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| U.S. Army Capt. Kathlen Stornelli (left), physician’s assistant, Company C, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, wraps a bandage over the ankle of Spc. Silas Brown, a combat medic assigned to Company C, at Forward Operating Base Duke, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Edgar Reyes |
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| Company C Aid Station Soldiers On Call 24/7 |
Despite long workdays and details at Forward Operating Base Duke,
Company C personnel stand ready to treat injured soldiers. |
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By U.S. Army Pfc. Edgar Reyes
2nd Brigade Combat Team
4th Infantry Division |
FORWARD OPERATING BASE DUKE, Iraq, April 12, 2006 — When U.S. soldiers from Forward Operating Base Duke are out on the battlefield, they run the risk of serious injury from small-arms fire, roadside-bombs and other weapons of choice by the enemy.
"Our main mission here at Company C is to provide medical assistance to soldiers from the 204th Support Battalion, [Forward Operating Base] Duke and any soldier in our area of operations. We basically have the responsibility to provide medical assistance to more than 1,600 soldiers."
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Livier Lazaro
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Waiting in the wings, is Company C, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, with combat medics ready to treat and stabilize any casualty in their area of operations.
“Our main mission here at Company C is to provide medical assistance to soldiers from the 204th Support Battalion, [Forward Operating Base] Duke and any soldier in our area of operations,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Livier Lazaro, aid station noncommissioned officer-in-charge, Company C, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, and a Bloomington, Calif., native. “We basically have the responsibility to provide medical assistance to more than 1,600 soldiers.”
In addition to combat medics, the company also has two doctors, three physician assistants, a registered nurse, a physical therapist and a dentist.
“There are three echelon levels for aid stations,” said Lazaro. “At the first level, which is what most companies have, they have basic stabilization and first-aid capabilities. Level two, which is what Company C is, has additional x-ray capabilities and can perform basic lab tests. Level three aid stations, located in Baghdad and Balad, specialize in treating trauma injuries that require special equipment or surgery.”
The aid station has not received a large amount of casualties since they arrived in theater.
“We are relatively lucky,” said U.S. Army Capt. Sharon Denson, a physician assistant assigned to Company C. “We don’t have a lot of activity in this area.”
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| U.S. Army Spc. Travis Truesdell, combat medic, Company C, 204th Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, checks for signs of infection on the leg of U.S. Army Sgt. Michael Stillwagoner at Forward Operating Base Duke, Iraq. Stillwagoner is a criminal intelligence specialist assigned to the 163rd Field Artillery Battalion. U.S. Army photo by Pfc. Edgar Reyes |
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“We usually get 30 to 45 soldiers in a day,” said Lazaro. “Most of them, though, are mainly for sick-call and not trauma injuries.”
In the event of a mass casualty situation, the aid-station has the capability to treat up to eight people in need of immediate care. It also has a patient-holding area, which is not available with echelon one aid stations.
“We have a 20-bed patient-holding room, which allows us to hold patients who do not need to be evacuated, but need to be held for supervision up to 72 hours,” said Denson.
The average workday for the combat medics ranges between 14 and 16 hours. Everyday there are additional duties, including guard duty, laying down concertina wire and pounding metal tracks into the ground to use as speed bumps. Sometimes soldiers end up clocking more than 20 hours performing details after their regular work shift.
Accountability is a requirement in the aid station because soldiers have to be available at a moment’s notice in the event of a mass-casualty situation.
Despite having long workdays and details, Company C is ready to take on any task, at any time, anywhere because they know their soldiers’ lives depend on them. |
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