Braceland Recap

The Braceland Seminar 2008 took place on a clear, sunny day in Washington, DC. Attendees arrived to a Continental breakfast of coffee, tea, milk, juices, breads, pastries, croissants, muffins, jams, butter, and fresh fruits. One attendee commented that it was an impressive spread.

The seminar began with CAPT Bob Koffman’s presentation on new initiatives in Navy Mental Health. CDR Rosemary Carr-Malone followed with a review of her tour at JTF Guantanamo, the first presentation on detainee mental health to the Navy Psychiatry community. After a short break the conference returned to CDR Ed Simmer’s talk on the new Defense Center of Excellence he will join and help lead this summer. Next up was CAPT Noel Howard (Ret), who spoke on the Disability Evaluation System Pilot Project, or where we are heading with the PEB. CAPT Howard’s presentation provoked plenty of discussion. Don’t ever mistake CAPT Howard for an old man; it’s a disguise. He’s sharp as a tack. The morning ended with RADM Mateczun giving the senior leader perspective. Admiral Mateczun spoke about the future of Navy Medicine, and he challenged each of us to learn more about the enterprise and take a leadership role.

Lunch started with a Caesar salad, moved on to tandoori chicken tikka with mango relish, and ended with a raspberry lemon torte. The dessert got high marks from many. Before announcing the Sears Award recipient, I gave a short review of the work of Francis Braceland. What he accomplished during his naval service in World War II closely parallels many of the challenges we face today. CAPT Koffman accepted the Sears Award with grace and humility. CDR Gail Manos surprised me by ending the lunch program with an award to me for my service to the Braceland Seminar.

Back in the meeting room CDR Manos led off the afternoon session with a review of the state of Navy Psychiatry. The math was complicated, but it boiled down to the specialty being only 66 percent manned. And it’s not getting better in the near future. As we moved to the resident portion of the Braceland, CAPT Bart Hogan (Ret) rose to present the Hogan Award. CAPT Hogan prefaced his remarks by giving us more about the life of Frank Braceland, and Braceland’s relationship with CAPT Hogan’s father, VADM Hogan. CAPT Hogan presented the Hogan Award to LT Kevin Nasky of NMC Portsmouth. Then we had six resident presentations in less than two hours. LCDR Hattie Tapps of San Diego spoke on a medical treatment for stuttering. LT Nasky reviewed his study of the survivors of the USS Cole bombing. LCDR Russ Carr of Bethesda presented his case report on hyperammonemia secondary to valproic acid. LCDR Duane Lawrence of Portsmouth gave an abbreviated version of his Al Glass Award-winning paper on Interpersonal Group Therapy for Combat-Related PTSD. LCDR Scot Elliott of San Diego reported on mania and Aricept in a helicopter pilot with diabetes. LCDR Jeffrey Millegan of San Diego closed the Braceland with a few slides on a perplexing case that started as sarcoidosis and ended as psychosis. I’m not sure what the point was, but we were all tired at that point, and as I said at the seminar, Jeff was born to give a PowerPoint presentation. He got us to the end on a high note.

In my final remarks I noted that next year the Braceland Seminar will take place in San Francisco on 16 May 2009. It is not too early to book your hotel room now.