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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – When servicemembers get sick
or injured downrange, they need help not only physically but
mentally. The transition from one medical treatment center
to the next can be overwhelming and bring a troop's morale
down even further if not treated with care.
This
transition is when the members of the Contingency
Aeromedical Staging Facility are needed most. The Bagram Air
Field CASF is the link between the Craig Joint Theater
Hospital and aeromedical evacuation missions throughout
Afghanistan.
Members of the Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility and 455th
Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron assist patients onto
medical bus bound for the flightline on Bagram Air Field,
Afghanistan, March 21, 2013. The CASF is the relay between the Craig
Joint Theater Hospital and aeromedical evacuation missions
throughout Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Willis)
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The staging facility caters to both inbound and outbound
patients brought in by the 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical
Evacuation Squadron en route to Landstuhl Regional Medical
Center, Germany, for an upper level of medical attention.
“All the medical teams across Bagram come together to
accomplish the movement of patients,” said 1st Lt. Kathryn
Ellens, CASF registered nurse. “It's amazing to see our
capabilities and how quickly we can get a patient in and
out.”
A few weeks ago, the CASF received a
critical-condition patient that the CJTH did not have the
equipment to treat. Within hours Ellens and her team had
that patient on a flight to LRMC.
“We average five
flights a week to LRMC,” said Ellens. “Some patients have to
stay here overnight so our job is to keep them happy and
healthy.”
Working 12-hour shifts, the CASF team keeps
the facility open 24-hours a day, like a medical USO, ready
to provide its patients with not only medical treatment, but
quite possibly the first bit of home accommodations they
have seen since their deployment.
“Every CASF I have
worked at has always been set up to provide that ‘home
feeling' for the patients,” said Tech. Sgt. Thomas
Humphreys, CASF flight chief. “We got the television going,
the coffee and popcorn machines ready, anything to get them
comfortable and ready for that next step of care.”
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jason Herron from Kandahar Airfield
re-injured a dislocated shoulder from his last deployment
and even though he will only be at the CASF for a couple of
hours he has already enjoyed his time here.
“It is
very laidback and relaxed,” said Herron. “I thought it was
going to be more hectic like ‘piles of paperwork' but they
take care of everything for us.”
The CASF team
provides a vital role in getting wounded warriors back home
safely to their families. It doesn't matter where the
patients are from or who they are, the CASF treats each one
with the utmost of care.
“Our wounded warriors are
our true heroes,” said Humphries. “To get to treat them and
tell them thank you is very rewarding.”
More photos available below
By USAF Staff Sgt. Christopher Willis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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