Photo By Chief Petty Officer Emilio Velez | Lt. Cmdr. James Hawkins from Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command...... read more read more
Subscribe
Lt. Cmdr. James Hawkins, Dental Corps, United States Navy is usually found at the Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command’s Naval Postgraduate Dental School leading the Orofacial Pain residency program or providing mentoring and guidance to the Navy’s Orofacial Pain Community as Specialty Leader or training the next generation of Navy Dentists as Associate Professor, Postgraduate Dental College, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. But January 27th was a little out of the ordinary for him. Lt. Cmdr. Hawkins was in front of 600 Marines from Headquarters Battalion, Training and Education Command, Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia as part of their Winter Safety Stand Down (nicknamed “Back in the Saddle”) delivering information about sleep, health and operational readiness. The goal of “Back in the Saddle Training” is to refocus Marines after the holidays and prepare them for the year ahead.
- How did you get selected to be a presenter at Headquarters Battalion, Training and Education Command?
The Commanding Officer, Colonel Richard Schmidt, wanted to emphasize the importance of sleep & resilience to his warfighters. He asked Naval Branch Health Clinic Quantico for a recommendation regarding who could speak well on this topic. They recommended myself and our staff psychologist, Dr. John Schmidt, based on our intimate knowledge in this area. Dr. Schmidt and I spoke to a small group of Marines two months ago on this topic. The event received very positive feedback, and the Commanding Officer, Col Schmidt found it incredibly beneficial. Therefore, he asked that we speak at the base wide event in order to reach a larger audience.
-Why is sleep important to warfighter readiness?
Sleep is vital for every single one of us! Sleep has a significant impact on short-term and long-term health, as well as day-to-day function and resilience. Congress and the Department of Defense have recognized the importance of sleep to warfighter readiness, and they have made optimizing sleep a high priority. NDAA 2020 section 749 (Public Law 116-92) required the Secretary of Defense to conduct a study on the effects of sleep deprivation on the readiness of members of the Armed Forces. This resulted in a 63 page report submitted to Congress in March 2021 emphasizing sleep importance and optimization. A single sentence on page 1 of the report perfectly summarizes its contents, stating “Sleep may be the most important biological factor that determines Service member health and combat readiness.”
-What are your thoughts about the importance of this event to the Marines?
As stated above, sleep is essential to our warfighters and can no longer be overlooked. Our Marines are an elite fighting force that require quality sleep for optimal performance, and yet most have never been taught about the importance of sleep or how to improve their sleep. This event was able to capture the attention of a large group of Marines and Marine Corps leadership in order to:
1) Explain their significant need for good sleep,
2) Help them identify sleep disorder risk factors for which they should speak with their physician, and
3) Equip them with the knowledge and tools to optimize their sleep.
Lt. Cmdr. James Hawkins, Dental Corps, USN, is the Program Director of the Orofacial Pain Residency at Naval Postgraduate Dental School at Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command, Specialty Leader for Navy Orofacial Pain to Chief at BUMED, Associate Professor at Postgraduate Dental College, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, a Diplomate at the American Board of Orofacial Pain, and a Medical Acupuncturist.
| Date Taken: | 02.08.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2022 15:04 |
| Story ID: | 414278 |
| Location: | QUANTICO, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 371 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NMLPDC's Lt. Cmdr. James Hawkins delivers training to US Marines at Headquarters Battalion, Training and Education Command, MCB Quantico, by CPO Emilio Velez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
