McKinney, Texas (PRWEB) April 18, 2016 -- Geoff Dardia, Director of Task Force Dagger Foundation's SOF Health Initiatives Program spoke at the international/interagency invitation-only Subject Matter Expert workshop, the 8th annual Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) Ammunition Initiatives Meeting (AIM VIII) in McLean VA on March 16, 2016. Over 100 interagency government personnel attended the event including SOF representatives from Australia, Canada and the United Kingdom. A full session was dedicated the issue of toxic metal poisoning of our warfighters.
Geoff Dardia spoke about the impact of toxins in environment for SOF warriors during service and afterwards, how high levels of exposures to heavy metals affect health and combat readiness, and the necessary treatment modalities that are not currently covered by Tricare or the Veterans Administration. "We are providing a solution to a major problem at no cost to the DOD or VA that will not only save billions of dollars, it will more importantly save thousands of lives and help curb the suicide epidemic in the military," said Dardia. He also introduced the Functional Medicine Initiative (FM-I) and explained how the program works for veterans and active duty service members. The program was well received and Geoff was invited back in June to brief Senator John McCain's staff and a panel from the Defense Senate Arms Committee.
Leadership from the Range 37 Miller Training Complex in Fort Bragg, NC presented as well. Range 37 is a high-risk live-fire training complex where special operations Soldiers are taught the Special Forces Advanced Reconnaissance Target Analysis and Exploitation Course (SFARTAETC) and the Special Forces Sniper Course (SFSC). Dardia has been assisting Range 37 with their lead screening program and has arranged for its cadre to enroll in the SOF Health Initiatives Program and work alongside Public Health Command and the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) to assist with KXRF X Rays and potentially chelation therapy for chronic heavy metal exposure for SFARTAETC instructors.
Task Force Dagger Foundation's three core programs: (1) Immediate Needs, (2) SOF Health Initiatives, and (3) Recreational Therapy Events provide resources and healing for Special Operations Forces (SOF) members and families. SOF Health Initiatives provides program recipients care and treatment that is designed to treat the problem and not the symptom through functional medicine and other treatment modalities that are holistic in nature. Since 2009 Task Force Dagger Foundation has supported USSOCOM with over $2,243,800 million of support to 1,120 SOF service members and their families. The organization's overhead rate is 5.79%.
Keith David, Task Force Dagger Foundation, http://www.taskforcedagger.org, +1 (214)7857559, [email protected]
SOURCE Task Force Dagger Foundation
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