Dianne Pannes - Army Strong Stories

Dental Assistants Recognition Week

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 09:20:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
AEGD-2 appreciates our assistants! Without them we are useless. 8-12 March 2010 is DARW (Dental Assistants Recognition Week) so we took our assistants bowling. We work hard and need to play hard, too. Here you can see we did – lots of laughs, team building and a break from the clinc....read more

Happy Birthday and Happy Anniversary!

Dianne Pannes — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 07:44:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
We celebrated the Army Dental Corps’ 99th birthday this week on 03 March! This is the best Army Ball that I’ve been to – and we’ve been to quite a few. The highlight of the week and the Ball was our guest speaker and Corps Chief, MG Czerw. We also had dentists visiting from Canada and New Zealand to teach at our annual Forensics Course. COL Trengrove is the Senior Staff Officer Health for all military medical services in New Zealand (first dentist ever to hold this prestigious position!!) and...read more

My 3rd (and BEST) Olympics

Dianne Pannes — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 04:28:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
My parents have been attending the Olympics (Summer and Winter) since 1976. I’ve been fortunate to accompany them 3 times now. This was my husband’s first Olympic experience. Now he’s ready for London and Russia and Rio!! Vancouver is doing a particularly impressive job! The people are amazing! The public transportation is faultless! The streets are clean enough to eat off of! And the scenery is breathtaking! Kudos to Canada!! Storybook Whistler Village…GREAT place to hang out,...read more

The Army really does care

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 03:07:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
CPT Alex Smith, CPT Tin Le, MAJ Chun Chan Our Senior Residents recently found out where they will be going after graduation in July! Not knowing your next duty assignment is always good for a little anxiety for service members and our families. At least in the Dental Corps, though, the personnel in Washington, DC making the assignments really do try to accommodate people’s desires. I’ve never had a bad assignment but I’ve never really known how the process worked either. I would have...read more

Thank You USO!

Dianne Pannes — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 03:57:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Gary Sinise is an amazing Patriot! His “LT Dan Band” played two USO concerts over the weekend at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base and Hickam Air Force Base on Oahu. Thousands of military families were in attendance for the shows. This was the first time my husband and I actually heard the band play. They are great! Very talented and high energy. Very family friendly with music for all ages. I’ve always respected Gary Sinise but now more than ever. He sincerely puts on these shows for the morale...read more

Gotta love Training Holidays

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:12:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
You gotta love Training Holidays! The Hawaii DENTAC conducted a carwash recently on a Training Holiday as a fundraiser. We are having our Dental Corps Birthday Ball at the ritzy Royal Hawaiian Hotel (EXPENSIVE) so are raising funds to defray some of the cost. We raised $1300 in 4 hours!! Enjoying the weather and having fun together on a weekday was a good thing, too! The Royal Hawaiian Hotel on Waikiki Beach...read more

Dental Residents Survive Tests!

Dianne Pannes — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 02:48:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
The AEGD-2 Hawaii dental residents are receiving good news in the New Year! They all survived their Mock Board Exam in December! This is a significant accomplishment. The Mock Board Exam is conducted every 6 months for the 2 years of their residency. It consists of 3 parts conducted on 3 different days. The first part is a complex case that they must write a treatment plan for within 4 hours. This is the most challenging part of the exam and most residents don’t pass until the 3rd or 4th...read more

We love NY!

Dianne Pannes — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 02:49:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
We love NY :) We had a great time with family… Saw our parents, siblings, nieces/nephews and old friends. It was great to all be together. We actually try to get together a couple of times per year. It’s not enough but it’s pretty good considering we live all over the place – Hawaii, Florida, Montana... We had a lot of great parties and good food. Able to cross country ski a little but spent a lot of time just trying to keep warm!! Nephews (Matt above, Cooper below) are ‘Cuse fans…and...read more

White Christmas

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 03:33:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
OMG!!!!!!! IT’S FREEZING!!!!! I love my family but no more Christmases in NY!! You can definitely tell from the photo that Mom is acclimated and that I am not!! My husband is inside with a warm toddy by the fire – and I’m joining him! 7 more days until we return to Hawaii…...read more

‘Tis the Season :)

Dianne Pannes — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 23:55:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
My husband has always hung the Christmas lights for us but now that he’s retired, he’s really outdone himself! He’s especially enjoying being able to complete this chore in flip flops and shorts!! We both favor “fair weather” now that we’ve been away from NY so long. Winter just hasn’t been the same while we’ve been stationed in North Carolina, Texas, Iraq and Hawaii!?! We’re trying not to think about the fact that we agreed to travel to NY this year for Christmas; we leave in 13 days. We...read more

Black Friday in Hawaii

Dianne Pannes — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:26:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
We chose to hit the beach instead of the mall :) We celebrated being in a beautiful place with all our family around us by BBQing and boogie boarding. The waves were perfect and the jelly fish were absent!! It was a great day of bonding and we even kept a little money in our pockets. Our Director, COL Dan Lavin! COL P (sporting the TAMC logo) and CSM (RET!) V CPT Tin Le, 2nd year resident, with wife Tao and daughter Alana CPT Brian Spence, 1st year resident Tao (Le) with...read more

Lucky Friday the 13th!

Dianne Pannes — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:05:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Friday the 13th was an amazing day in Paradise!! The day started like everyday should - with PT! One of our stellar Soldiers , SPC Christel Hornstra, led us up KoKo Head Crater at sunrise! Koko Crater is a cinder cone remaining from the last active volcano that occurred on O'ahu approximately 10,000 years ago. This crater is the tallest tuff ring in Hawaii, measuring 1,207 feet in height. The climb is straight up 1,100+ “stairs”; railroad ties from a WWII track up the crater. The hike is no...read more

Catching up!!!

Dianne Pannes — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:53:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Since I last wrote the new residents have settled in and are performing exceptionally well…in spite of me having a lot of other things going on! It’s a good thing I have a Director and terrific staff of mentors to cover the Program – which incidentally is one of the best things about practicing dentistry in the Army – it’s one big “group practice” where we cover for each other, learn from each other, and consistently help one another with dentistry and with life. So, while Team Hawaii has been...read more

AEGD-2 Goes to Baltimore!

Dianne Pannes — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:11:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Left to right: COL Dan Lavin (Director), CPT Tin Le (Sr resident), CPT Chun Chan (Sr resident), CPT Alex Smith (Sr resident), LTC P (Asst Dir) We had a great time at the Academy of General Dentistry Conference held in Baltimore recently. We always work hard and play hard. Above we’re playing hard in Camden Yards. Below we’re enjoying the fruits of our labor as we receive 4 awards for the Army Constituent of the AGD! Left to right: COL Jamie Houston, immediate past President Army AGD,...read more

Congratulations AEGD-2 Hawaii Class of 2009!

Dianne Pannes — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:50:39 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Left to right: Mrs. Heather Keeler and MAJ Robert Keeler; going to FT Hood, TX Mrs. Thipphamat Suwansut and MAJ Murgesh Loynes; going to SHAPE, Belgium Mrs. Casie Meyer and CPT Matthew Meyer; going to FT Drum, NY Mrs. Amber Standage and CPT Richard Standage going to FT Bliss, TX I hate to see them go – they have been an exceptional class! But they are ready for bigger and better things and we wish them all the best. The good thing about the Army is that we will keep in touch and cross...read more

Reenlistment Ceremony at the USS Arizona

Dianne Pannes — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 03:48:38 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
I had the amazing honor of reenlisting one of our fine DENTAC Soldiers aboard the USS Arizona Memorial recently. SPC Carrie Miles is a 91E at Schofield Barracks Dental Clinic in Hawaii. She recently deployed to the Philippines and graduated from WLC. She has a daughter and an extended family to include her significant other, Anthony, and his sons, Sean and Austin. 15 fellow Soldiers accompanied us to the Arizona for the ceremony. It was especially incredible in that we were the only people...read more

Playing in Paradise

Dianne Pannes — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 03:34:34 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
It’s a busy time of year here; 4 residents graduating, 4 progressing to their second year, and 4 more incoming. The outgoing residents get to pick an activity for their Graduation Celebration. This year’s class wanted to spend the weekend on the Big Island. So, off we went - 22 residents, mentors and family members. We stayed on the top of the Kilauea Volcano at the Kilauea Military Camp = great MWR cabins at great rates. We hiked, biked, rode the zipline, shared fantastic meals, and sang...read more

Money Well Spent!

Dianne Pannes — Thu, 21 May 2009 00:30:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
We’ve been fortunate enough to take advantage of the significantly reduced real estate prices in Hawaii and just bought a lovely beach townhouse. We had been renting but now are home owners in a place we’re sure to come back to. The best part for me was that I departed on TDY just hours after closing and returned home 2 weeks later to all the moving completed by my husband! He’s a keeper :) This is the breathtaking view from our lanai. Stop by – we enjoy...read more

Asia Pacific Travel

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 00:26:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
I’ve just returned from an amazing international conference in Korea! Military Medical personnel of 22 nations from the Asia-Pacific area of operations attended. It was one week of Scientific, Operational Medicine, and Cultural sharing. We learned a lot about other Military Medical Corps’, visited the DMZ, enjoyed Korean food, and (of course) shopped! I gave a presentation about my recent mission aboard the USNS Mercy to Papua New Guinea that was very well received and might...read more

A Hero Lost

Dianne Pannes — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 00:25:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Colonel James J. Lin August 27, 1959 – March 9, 2009 COL James Lin was born on the 27th of August 1959 in Taiwan and moved to New York with his family. He attended the Columbia School of Engineering and graduated in 1981 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering. He went on to Dental School at Boston University and graduated in 1985 with a DMD. COL Lin entered the Army after graduation and attended the AEGD one year program at Fort Carson. Next he was...read more

Winners in Japan

Dianne Pannes — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:53:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Winners in Japan!! Two AEGD-2 Dental Residents traveled to Japan last week for the prestigious 57th Tri-Service Dental Conference in Tokyo. They were tasked with putting together a table clinic of their respective research projects. The competition was impressive with many participants having been extensively published. Our residents met the challenge, though, and took 1st and 2nd place!! CPT Rick Standage was awarded 1st Place for his research on “Dental Management of the Irradiated...read more

ProBowl in Hawaii

Dianne Pannes — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 01:22:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Wow; time flies! Lots of dentistry still going on here: AEGD-2 residents are placing implants, trying new products, and anxiously awaiting their new assignments after graduation. And true to form, while they’re working hard, they’re playing hard. Recently the ProBowl was here in Hawaii (for the last time!) and all enjoyed meeting some players and their families. Very nice guys that took time to visit Wounded Warriors at Tripler Army Medical Center and thank Soldiers for all we do....read more

Work Hard Play Hard

Dianne Pannes — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 01:21:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Recent events for the AEGD-2 residents included clinical crown lengthening and instruction on OMFS fixation. On Thanksgiving Day we all enjoyed precious family time; my husband and I hosted single Soldiers for dinner and everyone appreciated another spectacular sunset. And on Black Friday, instead of fighting the crowds, we (residents, mentors, family members) chartered a plane and flew to Molokai to visit the Leper Colony. Amazing history and more breathtaking scenery!...read more

Exciting week

Dianne Pannes — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 01:19:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Exciting stuff here in Paradise! This week the AEGD-2 dental residents had great cases – to include several allo/xenograft ridge preservations and multiple apicoectomies. We enjoyed a visit from our DENCOM Commander, COL Ted Wong. And we wrapped up celebrating Thanksgiving. It doesn’t get any better than this!! Next week we’re going to Molokai…more to follow…...read more

About LTC Pannes

Dianne Pannes — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 01:19:00 GMT

By: Dianne Pannes
Aloha! My name is Dianne Pannes and I have a dream job - the assistant director for the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Two-Year Program - stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii with my husband CSM David Vreeland. I joined Army ROTC in 1988 because I needed money for college. With this generous financial assistance, I earned my Bachelor’s Degree from Cornell University and then went on to dental school (SUNY @ Buffalo) concurrently beginning my payback to the Army by...read more