
Into this maze came Col. Allgood. He had the effortless grace of officers whose mental and physical fitness set them apart. He was direct, and did not kiss up or kick down, swear, yell or threaten. He said little, promised less, learned fast and acted faster: Within months his above-the-fray example had calmed the infighting of U.S. government agencies, enabling him to put together a health plan — for coalition troops and for coalition assistance to Iraqi health — as comprehensive as that of any professor or government official, but with the practicality of a surgeon who, having heard all the opinions, set the plan with every confidence his staff would give it all they had.
His command presence led even older officers to treat him with deference, but when I kidded him about it he said only that the thing he liked least about the Army was returning all the salutes. Other than that, I never once heard him complain. He expected a lot, and he set a high standard for things like combat medals. But he reviewed proposed missions to be sure the goals were worth the risk, And, true to the Army tradition of “first out of the foxhole, last in the chow line,” he led many of those missions himself, and offered me his own roomy quarters when I complained about mine. Embarrassed, I declined.
Far from home, working in close quarters 18 hours a day, seven days a week, bombed and shot at, yet Col. Allgood was able to maintain the distance that avoids even the appearance of favoritism, the distance that charges soldiers to find strength in themselves, to stay in touch with their families, and — at least in Col. Allgood’s case — with God, but not to mention it.
Why God ordains, or permits, the loss of a great leader, with so much yet to give, is as mysterious as why the enemy shoots at helicopters painted with a red cross. As soldiers say, it is “above my pay grade,” like whether we should be in Iraq at all: Soldiers, who know better than anyone the costs of war, may debate and advise, but once the mission is set, they carry it out in accordance with regulations.
In response to our letters over the past several years, Congress and President Bush increased in 2006 the combat death benefit from $8,000 to $100,000, with more insurance (up to $400,000) for those who subscribe, and up to $788 per month for college. Bills to further improve benefits are before Congress, but for today it is enough to note how blessed we are by the example of Col. Allgood.
May all Iraqis learn that one of our best gave his life on their behalf, and ours.
May we never forget him, or neglect the mission. And may we, his friends and country, look after his family, as he looked after those in his command.
Dr. (Col.) S. Ward Casscells is in the Army Reserve and is John Edward Tyson distinguished professor of medicine, cardiology and public health and vice president for biotechnology at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Pacific Edition
January 27, 2006
OPINION
Mourning a doctor who improved Iraq
BY COL. S. WARD CASSCELLS
We were on the way to church when we heard the news: a few hours earlier, on 20 January, a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter had been shot down north of Baghdad, killing all 12 soldiers. “There but for the grace of God” was my first thought, as I had just returned from a tour of duty there and had often flown in a Black Hawk.
Then it became clear that one of the soldiers was Col. Brian Allgood, a West Point graduate and Ranger-turned-surgeon, whose spotless record as a military medical leader had taken him from the operating room to the fast track for general. He was the fourth American colonel, and highest-ranking doctor, to die in Operation Iraqi Freedom.
As Gen. George W. Casey Jr.’s command surgeon for Multinational Force-Iraq, Brian oversaw the care of coalition troops, but he also had responsibility for the coalition’s support of Iraqi health care. He and I (serving as the coalition’s health policy liaison to U.S. Ambassador, Zalmay Khalilzad) spent many hours together last summer and fall in Iraq, struggling to understand what we could do to help Iraqi leaders and doctors improve Iraq’s health care.
Not knowing when or if the fighting might abate, we debated whether we could somehow persuade Iraq’s Ministry of health (which would not agree to meet with us) to crack down on corruption, or went to spend its “rainy day” funds, matching them with ours, though little remained of either. Or should the focus be on repairs to hospitals, to the ancient water and sanitation systems, or on training doctors, nurses and managers, and developing functioning supply, engineering and information systems?
Not surprisingly, these vexing questions did not elicit agreement among health policy leaders within Multinational Force Iraq, the U.S. departments of State and Health and Human Services, much less with the Ministry of Health or the World Health Organization.
Into this maze came Col. Allgood. He had the effortless grace of officers whose mental and physical fitness set them apart. He was direct, and did not kiss up or kick down, swear, yell or threaten. He said little, promised less, learned fast and acted faster: Within months his above-the-fray example had calmed the infighting of U.S. government agencies, enabling him to put together a health plan — for coalition troops and for coalition assistance to Iraqi health — as comprehensive as that of any professor or government official, but with the practicality of a surgeon who, having heard all the opinions, set the plan with every confidence his staff would give it all they had.
His command presence led even older officers to treat him with deference, but when I kidded him about it he said only that the thing he liked least about the Army was returning all the salutes. Other than that, I never once heard him complain. He expected a lot, and he set a high standard for things like combat medals. But he reviewed proposed missions to be sure the goals were worth the risk, And, true to the Army tradition of “first out of the foxhole, last in the chow line,” he led many of those missions himself, and offered me his own roomy quarters when I complained about mine. Embarrassed, I declined.
Far from home, working in close quarters 18 hours a day, seven days a week, bombed and shot at, yet Col. Allgood was able to maintain the distance that avoids even the appearance of favoritism, the distance that charges soldiers to find strength in themselves, to stay in touch with their families, and — at least in Col. Allgood’s case — with God, but not to mention it.
Why God ordains, or permits, the loss of a great leader, with so much yet to give, is as mysterious as why the enemy shoots at helicopters painted with a red cross. As soldiers say, it is “above my pay grade,” like whether we should be in Iraq at all: Soldiers, who know better than anyone the costs of war, may debate and advise, but once the mission is set, they carry it out in accordance with regulations.
In response to our letters over the past several years, Congress and President Bush increased in 2006 the combat death benefit from $8,000 to $100,000, with more insurance (up to $400,000) for those who subscribe, and up to $788 per month for college. Bills to further improve benefits are before Congress, but for today it is enough to note how blessed we are by the example of Col. Allgood.
May all Iraqis learn that one of our best gave his life on their behalf, and ours.
May we never forget him, or neglect the mission. And may we, his friends and country, look after his family, as he looked after those in his command.
Dr. (Col.) S. Ward Casscells is in the Army Reserve and is John Edward Tyson distinguished professor of medicine, cardiology and public health and vice president for biotechnology at University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.
Sunday, January 21, 2007
Requiem - Colonel Brian D. Allgood
It is a sad day for us here in Korea. We learned today that a fellow brother-at-arms was killed in Iraq this weekend in the helicopter crash.
Colonel Brian Allgood was my husband's commanding officer until this past summer. We had known the Allgood family since we all served in uniform together at Fort Bragg in 1997 in the 44th Medical Brigade.
COL Allgood was an orthopedic surgeon who had been on the "command track" in Army Medicine. He was a phenomenal doctor and a great human being. It is no doubt that great things were ahead for this talented and dedicated Soldier medic.
My husband will tell you that COL Allgood was a great leader. He gave guidance and then got out of your way so you could do what needed to get done. He was articulate and compassionate.
I knew him as a man who would always take the time to do the right thing. When our daughter was hospitalized last year, he took time out of his day to go to Samsung Medical Center NICU and talk to her doctors personally, so that he could reassure us that everything was going to be okay. And, just this past week, despite fighting a war and being a continent away, he found time to congratulate our friend George on his selection for promotion to Major.
Ultimately, it has been COL Allgood's own words that have returned to comfort me today. He used to say, "At the end of the day, it is what it is," which was his way of telling you that often, you can't change the nature of things. The best you can do is accept them, and keep moving forward.
Sometimes, God calls his Saints home before we are ready to part company with them. Thank you, Lord, for sharing this one with us.
Colonel Brian Allgood was my husband's commanding officer until this past summer. We had known the Allgood family since we all served in uniform together at Fort Bragg in 1997 in the 44th Medical Brigade.
COL Allgood was an orthopedic surgeon who had been on the "command track" in Army Medicine. He was a phenomenal doctor and a great human being. It is no doubt that great things were ahead for this talented and dedicated Soldier medic.
My husband will tell you that COL Allgood was a great leader. He gave guidance and then got out of your way so you could do what needed to get done. He was articulate and compassionate.
I knew him as a man who would always take the time to do the right thing. When our daughter was hospitalized last year, he took time out of his day to go to Samsung Medical Center NICU and talk to her doctors personally, so that he could reassure us that everything was going to be okay. And, just this past week, despite fighting a war and being a continent away, he found time to congratulate our friend George on his selection for promotion to Major.
Ultimately, it has been COL Allgood's own words that have returned to comfort me today. He used to say, "At the end of the day, it is what it is," which was his way of telling you that often, you can't change the nature of things. The best you can do is accept them, and keep moving forward.
Sometimes, God calls his Saints home before we are ready to part company with them. Thank you, Lord, for sharing this one with us.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Resolutions for 2007
I've never been one who feels the big push for change with the turning of the year, but this year is a bit different. I think that it is the confluence of several events: Princess Pea's First Birthday, the Holidays, and the one-year anniversary of our move here to Daegu. Each of these has forced me to look back over the past year-ish block of time and ask myself where I want to be next year, and what would I like to say that I have accomplished by this time next year.
When I recently set out to lose the last 15 of my pregnancy pounds, I posted my goals on the bulletin board for the program that I was on, and I noticed a special pull to keep up with those goals because, let's face it, people were watching. Accountability helps me overcome procrastination. So here we go:
1. Finish my Masters. I have been working on this since 2002. Moving away from the campus (and I mean AWAY by about 8000 miles) has not helped me get this accomplished. To complete the degree, I have to finish my graduate project and present it to my advisory committee. I've made contact with the department and will do this the week of 23 April 2007.
2. Stay in contact with people. I have been sporadic in personal correspondence since arriving here in Korea. To help me out, I have gone through my personal weekly calendar and written the names of two people that I will email or write each week. I did this all the way through December 2007. I'm happy to report that I sent emails to the two people written on my calendar for the week that ends today. The Blogs fit in nicely here. I hope they will help with the effort to keep folks tied into what we are doing over here on the far edge of the world.
3. Transfer the current system of financial management to a single-source system like Quicken. For those of you who have done this, you'll know that this is a big task. I'm currently working with 4 different spreadsheets, and I'm ready to have this all in one place. The challenge is that I'm a PC user, while DH uses a Mac. Mac personal finance software is pretty limited, and I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to keep the laptop past the summer (It's getting really old...). So, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm still considering my options here.
4. Grow Spiritually. This one actually has three subgoals: commit to a bible study (which I did, it started this past Friday), write and share my testimony (mostly so that I can clearly understand it myself), and prepare for the annullment process through prayer (this one will take some explanation, but not today.)
5. Be healthier. Drink more water, eat less, spend more time outside, shut off the TV. Do a small step each day, and realize that I need to treat my body as a friend.
6. Say "No." 2006 was a year where I overcommitted, especially during the holidays. I need to take a step back and reprioritize. I am especially going to say "No" at Christmastime next year. Yes, that's right -- NO committments after the 15th of December -- no parties, no fundraisers, nothing.
Okay, there they are for all to read. Please help me meet these through suggestions or loving reminders this year.
P.S. For those of you who want resolutions of your own, I found this great New Year's Resolution suggestion page you can visit.
When I recently set out to lose the last 15 of my pregnancy pounds, I posted my goals on the bulletin board for the program that I was on, and I noticed a special pull to keep up with those goals because, let's face it, people were watching. Accountability helps me overcome procrastination. So here we go:
1. Finish my Masters. I have been working on this since 2002. Moving away from the campus (and I mean AWAY by about 8000 miles) has not helped me get this accomplished. To complete the degree, I have to finish my graduate project and present it to my advisory committee. I've made contact with the department and will do this the week of 23 April 2007.
2. Stay in contact with people. I have been sporadic in personal correspondence since arriving here in Korea. To help me out, I have gone through my personal weekly calendar and written the names of two people that I will email or write each week. I did this all the way through December 2007. I'm happy to report that I sent emails to the two people written on my calendar for the week that ends today. The Blogs fit in nicely here. I hope they will help with the effort to keep folks tied into what we are doing over here on the far edge of the world.
3. Transfer the current system of financial management to a single-source system like Quicken. For those of you who have done this, you'll know that this is a big task. I'm currently working with 4 different spreadsheets, and I'm ready to have this all in one place. The challenge is that I'm a PC user, while DH uses a Mac. Mac personal finance software is pretty limited, and I'm not sure whether or not I'm going to keep the laptop past the summer (It's getting really old...). So, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm still considering my options here.
4. Grow Spiritually. This one actually has three subgoals: commit to a bible study (which I did, it started this past Friday), write and share my testimony (mostly so that I can clearly understand it myself), and prepare for the annullment process through prayer (this one will take some explanation, but not today.)
5. Be healthier. Drink more water, eat less, spend more time outside, shut off the TV. Do a small step each day, and realize that I need to treat my body as a friend.
6. Say "No." 2006 was a year where I overcommitted, especially during the holidays. I need to take a step back and reprioritize. I am especially going to say "No" at Christmastime next year. Yes, that's right -- NO committments after the 15th of December -- no parties, no fundraisers, nothing.
Okay, there they are for all to read. Please help me meet these through suggestions or loving reminders this year.
P.S. For those of you who want resolutions of your own, I found this great New Year's Resolution suggestion page you can visit.
Monday, January 15, 2007
Travel Envy
I like to think of myself as an accomplished traveler, but I am quickly being put to shame by my cousin, who recently returned from ten days in Egypt.
I am publishing a photo she took while at Karnak. There were tons of great photos to choose from (she has 250+ in her online album).
Most of my travel energy these days goes to visits with my folks, since my daughter is their only grandbaby. We haven't done an adventure travel trip since I was three months pregnant, despite pining for exotic destinations. Hopefully, we can rectify that in the coming year.
Kudos, MK, for getting out to see the world. I'm green with travel envy.
Oil Painting Lessons
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I have been painting now for about five months, and I love it. I have been taking classes weekly from a local painter here. There are about 5-6 students in class each week, and we paint in a tiny studio for about 2 1/2 - 3 hours each Wednesday morning.
Our class is very informal, with students picking their subject as they please and working with as much direction as they care to take each week. My instructor is Korean, but has considerable English vocabulary. There are also two bi-lingual students in the class who help with the communications barrier.
My first painting is posted here on the blog corner, but, I don't think of it as finished. There are some things that I want to do with it that I simply haven't learned how to do yet. I'm sure that I will revisit it sometime in the future before I leave Korea. It is a famous Korean landscape from Cheju Island.
I am working now on my third painting -- you can see the work in progress here. The picture is Kimchee pots on a rooftop, which is a common sight in some areas of Korea. (As you would imagine, in urban Korea you are more likely to by your Kimchee in the supermarket.) The painting is coming along well, although slowly. I don't know how Bob Ross can do a painting in 45 minutes. Truly, it is a slow-go process for me. This is easily 8 hours of work already invested in this one.
I wrestle with how to photograph my paintings - natural light doesn't show the detail, yet flash makes the colors fade or stand out in a way that they shouldn't.
But, as frustrating as it can be sometimes, I love it. It is great to have a creative outlet in your life. Although, once you have that outlet, you crave it and recognize that the time that you are giving it is not enough. I think it's just another indicator of how out of balance our lives are today.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
New Parents Part 2
If you're wondering what became of my friends George and Catherine, I have posted a link to their Baby Blog. Baby Jack sure is one cutie-pie.
I hear he even slept five hours in a row last night. He's going to be one smart cookie, too!
I hear he even slept five hours in a row last night. He's going to be one smart cookie, too!
Princess Pea's Playground
After I posted my last entry about Princess Pea's Reading List, I decided to create a new blogsite just for her -- Princess Pea's Playground.
What does it say about me that I wanted to keep World Wide Canvas my own? Who knows -- I just felt strongly that I wanted Canvas to be about my life apart from my role as a parent.
Of course, those experiences inform and shape my perceptions of a great many things. And there are bound to be several parenting entries to come on Canvas, but the day-to-day activities of my Toddler's life belong somewhere else. This forum is about me -- mom, yes, but also: daughter, wife, friend, artist, teacher, and all the other labels you see on my "About Me" corner.
p.s. the aforementioned post, Princess Pea's Reading List, has been moved to Princess Pea's Playground.
What does it say about me that I wanted to keep World Wide Canvas my own? Who knows -- I just felt strongly that I wanted Canvas to be about my life apart from my role as a parent.
Of course, those experiences inform and shape my perceptions of a great many things. And there are bound to be several parenting entries to come on Canvas, but the day-to-day activities of my Toddler's life belong somewhere else. This forum is about me -- mom, yes, but also: daughter, wife, friend, artist, teacher, and all the other labels you see on my "About Me" corner.
p.s. the aforementioned post, Princess Pea's Reading List, has been moved to Princess Pea's Playground.
Friday, January 5, 2007
New Parents
As I sit down to write this post, I have just learned that my friends George and Catherine are on their way to the hospital to deliver their baby. This is such an exciting time! I remember just a little over one year ago when I made the transition to being a parent. It was a wonderful day, despite the pain and all the things my doctors and nurses had to do to make it happen.
My memories of that day are so vivid and I imagine that time will do little to fade them. Nearly as vivid are the memories of the many friends and neighbors that made meals for us, loaned us baby books and gear, and kept an eye on my sleeping Angel so I could make a quick trip to the grocery store.
So, now it's my turn. My friend Catherine's situation is very much like mine: 7,000 miles from home, giving birth to my first child, dealing with cultural norms vastly different than my own and doing all these things in the dead of winter. Today, I'm lining up friends to cook dinners and passing along visitation wishes. This is truly "paying it forward."
You can't ever repay the favors given to you by others during this special time when you're too busy becoming a parent to feed yourself. You can only honor the cycle and make the transition easier for the next new mom you encounter.
Catherine and George - Good Luck and enjoy every hair-raising moment!
Mothers who came to my aid last year - Thanks. I'm thinking of each of you today and thanking God for putting you in my life when I needed you.
My memories of that day are so vivid and I imagine that time will do little to fade them. Nearly as vivid are the memories of the many friends and neighbors that made meals for us, loaned us baby books and gear, and kept an eye on my sleeping Angel so I could make a quick trip to the grocery store.
So, now it's my turn. My friend Catherine's situation is very much like mine: 7,000 miles from home, giving birth to my first child, dealing with cultural norms vastly different than my own and doing all these things in the dead of winter. Today, I'm lining up friends to cook dinners and passing along visitation wishes. This is truly "paying it forward."
You can't ever repay the favors given to you by others during this special time when you're too busy becoming a parent to feed yourself. You can only honor the cycle and make the transition easier for the next new mom you encounter.
Catherine and George - Good Luck and enjoy every hair-raising moment!
Mothers who came to my aid last year - Thanks. I'm thinking of each of you today and thanking God for putting you in my life when I needed you.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
Initial Post
Hello, Everyone. Thanks for dropping by.
I want to provide a quick disclaimer - if you are looking for timely, insightful musings that you can check out daily, please keep browsing. I've never been that dedicated to anything, especially anything remotely related to a journal and I don't expect blogging to be any different.
But, several people have encouraged me to have an online place to post updates - and I have been known to harbor an opinion or two. So, let's just see what happens with this little experiment.
I want to provide a quick disclaimer - if you are looking for timely, insightful musings that you can check out daily, please keep browsing. I've never been that dedicated to anything, especially anything remotely related to a journal and I don't expect blogging to be any different.
But, several people have encouraged me to have an online place to post updates - and I have been known to harbor an opinion or two. So, let's just see what happens with this little experiment.
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