Academy medics save life of Peterson NCO in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Eddie Kovsky
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFPN) --  Staff Sgt. Jamie Dana, a dog handler assigned to the 21st Security Forces Squadron at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., was seriously injured a month into her six-month deployment when an improvised explosive device hit her convoy during a patrol near Kirkuk Air Base, Iraq.

Airmen here who are deployed to the 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron helped save her life.

“Sergeant Dana was one of several casualties from that explosion,” said Col. Steven Chambers, 506th EMEDS hospital commander at Kirkuk. “She was the most seriously injured, and her injuries were life threatening. When we got word of their imminent arrival, my whole group was mobilized to come in to assist with the casualties.”

There are currently 18 medics deployed to Kirkuk from the academy’s 10th Medical Group. Along with others from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., and Buckley AFB, Colo., they were the first medics to treat Sergeant Dana.

She arrived with a severe pelvic fracture and was near death from hemorrhagic shock.

“Most of the academy personnel were involved with her care from one standpoint or another,” Colonel Chambers said. “It was known by many of my staff that she was an Air Force dog handler and some knew that her home station was Peterson. But it was a hectic day for all of us, so we did not focus on that.”

“Normally I handle command and control issues during trauma situations like coordinating the arrival of injured Airmen and Soldiers, recalling the medical team, and coordinating emergency transportation on to more definitive care,” said Capt. Angela Blackwell, squadron administrator.

“In Jamie’s case,” she said, “I ended up assisting in the treatment room by stabilizing her head and neck, and talking to her to keep her calm while the medical providers were working to assess her injuries.

“It never fails to surprise me how brave the Airmen and Soldiers are when they are brought to us,” the captain said. “Jamie was no different. She was in a lot of pain, but she was very brave and very patient while the doctors worked to assess the extent of her injuries.”

Once Sergeant Dana had been stabilized, she was medically evacuated to the Air Force theater hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, and then to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center via nearby Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

“Sergeant Dana is now at Walter Reed (Army Medical Center) where I understand she is improving slowly,” Colonel Chambers said.

Though saving Sergeant Dana’s life was a remarkable coincidence, it was all just part of the job for the Airmen of the 506th EMEDS.

“We make up a small forward-placed expeditionary medical support hospital,” Colonel Chambers said. “Our role is to have casualties brought into us, get stabilized and transferred on to the next higher echelon of care. We triage patients from the most serious to the least serious. We use what is called the ‘golden hour.’ If we can intervene within an hour of the injury, we have more of a chance of saving the servicemember’s life.”

Some senior staffers have deployed to Iraq before and bring years of experience to the expeditionary base.

“The rapid evacuation of patients to higher levels of care thousands of miles away has no counterpart in the U.S. conflict, and is brought into focus for us every time we receive word that an injured American is coming,” said Col. Brian Peyton, who is filling the sole vascular surgeon slot from Buckley.

For those deploying for the first time, the reality of the conflict can be jarring.

“Seeing patients firsthand has been shocking, to be able to see what the terrorists are capable of,” said Senior Airman Amanda Frush,a medical logistician. “You always hear about it, but this is my first time witnessing it personally. I didn’t see anything like it on my last deployment.”

As shocking as a war zone deployment can be, the experience is invaluable to those Airmen who share it.

“This is my first deployment and I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity for anything,” Captain Blackwell said. “It has been my first chance to see and do what I’ve been training for all of my Air Force career. It’s amazing how years of training kick in and you automatically do the right thing at the right time. There is no such thing as an ‘average’ day anymore; they all start to blend together.”

“The deployment experience is a rollercoaster of emotions and events,” said Senior Airman Amber Parris, an emergency medical technician. “It is something that I don’t think a medic can really be fully prepared for. The injuries that we deal with here are so different from what we see in the states. In the past two months I have seen more hatred, pain and suffering, love and compassion than ever before in my life.”

Even the ordinary days have an element of the extraordinary for those living and working in Kirkuk.

“As a medic there really isn’t a set ‘average’ work day,” Airman Parris said. “We tend to see between 15 (and) 25 patients in a 24-hour period, but that could range from bug bites and (gastroenteritis), to gunshot wounds or IED injuries. We see a variety of patients as well -- Iraqi air force, Iraqi army, Department of Defense contractors, (Soldiers and Airmen).”

“Unfortunately, traumas are not rare enough to stand out as single significant events,” Captain Blackwell said. “We have many trauma cases and every Airman and Soldier, man and woman, American and Iraqi are treated with the same level of urgency and respect in life and death. We feel for and care about all of them from the time they are brought in through our doors until long after they have moved on.”

“There is no telling what each day will bring,” Airman Parris said.