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It’s not unusual for Uniformed Services University of the Health
Sciences (USU) graduates to have some cool assignments, but for two
alumni, their current jobs take it to the extreme.
Air Force
Lt. Col. (Dr.) Tory Woodard, a graduate of USU’s F. Edward Hebert
School of Medicine (SOM) class of 2001, and Dr. Christopher
Martinez, SOM class of 2007, are currently working at the National
Science Foundation’s (NSF) McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The U.S.
Department of Defense has provided logistical support to the NSF’s
U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP), dubbed “Operation DEEP FREEZE,” every
year since 1955. The annual undertaking is led by the U.S. Pacific
Air Forces (PACAF), which provides military transport, medical
evacuation (medevac), search and rescue, and other support to the
USAP.
Woodard, the 35th Aerospace Medicine Squadron commander
at Misawa Air Base, Japan, volunteered for the 60-day deployment as
Joint Task Force-Support Forces Antarctica (JTF-SFA) flight surgeon.
PACAF offers three 60-day rotations to physicians each year to serve
as the JTF-SFA flight surgeon. Two are filled by National Guard
members, and only one is available for active duty physicians.
Woodard applied for the program and was chosen to fill the active
duty slot for the current two-month rotation.
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December 9, 2017 - Air Force Lt. Col. (Dr.) Tory Woodard, a
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences School of
Medicine class of 2001 alumnus, braves the snowfall outside the
McMurdo General Hospital at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. Woodard
is finishing a 60-day deployment to the National Science Foundation
site as part of “Operation Deep Freeze.” The Joint Task
Force-Support Forces Antarctica flight surgeon joined fellow USU
alum, Dr. Christopher Martinez, class of 2007, the lead physician
and clinic director at McMurdo, in Antarctica. (Photo by Sarah E. Marshall, Uniformed Services University)
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Martinez, who retired from the Air Force about two years ago, is
supporting the NSF’s frosty mission as a civilian physician employed
by the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB). UTMB supplies
medical team members for several NSF research sites, including the
South Pole, Palmer Station, and McMurdo Station. He will be at
McMurdo Station for 6-7 months serving as the lead physician and
clinic director. This is Martinez’s second trip to the ice. He spent
last winter at Palmer Station, located on Anvers Island in
Antarctica – the only U.S. research station located north of the
Antarctic Circle.
In addition to his responsibilities running
the clinic, Martinez helps see patients and interfaces between
different agencies on the station as well as with the other NSF
sites, Scott Base, New Zealand, and a number of vessels, including
the NSF’s icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer and cruise ships sailing
through the area.
Martinez is also part of the McMurdo leadership team
and participates in a large facet of station planning and operations
in his role as public health advisor and a member of the risk
management team. He also has a role in any Emergency Operations
Command standups, serves as the EMS/medical director for the McMurdo
Fire Department and the McMurdo Search and Rescue Team, and provides
medical oversight to any field camp healthcare providers.
Martinez also has the important responsibility to recruit and train
the McMurdo Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) teams. The MCI teams are
comprised of station members who volunteer as augmentees to fill
various roles including communications, medical recording, technical
support (labs, radiology, blood bank), litter teams, and hands-on
patient care. By the end of their season, patient care providers
will be trained to near-paramedic level, he said.
As flight
surgeon, Woodard is responsible for the medical care and support of
all DoD personnel supporting the USAP operations, including the
crews of the ski-equipped LC-130 aircraft of the New York Air
National Guard. These specially-modified C-130 aircraft have skis
allowing them to land on the ice and snow runways at McMurdo
station, the South Pole and other remote sites. Woodard is also the
local validating flight surgeon, responsible for the coordination of
civilian and military assets to support any medevac missions in
Antarctica. Additionally, Woodard also provides routine medical care
and acts as aerospace and occupational medicine consultant for the
roughly 900 military and civilian personnel at the station.
“I feel that being a USU grad has prepared me for the variety of
medical and environmental conditions here. We have the potential to
treat everything from diving injuries to altitude sickness to trauma
in this very austere location,” Woodard said.
According to
Martinez, the biggest asset a medical provider can have in
Antarctica is flexibility.
“The weather dictates EVERYTHING
so being flexible is a necessary skill lest you lose your mind
expecting things to run as they would in an MTF [military treatment
facility] or stateside hospital,” he said. “Because of the weather,
supply lines are often very long to unreliable, medevac capabilities
can be seriously impacted to nonexistent, and the risks of day to
day duties that would seem very safe in the States or OCONUS
[outside the contiguous United States] base are increased
exponentially. Without flexibility and creative thinking you’ll,
ironically, be more prone to making mistakes that can put the
Station at risk.
“The weather when we (the core team) arrived
was what one thinks of when they think of Antarctica -- cold (-40s
F), windy (50-60 knots common day to day), and snowing with limited
visibility,” said Martinez. “The transition to summer season was
pretty amazing to experience; we went from 10 hours of daylight upon
arrival to 24-hour daylight within six weeks. The temperatures
likewise shifted and are currently in the +20-30 F range,” he said.
“Not to worry; it’ll be back below -40 F before I leave in
April/May.”
By Sharon Holland, Uniformed Services University
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2018
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