#19
Bringing Acupuncture Mainstream – One Talk at a Time
For your convenience, I’ve provided a round up of this week’s posts at the end of this commentary. We’re working on getting off the ground – One step at a time.
USS Bremerton SSN 698 returns to her long time home port of Pearl Harbor, Hawaii in April 2018. This was the end of her last Western Pacific (WestPac) deployment under the command of Cmdr. Travis Zettel.
Acupuncture and Submarines
I served over 3 1/2 years aboard a nuclear powered fast attack submarine between 1983 and 1986. The USS Bremerton SSN-698 was a new kid on the block back then with a lot to prove (submariners commonly call submarines “boats”). Her recent retirement going into the shipyards up in Bremerton, Washington (she returned home to retire), was, in many ways to me, like the loss of my mother and sister who have passed away within the last 2 years. That may sound odd to you civilians but if you’ve served in the Silent Service there’s a good chance you understand what I mean.
It has a lot to do with what I call “Submarine Decommissioning Syndrome” and there are many parallels to motherhood when a crew of 100 goes out to sea and is completely reliant on the integrity of the submarine that surrounds them, for days, weeks, months at a time. It’s the closest thing on earth to being on a spaceship and endurance travel in completely self contained environments. The fellowship and camaraderie of the crew members that result are also noteworthy as a result of such mission-oriented, unique and confined experiences.
Less I digress too far, the passing of the long and honorable service of the Bremerton, for me has morphed into new life. Isn’t that true? From the ashes rises the phoenix, often combining formerly detached aspects of your life to form something new.
In my brief outreach to seek information about Acupuncture on Submarines, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a group from the USS Olympia (SSN 717) (Another boat whose host is the great state of Washington) actually had a trained Acupuncturist who was a medical doctor as a rider (temporary assigned person) perform acupuncture en masse to the crew while underway.
The feedback from several crew members were positive in their relief from various pain conditions. Naturally, there are a lot of good hearted jokes associated with the whole deal, submariners have an avid way of describing a half nude crew members with needles and electric stimulation… (do I need to say any more? No, this is a family channel).
USS Bremerton SSN698 arrives in Bremerton, WA in 1982, under the command of Cmdr. Douglas S. Wright. Photo courtesy of Senior Chief Donald Jones
THIS WEEK’s BLOGS – March 10-16
4 Key Benefits of Integrative Health Physicians
Thinking about changing career focus or taking advantage of what an Integrative Clinic has to offer?
What has your emotions to do with that pain in your body?
It’d be pretty tough to stick a needle into a steel submarine, but there are plenty of crew members who could benefit.
Thanks for reading and watching!
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CKY
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Bringing Acupuncture Mainstream 