Lt Col Stephen Rush is a medical doctor who practiced Radiation Oncology from 1986 – 2015. He specialized in the treatment of brain tumors, head and neck cancer, and Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. In 2008 he joined the U.S. Air Force and became the Flight Surgeon for the 103rd Rescue Squadron where he oversaw medical training for the Pararescuemen (PJs). From 2012-2018 he also served as the U.S. Air Force Pararescue Medical Director. During that time, he:
Modernized battlefield medical care provided by PJs during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF)
Created the protocols for combat trauma
Introduced new equipment and techniques
Rewrote the Medical Operations Handbook
He is currently creating a program for training new Air Force Special Warfare Flight Surgeons.
In September 2019 he became the Medical Group Commander of the 106th Rescue Wing. His responsibilities include ensuring medical readiness of Wing members for deployment and the preparation of Medics for combat and domestic emergencies, such as the Air National Guard response to COVID.
Topics Covered:
Why Dr. Rush left a successful career as an oncologist in NYC to become a Pararescue flight surgeon at almost 50 years of age
Dr. Rush’s responsibilities as flight surgeon and the medical capability of the unit he managed
How Dr. Rush went about auditing the medical readiness and training of the unit as an outsider with little military experience
How running a private practice prepared Dr. Rush for his responsibilities as a military physician
Practices Dr. Rush employed to help PJs perform under immense physical, emotional, and environmental duress
How to maximize readiness with limited training time and minimal patient contacts
Strategic insight about how to bring the best medical capability to the combat environment
Best practices from military and civilian medicine
Irving “Boo” Schexnayder completed his return to the LSU Track and Field staff in August of 2018 being named Strength coach for the Tigers. He previously served with LSU from 1995 – 2007, coaching jumpers, vaulters, and the combined events. He returned to the Tiger staff in 2017 in an interim capacity as throws coach before shifting into his current role. He is a well-known commodity in the track and field coaching community with 39 years of experience in coaching and sports related fields.
Schexnayder has been the mastermind behind 19 NCAA champions and over 70 All Americans in his collegiate coaching career, and is one of the most successful field event coaches in NCAA history. He was a part of 12 NCAA championship teams during his first tenure at LSU, tutoring past Tiger greats like Derrick Prentice, Suzette Lee, Levar Anderson, Russ Buller, Marcus Thomas, Walter Davis, Keisha Spencer, Hareldau Argyle, Gretchen Francois, Lejuan Simon, Nicole Toney, Monique Freeman, Claston Bernard, Megan Akre, Daniel Trosclair, Bianca Rockett, and John Moffitt. He coached Spencer to the Honda Award as the nation’s top female Track and Field athlete in 2000, and coached Davis to SEC Athlete of the Year honors in 2002. He became one of only a handful of coaches who have coached a 1-2-3 sweep in a national championship meet when the Tiger triple jumpers captured the top three spots on the podium, leading the Tiger men to the 2004 NCAA indoor title.
His collegiate coaching career began with successful stints at Blinn College and Louisiana-Lafayette. At Blinn he was a part of two Juco national titles, and as a member of the Cajun staff coached several All Americans, including NCAA triple jump champion Ndabe Mdhlongwha.
He has also been a force on the international scene, having coached triple jumper Walter Davis to world indoor and outdoor championships, and long jumper John Moffitt to silver in the 2004 Olympics in Athens. He has coached 11 Olympians, and has served on coaching staffs for Team USA to the 2003 Pan Am Games in Santo Domingo, the 2006 World Junior Championships in Beijing, and was the Jumps Coach for Team USA at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. His return to the Tiger staff in 2017 was highlighted as he coached current Tiger Jake Norris to a World Championship in the U-20 Hammer throw.
Noted as an educator and a mentor to hundreds of coaches, Schexnayder has been involved in coaching education for 30 years. He served as chair of the Coaching Education committee for USATF, and in 2009 created the Track and Field Academy, the educational branch of the USTFCCCA, directing it through 2017. He continues to teach and lecture in the U.S. and abroad on the topics of speed and power development,