Soldiers in Zormat put the 'care' in healthcare

Photo By Master Sgt. Nathan Hutchison | Spc. Keith E. Ockander, medic for the aid station at Forward Operating Base Zormat, Headquarters Headquarter Troop, 4th Battalion, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division adds pain medication to the intravenous bag of a young girl who had shot in a tribal dispute Feb. 26, at Forward Operating Base Zormat, Afghanistan.  

AFGHANISTAN

03.11.2008

Story by Spc. Nathan Hutchison 

22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment   

By Spc. Nathan W. Hutchison
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

FORWARD OPERATING BASE ZORMAT, Afghanistan - A call came in Feb. 26, at approximately 10 p.m. saying at least one casualty was en-route to Forward Operating Base Zormat.

Soldiers began scrambling from the moment the call came in, readying equipment and making sure all necessary personnel were aware of the situation.

"I was sleeping and one of the Soldiers came to my door and told me there were going to be some patients coming," said Army Staff Sgt. Landon B. Powell, medical noncommissioned officer-in-charge, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division. "I only knew that there had been several people shot so I wasn't sure on the amount of patients I was going to have."

The information came from a child who had been shot in the shoulder. Afghan national police and Soldiers from Troop B were bringing her to the base for medical attention.

"There was a tribal conflict that resulted in a certain part of the tribe attacking another family in the tribe," said Army Cpt. James E. Chapman, commander, Troop B, 4-73rd CAV. "It resulted in the death of four of the family members and the wounding of the little girl."

The survivors of the event were the girl and her two younger brothers.

"The girl and her younger brothers had walked three kilometers to get to the district center and then got here, who knows how long, after she had been shot," said Army 1st Lt. Phillip J. Richards, a fire support officer from HHT. "She is definitely a very strong and courageous girl."

Powell, with assistance from other Soldiers, did a rapid trauma survey on the little girl when she arrived at FOB Zormat, and he was surprised when he saw the bullet wound.

"I didn't know before she got here that she had already been seen by a civilian doctor," said Powell, a 34-year-old Valdosta, Ga., native. "The civilian doctor, in order to take care of the wound sewed the bullet inside."

Powell made the decision to call for a medical evacuation because of the potential danger involved with removing a bullet.

"In Salerno they have X-ray and Magnetic Resonance Imaging capabilities, so where I was unable to see where the bullet was, they could," Powell said. "We were mainly in charge of keeping her vitals stable, because in that type of situation you can have internal bleeding and the vitals can drop."

Soldiers talked to the young girl to keep her calm while waiting for the MEDEVAC helicopter.
"I was telling her that I have a 10-year-old daughter. She kind of reminded me of her," Powell said. "I guess I'm just kind of emotional, especially with children."

Powell continued to explain how these experiences become personal when you have a child.

"The way things happen here, I just thought, that could have been my daughter," Powell admitted. "I haven't seen my daughter in so long so it's easy to get a little emotionally attached."

But he said emotional attachment is always a second response when your job is about saving lives.

"Powell is part of a generation of medics whose career has grown under the stress of combat. He's a competent medic," Chapman said. "He's learned to keep a cool head under pressure because of the training and real-life situations he has been through."

The ANP have arrested six individuals so far for the murder of the four family members, and the local government is working to make the appropriate decision regarding the welfare of the children.

Powell said he has visited the district center several times to check up on the little girl and ensure she is doing OK with her bandages and medication.

"This is the kind of stuff that keeps me going; being able to make a difference," Powell said. "I enjoy helping people."

• Date Taken: 03.11.2008
• Date Posted: 03.12.2008 15:37
• Story ID: 17305
• Location: AF