Did your congressman sign?  Would you like to thank them?  Would you contact your congressman and ask why he didn’t sign?  Here’s who did sign:

Reps. Rogers (R-AL), Loebsack (D-IA), Todd Aiken (R-MO), Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ), Roscoe G. Bartlett (R-MD), Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), Hank Johnson (D-GA), Walter B. Jones (R-NC), Larry Kissell (D-NC), Frank A. LoBiondo (R-NJ), Silvestre Reyes (D-TX), Tim Ryan (D-OH), Jon Runyan (R-NJ), Bobby Schilling (R-IL) and Niki Tsongas (D-MA).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 02, 2011

Congress Moves to Expand Chiropractic Services to Veterans and Military Beneficiaries

Chiropractic Profession Urged to Enlist Support from Local Members of Congress

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) and the Association of Chiropractic Colleges (ACC) today expressed support for newly introduced legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives designed to expand the availability of the services delivered by chiropractic physicians in the federal Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and to those who utilize the military’s health care delivery system, TRICARE, run by the Department of Defense (DoD).

For the full story visit here.

FAREWELL ADDRESS

Well, Folks, I guess that most of you already know that I have decided to retire from the Chiropractic Profession and plan to leave the Military Chiropractic Program at the end of the current Fiscal Year. If all goes according to plan, 30 September will be my last duty day at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB located in San Antonio, Texas. I have been asked to put together a sort of biography and some thoughts of my experiences. I am flattered that anyone would care. So here it goes…

It all started back on the 5th of July, 1938, when I was born in the small farming town of Kewanee, Illinois (about 140 miles due west of Chicago). Maybe you all did not want me to go back that far. In any event, my Mother’s family were farmers and my Dad came from Chicago. Right after WWII, my Dad decided he wasn’t a farmer and we moved back to the Chicago area. However, in those early days, my love was for the farm and every summer until I started college, I would leave Chicago on the first week of summer vacation to go back to the farm and would come back to the big city on the last week of summer vacation. So I grew up with a split personality. I became a “city boy” but with a deep understanding and love of country life.

Since I was old enough to remember WWII and the Korean War and since most of my male relatives all served in WWII, I have always had an interest in things military and decided early on that once I finished schooling, I would serve a stint in the military. I also decided early on that I wanted to join the Army and be in the Infantry. I had two uncles that were in the Army during WWII (one in the Infantry and one in the Tank Corps (as in was known then)) and what few stories I heard them tell always stuck with me. I specifically picked my college (De Paul University in Chicago) because it was close to home and had a large ROTC program and I decided I might as well go in as an officer. I graduated in 1960 and received my commission as a 2nd Lieutenant of Infantry-just what I wanted. My original commitment was for 3 years. However, I was having so much fun doing “Army things” and seeing various parts of the world, 25 years, 3 months and 16 days from the time I originally entered Service, I retired at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

It turned out to be an interesting experience. In my first 9 years of Service I spent over 6 years overseas-16 months in Korea, 3 years in the former Panama Canal Zone (with training missions in El Salvador, Ecuador and Bolivia) and 2 one-year tours in Vietnam (1966 and 1968-69). The Vietnam tours were the most interesting and exciting. The war was going on and as long as you didn’t get hurt, it was an experience that cannot be duplicated in any way. There is a particular poem that originated during the Vietnam War that had the following lines: “You have never lived, until you have almost died. For those who have fought for it, life has a special flavor, the protected will never know.” My first tour was with the 5th Special Forces. My first 6 months were with a long range reconnaissance unit but most of the time I had a staff job so I did not get to go out on patrols that often. The second half of my tour, I took over a Special Forces A Detachment and was responsible for building a Special Forces camp. That also put me in a situation where I went out on a whole lot of combat operations. I started out with 16 Americans and 400 Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Group personnel (CIDG). The CIDG were a type of militia unit, not part of the Vietnamese regular army. They were paid for by the U.S. Government. When I left the camp 6 months later, I had 300 CIDG (all combat casualties) but I still had my 16 Americans and that made me feel exceptionally good. It was during this time that I had my very own first confirmed kill of a Viet Cong and that made me feel good, especially since he got the first shot at me. (He missed. That made me feel good, too.) The camp was in a place called Thuong Duc located in I Corps of South Vietnam (Northern part of the country) and the camp did not fall until 1975 when the North Vietnamese Army invaded the South and took over the whole country. It was a good camp.

My second tour in Vietnam was with the 173rd Airborne Brigade and for most of my tour I was a battalion operations officer (S3). I was in the air by helicopter on a regular basis overseeing/directing operations on the ground. Again, lots of stories during this tour. Interesting, with all the ground action I encountered during my first tour with Special Forces, I never got scratched. With the 173rd Airborne Brigade I did get a flesh wound while coming in to land at one of my unit’s locations and the helicopter got hit by enemy ground fire. (me included). It was a band-aid wound but I got a Purple Heart for it. Proved to be the best medal I ever got. Here in Texas, Purple Heart holders get a Purple Heart license plate and get to park free in city/government parking lots. It has saved me considerable money over the years.

After my second tour in Vietnam, I married my first and only wife, Sara, and we recently celebrated our 41st anniversary. It was love at first sight.

After Vietnam, I had the usual military type jobs with a total of 3 tours at Ft Bragg, North Carolina, all with the Special Forces. I also had a few more overseas assignments spending 3 years in Guatemala, a 6 month tour in El Salvador during their civil war. The unit I was assigned to scored the highest number of enemy killed and the largest number of weapons captured of any other Salvadoran unit in that time frame. I also spent 6 months in Honduras, supporting our efforts in El Salvador.

In my total Army career, I spent 9 years with the Special Forces, had close to 150 military parachute jumps, been to war a few times, spent over 10 years in overseas assignments. I did many exciting and, at the time, I would like to think, important things, and retired in 1985 as a Lieutenant Colonel (and was lucky to get that rank).

After my first Vietnam tour, in 1967 I started to develop some back problems. I went to the troop dispensary and the medical doctor said “You have a swollen back.” I replied “That’s why I am here, Doc.” Then he said “You can’t keep up with the 20 year olds anymore.” I replied “I am 28 years old. I am a 20 year old.” Then he said “I want you to lie flat on your back on the floor for the next 2 weeks.” (Medical research has since shown that in 95% of low back pain cases, pure rest is counter-productive). I was going to my officer career advanced course at the time so, in effect, I was in school. I replied to the MD “I’m going to school, Doc. They won’t let me lie flat on the floor for 2 weeks.” Then the MD said “Then I can’t help you.” I knew I had to get my back problem fixed because it kept me from running and, in the Army, you have to run. Since I was not prepared to do what the medical doctor wanted me to do, I had to find a different solution. In my family of farmers, most of them were always going to the “rubbing doctor” which in those days, was either a Chiropractor or an Osteopath. Not knowing the antagonism that existed in the medical community toward Chiropractors, I felt they were an option so I asked the medical doctor “What do you think of Chiropractors?” I received the best medical advice I ever got. He replied “If you believe in them-go.” At that point I had no reason not to believe in them. I went to the yellow pages, found the closest Chiropractor and have been going to them ever since. Now I am one. Who would have thought? For the last 18 years of my Military Service I went to Chiropractors every chance I could and they kept me going. I cannot remember taking a pain medicine for my back problems-ever. A little whisky now and then, but no meds.

When I started to think about retirement and what I would do with the rest of my life, nothing much was going on in the world in 1985. As an old Infantryman, 25 years out of college, I really did not have a saleable skill. If today’s situation had existed at the time of my retirement, I would have taken off my uniform, reported to Blackwater or Haliburton and been ready to do the same jobs I did while I was in Service but expect to get paid 2-3 times as much. We didn’t have our Iraq or Afghanistan or War on Terrorism at the time. My only option would have been to get a job as a night watchman or security guard and expect to get paid minimum wage. I didn’t want to do that. I thought a bit and said to myself, “I’ve been going to Chiropractors for the past 18 years, they seem to do a good job, it doesn’t seem to be too hard to do, and I think I can do it”. I still had my GI Bill from Vietnam days so I used that to go to Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa and graduated in 1989. I came back to San Antonio, Texas, and I was in full-time private practice from 1990 through 1994. From January 1995 to November 1996, I was a Clinical Doctor at Parker College of Chiropractic in Dallas, Texas while still maintaining a part-time private practice. My time at Parker College was a real fun time. However, I heard about the Chiropractic Health Care Demonstration Program (CHCDP). I thought to myself..”What better way to make it a success than by having someone in it who already knows the Military System”. I applied, and within a short time was offered a position at Ft Benning, Georgia. I replaced somebody that had been fired. Since Ft Benning is the home of the Infantry, that is where I initially started my military career in 1960. It was at Ft Benning in 1967 that I had my first bout with back problems that I have already mentioned and started seeing my first Chiropractor. How the world turns. Here I am, coming back to Ft Benning but this time as a Chiropractor.

I arrived at Ft Benning in December 1996 and was greeted by Dr Steve Capps (now in Germany). Dr Capps eventually took another position at Ft Carson, Colorado and was replaced at Ft Benning by Dr Jerry VanderHeyden (now at Ft Meade). These are two fine people and I really enjoyed working with them. In September 1998, I transferred back to San Antonio, Texas, and helped open up one of the first expansion sites at Wilford Hall Medical Center at Lackland AFB. My compatriot at this location is Dr Matt Williams and we have both been here for the past 12 years. We both have fought many Chiropractic battles together. I think we won most of them.

While I did not come into the program until a little over a year after it started, I feel like I am one of the “originals” that helped make Chiropractic in the Military a success. Anyway, those of us who were in the CHCDP when it ended, all got our names on a plaque at the American Chiropractic Association headquarters in Washington, DC. Some day, I will have to visit to take a look at it. While I got into the Chiropractic profession late in life (I was the oldest guy in my graduating class at 51) my work in the CHCDP I consider to be a “feather in my cap” and my major contribution to Chiropractic.

We have fought a lot of battles and they are still coming. Everything has not worked out as we all expected it would back 14-15 years ago, but we are holding our own and, ever so slowly, making progress. We still do not have Chiropractors in uniform, but I feel going Civil Service is better than the unknown of contract civilian. By the way, when I originally signed up for the Military Chiropractic Program, it was for a 2 year commitment. When I retire in the next 3 months I will have spent 14 years in Military Chiropractic. Things do move slowly at times.

I am now 72 and starting to get tired. There comes a time in life when you feel in your bones that you have given it your all and the fire is starting to leave the gut. Time for change. Time for new blood. When one gets to be my age, with my experiences, you start to look around for the people in your life and start to notice a lot of them are no longer with you. You start to think of your own mortality. There are a number of things that I want to do before I get too old to do them. Having a full-time job does not permit me to do them. I want to smell the roses, enjoy life for as long as the Good Lord will allow me and count my blessings. I am counting my life in quarter periods. The first quarter was my growing up and early schooling; the second quarter was my Military experience; the third quarter is my Chiropractic experience; the fourth quarter (hopefully) will be my “golden years” experience in which I hope to complete my life cycle while finishing up those little loose ends that I want to complete before I leave this world.

I want to wish you all the most success possible. Keep up the good work. Do not let your guard down for a minute. Always try to have somebody looking after your back. The Air Force uses the term “wing man”; the Army is now using the term “battle buddy”. I’m sure the Navy still uses the term “shipmate”. We all need one of those. You cannot do it by yourself. Do not just listen to peoples’ words-look at their actions. That is where the true nature of the individual is. Duty, Honor, Country, Family. Your word is your bond. Always be faithful to it.

In closing, I would like to give you a prayer that I composed some years ago. I use it at dinners and other gatherings when I know Military veterans are present. For those of you who served, I am sure it can have special meaning for you also.

A Vietnam Veterans Blessing:

We thank Thee, O Lord, for those who served when others would not.

We thank Thee, O Lord, for those who sacrificed when others did not care.

We thank Thee, O Lord, for those of us who served and survived, that we may continue the memory of those who have gone before us.

And we especially thank Thee, O Lord, for those who now serve and who now sacrifice to protect us and our nation.

Amen

WOW! It has truly been one wild, wild ride!

God Bless you all

Chuck Stulga

On the veterans front some exciting news is happening.  The current bill to expand Chiropractic to the full VA has passed the house, but needs your support to pass the Senate.  To take action on this one click here.  One person cannot accomplish this alone, but it can’t be accomplished unless one person acts.  Contact your Senator and tell them to support S. 1204.

The best news is that some of our troops overseas will now have chiropractic available to them.  While chiropractors have not been commissioned with this move the ultimate goal is to get chiropractic care to the troops.  GS positions are also a huge step in the right direction as previously chiropractors serving our military have been working as independent contractors.  This new practice will bring these doctors into the actual system and may open the way for a chiropractic command similar to the dental command in the Army.

If you are interested in applying for any of these opened positions you can find out the details here.