Nothing inside hidden from radiology flight

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Colleen Wronek
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  A flight of Airmen working in the Air Force Theater Hospital here take up-close and personal pictures all day.

The radiology flight Airmen take pictures of people’s insides so doctors can better heal their patients.

“In this deployed environment the conditions aren’t as good as what we’re use to, but we make a great team, and we’re gaining experience,” said Tech. Sgt. BJ Newhard, noncommissioned officer in charge of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron’s radiology flight.

The Airmen perform X-rays, CT scans and ultrasounds for the hospital’s emergency rooms, intensive care units, wards and outpatient clinics.

“Without our imaging, (some) patients couldn’t come to the theater hospital and would be diverted to another location,” said Sergeant Newhard, who is deployed from Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. “On an outpatient basis, we mostly see occupational or physical therapy patients, but we also see a lot of seriously injured patients who need their images taken with a portable X-ray unit in the ER.”

The Airmen performed 526 CT scans, 76 ultrasound and 1,200 X-rays in the last month.

“The (number) of patients doesn’t go down,” said Senior Airman Jack Barnes, 332nd EMDSS ultrasound technologist, also deployed from Lackland AFB. “I work the midday shift, and during that time we start having more patients come in. I’ve seen so many more than I ever have back home.”

Sergeant Newhard said working in the theater hospital is stressful, but it is a different kind of stress.

“Back home we see oodles of patients, and the stress is getting all of them taken care of,” she said. “Here, the stress is mostly emotional because we’re seeing our guys hurt.”

Sergeant Newhard said a typical day in radiology can vary.

“Our day really depends on how many traumas we have to X-ray and how many other patients we follow up on,” she said. “We have a tight-knit group here and work well together."