2013 Sears Award Nominees
CAPT MARY K. RUSHER, MC, USN
Captain Mary K. Rusher, a native of Normal, Illinois, graduated Bronze Tablet Honors (top 3 percent) from the University of Illinois in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. She joined the U. S. Navy as a Health Professions Scholarship Program student at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago campus. After receiving her medical degree in 1992, CAPT Rusher completed Psychiatry Residency at Naval Hospital, Portsmouth in 1996. She performed her utilization tour at Naval Hospital, Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico as Department Head of Mental Health. Under her leadership and guidance she increased patient access, expanded services, and provided crisis intervention services in the aftermath of a high visibility suicide and a Category Three hurricane that devastated the island. In 1999 CAPT Rusher transferred to Naval Hospital, Camp Pendleton as Staff Psychiatrist and interim Department Head of Mental Health. In 2001 she transitioned to Department Head of the Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program at Camp Pendleton, where she developed a one week Addiction Medicine rotation for family medicine interns and supervised more than 30 family medicine residents in emergency psychiatric referral and treatment of psychiatric illness. In July 2004 she deployed with 1st FSSG in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, where she served as Staff Psychiatrist, Alpha Surgical Company. She led the Al Asad Crisis Response Team that mobilized in the aftermath of suicide car bombings and convoy attacks, intervening to treat victims of acute trauma. In 2005 she executed orders as Mental Health Department Head, Naval Health Clinic, Hawaii. At the Makalapa Clinic she initiated a Behavioral Health Integrated Care model in primary care services, resulting in increased utilization, decreased stigma, and increased patient and provider satisfaction. She was an pivotal member of the Oahu Tri-Service Behavioral Health Working Group, and was instrumental in streamlining access to Mental Health services across all Armed Forces services statewide, as well as through the Veteran’s Administration. In 2008 CAPT Rusher deployed to Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where she served as Chief, Behavioral Health Services, Detention Hospital, Joint Medical Group, Joint Task Force Guantanamo. She supervised 25 mental health care professionals in the delivery of inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care to detained enemy combatants. She was directly responsible for the care of high-profile detainees, and she briefed media and senior military leaders to enhance public knowledge of the Joint Task Force mission. In 2008 she transferred to Naval Medical Center, San Diego, where she served as Department Head, Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program. CAPT Rusher expanded the 60-bed residential facility for Addiction Only services to a 100-bed Fully Enhanced Dual Diagnosis Treatment Program. She served on the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery (BUMED) Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Program Design and Development team, and on the BUMED-Institute of Medicine Substance Use Disorder Committee, which conducted a Congressionally-mandated review of substance abuse treatment within the Department of Defense. She was recognized as a Subject Matter Expert for the Longitudinal Study of Medical Requirements for Wounded, Ill, or Injured Service Members, hosted by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. In 2010 CAPT Rusher deployed as the sole psychiatrist in support of Pacific Partnership 2010 aboard USNS Mercy. She conducted humanitarian and civil assistance missions, participated in numerous Subject Matter Expert foreign exchanges, and served as supervisor to two psychiatry residents training in the deployed environment. CAPT Rusher is currently the sole psychiatrist at Naval Hospital, Naples, Italy. CAPT Rusher is a committed leader in graduate medical education, having taught numerous courses and provided supervision to family medicine residents, psychiatry interns, psychiatry residents, medical students, social work students, and addiction counselors. She is board certified in Psychiatry. She is qualified as a Surface Warfare Medical Officer. CAPT Rusher is the recipient of the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (five awards), the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and several other awards and campaign medals.
CAPT KEVIN D. MOORE, MC, USN
Retiring from active duty in October 2013, CAPT Moore has proudly served in a variety of clinical, administrative and teaching assignments. As the Navy’s Specialty Leader for Psychiatry from 2001 to 2004, he was instrumental in weathering the impact of Presidential Budgetary Decision 712, defending the Naval psychiatric community against significant proposed cuts in psychiatry billets while simultaneously preparing the community for deployment in and support of combat operations. He proved to BUMED that psychiatry remains an essential, operational, and combat specialty. He was instrumental in the implementation and operationalization of CAPT Jack Pierce’s in-garrison concept of Operational Stress Control and Readiness (OSCAR). He was hand selected by the Navy Inspector General to serve on a Secretary of Defense’s SCI Special Task Force on Interrogations in 2004, which reviewed behavioral health involvement in interrogations at GTMO and throughout CENTCOM. He has also served as a consultant for numerous agencies and activities, including: Antarctica Winter-Over Debriefing, the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Naval Criminal Investigative Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Academy. A founding member of the American Psychiatric Association Society of Uniformed Service Psychiatrists (SUSP) District Branch, he served as Secretary and Ethics Chair for three terms. He is currently President of SUSP. Captain Kevin D. Moore graduated magna cum laude from Western Kentucky University with concurrent Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in 1983. He obtained his Doctor of Medicine from University of Kentucky College of Medicine via HPSP, then completed Categorical Internship and Psychiatry Residency at National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in 1991. During his residency, he served as Chief Resident and was appointed a Clinical Fellow at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, MD. Based in Okinawa, Japan as Division Psychiatrist and Assistant Division Surgeon for Third Marine Division for his first operational assignment from 1991 to 1994, he deployed throughout Asia on various battle staffs, exercises, and humanitarian operations. He was also appointed Joint Forces Brig Psychiatrist as well as Substance Abuse Counseling Center Psychiatrist and Semper Fit 2000 Coordinator for the Division. The first Navy fellow to complete the Military Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship in 1995, CAPT Moore was the first Navy psychiatrist to be triple boarded by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in General, Forensic and Addiction Psychiatry. While serving as NNMC’s first billeted forensic psychiatrist, he became the youngest member ever appointed to the Navy Parole and Clemency Board, served as the PGY III Training Director for the Psychiatry Residency Program and as Team Leader for the Special Psychiatric Rapid Intervention Team (SPRINT). He also provided psychiatric services to Quantico, VA, served as a member of the Credentials Committee, and lectured to a wide range of audiences on topics that included forensic and operational psychiatry. He was appointed Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, and served on the faculty of the National Capital Area Consortium and Military Forensic Psychiatry Fellowship. When selected as Director for Managed Care, Director for Healthcare Systems, Medical Director and Director for Specialty Care at Naval Hospital, Charleston, SC from 1998 until 2001, he was also the command’s solo psychiatrist and the psychiatrist assigned to the Consolidated Brig, Charleston, SC. He was selected as a subject matter expert, developer, and lecturer for the Bureau of Medicine’s premier Clinic Management Course. CAPT Moore also completed the oral and written exams for the American Psychiatric Association’s Certification in Psychiatric Administration and Management. In 2001 as Division Surgeon, First Marine Division, he was responsible for all medical operations in support of the Ground Combat Element during the initial phases of the Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom; he deployed to Iraq in 2003 and was instrumental in his role as senior medical representative for the Reportable Incident Assessment Team and as the Senior Medical Officer for the Civil-Military Operations Center in Baghdad, where he liaised with military commanders, Iraqi and military physicians, non-governmental organizations, and the Iraqi ministry of health to reconstitute medical care following the end of combat operations. After redeploying he served as Medical Director, Director for Clinical Services and Director for Healthcare Operations at Naval Health Clinic, HI. He also remained an active staff psychiatrist at the clinic and consulted with the Hawaiian state government on suicide prevention prior to being selected as Executive Officer, U.S. Naval Hospital, Guam, in 2005. Selected as an Individual Augmentee, CAPT Moore became the Commanding Officer of U.S. Expeditionary Medical Facility, Kuwait, (EMF-K) and Joint Medical Task Force, Kuwait, (MTF-K) from 2007 to 2008. As Commander, MTF-K, he led a team of Army, Navy, and Air Force personnel, consisting of eight subordinate commands and over 1,000 personnel in providing all healthcare services and support for the Kuwait, Qatar, and southern Iraq theaters of operations in support of the Joint and Coalition Forces Land Component Commander. Concurrently he was responsible to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, for provision of medical support and assistance to U.S. and Coalition ships in the North Arabian Gulf. He was also responsible for tactical command and control of all medical logistics operations in the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) area of responsibility. He orchestrated EMF-K’s move from four year old tents into the hardened facility at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, upgrading the only level III hospital south of Iraq while overseeing ten associated clinics throughout the region. He reestablished behavioral health outreach and consultation throughout the region. As Commanding Officer, U.S. Naval Hospital, Yokosuka, Japan from July 2008 to July 2010, he was concurrently appointed Force Medical Officer for Commander, Naval Forces, Japan. Directly responsible for a staff of 1,000 officers, enlisted, civilian, and host nation employees, his command spanned three countries, consisting of a core facility, four branch clinics and three health annexes, and provided medical, operational and contingency support for 55,000 eligible beneficiaries while deploying in direct support of overseas contingency operations and humanitarian assistance missions around the world. CAPT Moore’s medical support enabled the arrival of the first forward deployed nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) to Yokosuka, which forever changed the bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan. CAPT Moore facilitated the first ever visit to a Japanese psychiatric hospital. He also successfully led the medical response to the region’s first pandemic flu during the 2009 H1N1 outbreak. He reported to Behavioral Health, U.S. Marine Corps Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Quantico, VA in August 2010. He was the facilitator for the first Mental Health Summit held at Headquarters, Marine Corps in October 2010. He became the first psychiatrist to be appointed a member of the Navy and Marine Corps Family Advocacy Fatality Review Board. When the Branch Head position was civilianized, he returned to full clinical duties at Naval Health Clinic, Quantico, VA, as the solo psychiatrist during deployments of the assigned psychiatrist. He provided psychiatric services to the Joint Pre-trial Confinement Facility, Quantico, VA until its closure in 2012. He also completed Helms Medical Institute Medical Acupuncture Course and initiated medical acupuncture at NHC Quantico. CAPT Moore’s awards include the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (seven awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Combat Action Ribbon.
CAPT GLEN C. CRAWFORD
Captain Crawford, a native of San Francisco, California, was graduated from McGill University in Montréal, Québec, Canada with a B.A. in Canadian and French-Canadian Studies in 1988, where he was named a Faculty Scholar. After receiving the M.D. degree in 1992 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, CAPT Crawford completed his internship in pediatrics and his residency in psychiatry, both at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Upon completion of his residency, CAPT Crawford was sent TAD to Naval Hospital Millington, Tennessee, where he was Department Head of Mental Health. In 1997 CAPT Crawford was assigned to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune, NC, where he served as Department Head for Mental Health and Medical Director of the hospital’s inpatient service. He was elected the hospital’s “Doctor of the Year” in 1999. CAPT Crawford entered fellowship training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in July of 2000. After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks CAPT Crawford was one of the first Navy psychiatrists inside the Pentagon as part of an Army Special Medical Augmentation Response Team (SMART). After his fellowship CAPT Crawford remained at NNMC Bethesda as Medical Director of the Inpatient Adolescent Psychiatry Service, and transformed the unit to an active duty ward in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom. In September 2003 CAPT Crawford was assigned to U.S. Naval Hospital, Naples, Italy, as the Navy’s child psychiatry consultant for the European theater, during which time he also served as both Director of Medical Services and Director of Clinical Support Services. In October 2006 CAPT Crawford was transferred to U.S. Naval Hospital, Okinawa, Japan, where he was Department Head of Mental Health. In October of 2007 CAPT Crawford returned to Millington, Tennessee, this time to the Bureau of Naval Personnel. As the non-surgical medical specialties detailer CAPT Crawford was responsible for the assignment and career development of over 1,100 Navy physicians worldwide. In August 2009 CAPT Crawford was assigned to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. As the Officer-In-Charge of the Deployed Warrior Medical Management Center, his team tracked all wounded U.S. and Coalition personnel transiting through LRMC from OIF and OEF. CAPT Crawford returned to Naval Hospital Camp Lejeune in June 2010 to serve as the Director for Mental Health. From June 2011 to February 2013 CAPT Crawford was the Executive Officer of U.S. Naval Hospital, Guam. In March 2013 he became the Deputy Chief of the Navy Medical Corps. In this capacity he assists the Chief of the Medical Corps in supporting over 3,700 active duty Navy Medical Officers worldwide. CAPT Crawford is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Forensic Psychiatry, and he has served as an examiner for the ABPN since 1999. CAPT Crawford is the Navy’s only child and adolescent forensic psychiatrist. CAPT Crawford most recently authored the chapter entitled “Means Restriction and Suicide Prevention in the U.S. Armed Forces” in the upcoming Textbook of Military Mental Health. CAPT Crawford’s awards include the Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Navy Achievement Medal.
CAPT STEVE BRASINGTON, MC, USN
Captain Steve Brasington was a Health Professions Scholarship student at the University of Miami. After receiving his medical degree in 1984, CAPT Brasington completed his psychiatry internship at Naval Hospital Portsmouth. Next he served as General Medical Officer for one year at Admiral Joel T. Boone Clinic in Norfolk, before resuming Psychiatry Training at Portsmouth. Following specialty training he reported to Naval Hospital Guam for duty as Head of Mental Health and Medical Officer of the Substance Abuse Rehabilitation Service. In 1991 CAPT Brasington began a ten year tour in the reserve component. From 1993 to 1995 he served as Commanding Officer, Fourth Marine Aircraft Wing Medical Unit, MAG 42, Det Bravo, Norfolk, Virginia. From 1997 to 1999 he was Commanding Officer, Collecting and Clearing Company Charlie, Fourth Medical Battalion, Newport News. After a brief stint in private practice as head of a Chemical Dependency Treatment Unit, he practiced at the Veteran Affairs Medical Center, Hampton Virginia from 1992-1995. Following faculty positions at Eastern Virginia Medical School and the University of Florida, CAPT Brasington returned to active duty in 2000 to complete a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. During his time in university faculty practice and in federal health care, he worked with students, house officers and credentialed providers identified as impaired by substances or related health issues. He extended his service to impaired colleagues as the Head of the Provider Wellness Committee, Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. Following six years at Portsmouth he finished as Academic Chair of Psychiatry and Director of Mental Health. In June 2009 he received a Masters in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College, and then he embarked on a combat tour with the Army in Iraq. From 2010 to 2012 CAPT Brasington served as Executive Officer, Naval Health Clinic Charleston, the Navy’s first Joint VA/DoD ambulatory clinic. In 2013 as a certified Joint Department of Defense Inspector on the MEDIG team, he developed self assessments for the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention Program, the Suicide Prevention Program and the Personnel Reliability Program. At the Uniformed Services University for the Health Sciences, he served as a preceptor for the psychiatry clerkship. He is board certified in Psychiatry, Addiction Psychiatry, Addiction Medicine and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. He is past President of the Psychiatric Society of Virginia and a former Department of Defense Ex Officio council member at the National Institute of Drug Abuse. CAPT Brasington’s personal awards include the Meritorious Service Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal, the Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal and the Iraq Campaign Medal.
CAPT MIKE COLSTON, MC, USN
Captain Mike Colston was commissioned an Ensign in the Navy in 1986 after completing a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Following nuclear power training and Surface Warfare Officer School, he was assigned to the USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in 1987. During this tour, CAPT Colston served as Reactor Mechanical Officer and Reactor Training Assistant, deploying on two six-month WESTPACs and one PACEX. CAPT Colston earned Nuclear Engineer Officer certification and his Surface Warfare Officer qualification during this tour. In 1991 CAPT Colston transferred to NETC Newport, Rhode Island, where he served as a Small Craft Officer-in-Charge, completing many littoral voyages, including command of his boat’s final transit to NAS Pensacola. During his tour at NETC he earned a Master’s Degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. In 1994 CAPT Colston completed his career as a line officer and was accessed as a Naval Medical Officer, matriculating at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS). He was awarded his Medical Doctorate degree in 1998. He completed residency training in the USUHS/National Capital Consortium psychiatry program in 2002. CAPT Colston performed his utilization tour at Naval Hospital Great Lakes, where he practiced outpatient, forensic, consultation-liaison, and inpatient psychiatry, and addiction medicine. While practicing there, the Chicago Medical School of Rosalind Franklin University granted him a clinical assistant professorship. In 2004 he assumed duties as head of the Great Lakes psychiatry department, where he coordinated a large-scale clinical integration that led to the current VA-DoD psychiatry service at the Lovell Federal Health Care Center. During this tour he conducted adjunctive clinical work at MCB Camp Lejeune, NAS Whidbey Island, NAS Corpus Christie, and NAS Jacksonville. In 2008 he deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom, where he headed a combat and operational stress team. In 2009 CAPT Colston was awarded a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University, finishing in 2011. CAPT Mike Colston is the Director for Mental Health Policy at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs). His duties include media and congressional liaison, development of mental health policy, and oversight of mental health program management and strategy within OSD. His professional focus is on accurate portrayals of military mental health to public bodies, and execution of mental health policy stemming from law and executive orders. He serves on several national panels, including advisory panels underwritten by the National Institute of Health and Congressionally Directed Medical Research Program, and committees, including the President’s Office of National Drug Control Policy and the DoD Addictive Substances Misuse Advisory Committee, which he co-chairs. CAPT Colston is board certified in Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and he is a member of the American Psychiatric Association. CAPT Colston is the recipient of the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards), the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, three deployment ribbons, and several other awards and campaign medals. He is an inductee of Alpha Omega Alpha, the medical honor society, and Alpha Pi Mu, the industrial engineering honor society. He is a credentialed psychiatrist at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital, caring for wounded warriors in a co-occurring (trauma/addiction) partial hospitalization program.
