Staging facility puts wounded warriors on ‘road to recovery’

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Robert Wollenberg
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  What do a bank manager, a school nurse and a Seattle Symphony chorus member have in common? 

They’re all reservists, they all volunteered to serve at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and they all work at the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility, part of the 332nd Expeditionary Aerospace Medicine Squadron here. 

The CASF staff, all reservists plus one active-duty member, serve several functions. Patients from the Air Force Theater Hospital here are prepared, both clinically and administratively, for flights, and they care for them until their departure from Balad. The CASF staff also is responsible for safely and quickly moving the patients to the flightline and onto waiting aircraft. 

On average, the Balad CASF staff cares for about 500 patients a month, from ambulatory to ventilated, and have moved as many as 47 patients in a single mission. 

“Some people get the impression we just put patients on the airplane,” said Lt. Col. Dean Wagner, CASF commander. “Our expertise is preparation of patients for long-distance, fixed-wing aerial transport. As a CASF, we’re part air passenger terminal and part hospital.” 

A patient’s movement out of Iraq begins with the flight clinic coordinators at the hospital. They ensure all the necessary paperwork and clinical care have been completed and that patients are ready to be transported. 

“The (flight clinic coordinators are) the fulcrum; everything else moves around what they do,” Colonel Wagner said. “They make sure the doctors have made all the proper orders for the patient, and put the patient’s information in a system called TRAC2ES, which is basically an electronic medical record and tracking record.” 

TRAC2ES is short for United States Transportation Command Regulating and Command and Control Evaluation System. 

“TRAC2ES allows a detailed picture of the patient to be painted so that anybody receiving the patient down the line can know what to expect, what the patient needs," said Capt. Lynn Clark, CASF flight clinical coordinator. 

Once the patients and their paperwork are in order, they are moved to the CASF facility, where they’re allowed to rest and decompress. The CASF offers several amenities to help the patients transition from the combat environment. 

“We help significantly with the healing process by helping patients get their mental pieces in order, too,” Colonel Wagner said. “That’s why we have things like flushing toilets, hot showers, a break room, an outdoor area and (resources) to connect with their families.” 

The staff also helps patients with their psychological trauma -- lending a friendly ear. 

“(Some) patients really need to talk but are scared to talk to people at home,” said Maj. Kelly Compas, a clinical nurse with the CASF. “It’s a 'mom' job. You get a 20-year-old in here with zero life experience and they just saw their best friend get killed, something normal 20-year-olds are never going to see. You just walk outside with them and it just comes out … they just start talking.” 

“I think that’s a significant thing that we’re able to contribute to the healing of the person in their eventual return to duty,” Colonel Wagner said.