Aid for Aviators

Photo By Monica Guthrie | Spc. Chris Gary, center, medic in Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment guides Spc. Adam Thibeault and Spc. Erick Heath, both members of Company D, 2-3 Avn., in giving an IV as they re-qualify their combat lifesaving skills, March 4, at the Combat Aviation Brigade flight line, Baghdad.  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

03.05.2008

Story by Spc. Monica Guthrie 

3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division

Pfc. Monica K. Smith,
3rd Combat Aviation Brigade,
3rd Infantry Division Public Affairs

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – A constant flux in Soldiers' schedules can create difficulties for some trying to make sick call for medical treatment. An aid station at the Combat Aviation Brigade flight line provides medical treatment to Soldiers in 3rd CAB who work there and would otherwise be unable to make sick call at the Camp Striker Troop Medical Clinic.

"We're a small facility where we take care of mostly sick call and aviator flight physicals," said Staff Sgt. Rey Flete, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment and noncommissioned officer in charge at the aid station. "It gives the aviators a chance to be seen when they come off the flight line without having to go through the inconvenience of going to the other TMC."

To date, the aid station has seen more than 7,000 patients over the duration of the deployment. With no sick-call hours, Soldiers are able to visit the aid station at their convenience, allowing them to put the mission first.

"It's convenient for where I work," said Spc. Erick Heath, Company D, 2-3rd Avn. Regt., who came to the clinic to re-qualify on his combat lifesaving skills. "There's not a set sick-call schedule so you can come when you want. It's also convenient when it comes to training."

The brigade aid station is fully functional and operates in three eight-hour shifts, 24-hours a day.

The station is manned by Soldiers from the 2-3rd Avn. Regt., the 1st Battalion, 3rd Avn. Regt. and the 3rd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment. Each shift has three to four Soldiers on duty; one is an NCOIC and another is a doctor.

"The only difference between us and the Striker TMC is they are a level two (facility) and we are a level one," Flete said. "They have an X-ray and have more lab abilities. We have a trauma room if someone gets hurt out here so we have a place to treat them."

The aid station has been renovated multiple times since the 3rd CAB's arrival in May. Lights and an air conditioner were installed, windows were boarded and a floor was built in the trauma room.
"The hardest part was getting this place set up," Flete said.

With a majority of 3rd CAB Soldiers working at the flight line, having an aid station located where they work allows medics to respond to any issues that occur on the flight line.

"We're responsible for all the aviation aspects out here as far as medical concerns go; otherwise, the Soldiers would have to wait for the other TMC to send medics across the flight line. It's a safety thing," Flete said.

• Date Taken: 03.05.2008
• Date Posted: 03.06.2008 10:36
• Story ID: 17056
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ