AFA Team of the Year features medical Airmen

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
  • Secretary of the Air Force Office of Public Affairs
WASHINGTON (AFNEWS) --  They saved lives performing miracles in the sky, on the ground and outside "the wire" during missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Senior Airman Robert Zuniga from the 82nd Medical Operations Squadron at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, helped save the lives of 120 people injured in car bombs and mortar attacks in Iraq. Capt. Shaun Westphal from the 59th Medical Wing at Lackland AFB, Texas, manually ventilated a critically-ill burn victim for five hours nonstop during an aeromedical evacuation mission from Balad Air Base, Iraq, saving the patient's life.

These are just two of the seven Air Force expeditionary medics recognized as the 2007 Team of the Year by the Air Force and the Air Force Association in ceremonies here March 31 to April 4.

Every year, the AFA, working with major command-level command chief master sergeants and the office of the chief master sergeant of the Air Force, selects a career field to honor. Five to seven Airmen are then selected who displayed superior technical expertise while garnering praise of their superiors for providing leadership and inspiration to others. These Airmen represent their profession during their five-day visit to the nation's Capitol.

"Each of us as Airmen can be proud of our fellow warriors in the medical community and the tremendous job they are doing in-theater," said Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Rodney J. McKinley. "Their dedication, skill and determination are saving lives of fellow Airmen, Marines, Soldiers, Sailors and coalition forces every day."

The expeditionary medics primary mission is to treat battlefield injuries, but many Air Force field hospitals provide a dental staff, life skills personnel, a pharmacy, a radiology clinic and laboratory members. Treatments from common infections and illnesses, broken bones, twisted ankles and other deployment-related ailments were provided by the medics.

Expeditionary medics also provided other services downrange, such as public health care for coalition partners and local nationals.

"The differences between our sanitation standards and proper food preparation and theirs were something we had to concentrate a lot on," said Master Sgt. Michelle Rootes from the public health flight at Minot AFB, N.D. Sergeant Rootes was deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan, and provided hands-on medical training.

"I also traveled throughout the Kabul local area, visiting villages and schools trying to improve Afghan living conditions," Sergeant Rootes said.

She was the first embedded public health trainer for the Afghanistan National Army, operating and driving through 2,000 miles of Taliban-infested areas during her tour.

The AFA Team of the Year were treated to tours of downtown Washington, D.C., the Capitol, the White House and the Pentagon. They also met several Air Force leaders and Congressmen from their home states. They were also given the spotlight both in media availabilities and during the official banquet and ceremony honoring them April 2.

"I really enjoyed visiting the Pentagon and especially the senior leaders who hosted us. They were all very down-to-earth and truly interested in hearing about our deployment experiences. I saw a different perspective of our leaders and their concern for us," said Tech. Sgt. Crystal Gomez, a 78th Medical Group physical medicine craftsman.

While deployed, she established an operational rehabilitation clinic as part of the first-ever Air Force and Army physical medicine team at Bagram AB, Afghanistan.

The team visited with Chief McKinley, Lt. Gen. (Dr.) James G. Roudebush, the Air Force surgeon general, and Lt. Gen. Arthur J. Lichte, assistant vice chief of staff and director, Air Force Staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force.

"The AFA has also been wonderful and they have taken great care of us. We really had fun and learned a lot about other medical team members and expertise areas during this visit," Sergeant Gomez said.

Other members of the team included:

-- Master Sgt. Faith Elmore, the NCO in charge of dental services at the 184th Medical Group in McConnell AFB, Kan., treated more than 350 coalition forces while deployed to Sather AB, Iraq. She even assisted an orthopedic surgeon during a major surgery, saving the limb of an Iraqi special forces member.

-- Master Sgt. Kory Rivera from the 3rd Medical Operations Squadron at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, worked alongside U.S. and coalition forces and provided combat medical support to wounded forces while under hostile fire. Sergeant Rivera received the Bronze Star for gallantry in the face of the enemy.

-- Col. (Dr.) Jay Johannigman, the deputy commander and wartime trauma surgeon at the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group at Balad AB, Iraq, flew 12 critical care air transport evacuation missions transporting wounded members to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.

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