Wounded troops receive top medical attention in Germany

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Heather Shelton
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany --  One of Ramstein Air Base, Germany's fitness centers became a contingency aero-medical staging facility March 23.

The CSAF, the first of this type of facility stood up by the Air Force since the 1991 Persian Gulf War, is designed to host injured service members medevaced here from forward deployed locations supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Seventy-one members from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., and 15 members from Westover, Mass., deployed here to set up the staging facility; which consists of 110 military cots and medical supplies, said Col. Mark Smyczynski, an Air Force Reserve officer deployed from Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. The team consists of physicians, nurses, medical technicians, pharmacists, dietary specialists, mental health specialists and logistics.

"We got here and hit the ground running," said Smyczynski. "By Tuesday we were fully operational, ready to sustain any incoming soldiers awaiting a flight out."

Once the injured receive any necessary care from Landstuhl Army Medical Care Facility they will be cared for at the CASF until a flight out has been arranged. According to Smyczynski, most injured will only be kept at the facility for two to 72 hours.

The CASF team, which currently falls under the 86th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, seems to be adjusting to their new surroundings just fine.

"We have a great working relationship with the 86th Medical Group," said Smyczynski. "Their support has been tremendous."

For some of the team members, this is their first deployment, according to Master Sgt. Lloyd Knight, acting first sergeant of the CSAF.

"As a first sergeant, I deal with people regardless of who they are and where they are," said Knight. "It's important to understand your people. They may come with straight faces, but you don't know what they've got going on emotionally."

Pride is something Knight, a retired New Jersey State Police Officer, tries to instill in his troops.

"Even though the operational tempo is high, I try to remind them to feel good about what they're doing," said Knight.

"I consider this a distinct honor to serve as commander of these great folks," said Smyczynski, a radiation oncologist in Massachusetts. "It's a tremendous privilege to serve my country and it's service members."

For one medic, while the task at hand is a bit scary, it's also exciting.

"We're becoming a part of history," said Tech. Sgt. Colleen Hitt, a 14-year Air Force veteran from Westover. "I have complete faith in everyone's capabilities. This is what we're trained to do - we wouldn't be here if we weren't ready to work the mission."

What may be scary to some is a relief to others.

"To be able to have this facility here if we need it is very comforting," said Lt. Col. Mark Koeniger, 86th AMDS commander.

Because the new facility will offer some disruptions, people are asked to be patient.

"We don't know how long this facility will be here, but I encourage everyone to understand that in- and out-bound patient care is a vital part of our mission - please be patient with us," said Koeniger.