NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit (MMU) Legacy Walls [Image 2 of 16]

UNITED STATES

08.28.2020

Courtesy Photo

U.S. Navy Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

Photograph & caption by LCDR Kate Fitzgerald, USN, Whiskey Rotation PAO, Trauma Nurse

On a classically hot and dusty day in April 2010 during the height of the surge against the Taliban in Southern Afghanistan, a shiny new brick building was christened the Kandahar Airfield (KAF) NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit (MMU). From 2010 onward, twenty-one Navy rotations, more casually known as “Rotos,” have stood the watch, turning over every six months in April and October. In typical military fashion, each rotation was named after a letter in the phonetic alphabet, with the final rotation being “Whiskey.”

A tradition began in 2015, wherein each rotation would paint one of the blast walls outside of the hospital. The blast walls, now referred to as “Legacy Walls,” created a small courtyard outside the Emergency Department, where the behemoth 14,000-pound reinforced concrete walls stood sentry as trauma patients arrived to the MMU.

Standing twelve feet tall with plenty of smooth concrete for a blank canvas, they were primed for painting. With the unit logo as the centerpiece, the name of each rotation member was added, oftentimes alongside the slogan or motto that represents the ethos of their mission. Interlocking, side-by-side, signifying the seamless transition from rotation to rotation, these legacy walls were a sight to see.

When Navy Medicine turned over the hospital to an Army team in 2020, the walls were white-washed clean.

• Date Taken: 08.28.2020
• Date Posted: 12.18.2020 14:01
• Photo ID: 6460202
• VIRIN: 200808-N-N1526-0004
• Resolution: 2304x3456
• Size: 3.7 MB
• Location: US