U.S. and coalition soldiers transport an Afghan civilian patient to the Camp Phoenix Aid Station in Kabul, Afghanistan. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Robert R. Ramon
1st Lt. Robin Sunday, a registered nurse at the Camp Phoenix Aid Station, prepares to administer intravenous fluid to a patient. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sergeant Robert R. Ramon
Aid Station Keeps Task Force Phoenix Ready to Fight
By U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Robert R. Ramon
Combined Joint Task Force Phoenix
KABUL, Afghanistan, March 18, 2004 — When most Americans are in need of emergency medical care, help is usually just a quick phone call away. U.S. soldiers serving at Camp Phoenix here may not have a phone readily available, but medical assistance can be there just as quickly.
The Camp Phoenix Aid Station is on call at all times for the approximately 900 soldiers who make up Coalition Joint Task Force Phoenix.
“Our mission is to support U.S. and coalition forces with medical care so they’re able to do their mission,” said Maj. Ted M. Ware from Yukon, Okla., the officer in charge of the Camp Phoenix Aid Station.
The task force soldiers are from National Guard units from more than 20 states, the Oklahoma National Guard’s 45th Infantry Brigade Headquarters and contingents from seven different countries.
“If they came here with no medical support, they’d be very concerned and unable to fully concentrate on their mission,” said Ware. “Our presence here is a big reassurance to them, and they can fully concentrate on their jobs.”
Staffed with 25 medical professionals from the 45th Infantry Brigade, including two physicians, two physician’s assistants, two registered nurses, a pharmacy operations officer, a noncommissioned officer in charge who is also a registered nurse in her civilian job, and 17 medics, the Camp Phoenix Aid Station is more than capable of providing medical care on par with that found in the U.S.