Photo By Staff Sgt. Engels Tejeda | Spc. Andres Castellano, 22, a resident of Anacos, Puerto Rico, and a member of the 311...... read more read more
CAMP ADDER, Iraq " A good day in the Army is a day in which Staff Sgt. Clemente Hernandez and his small team in Tallil, Iraq, have nothing to do.
Hernandez, a member of the Army Reserve's 311th Quartermaster Company out of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, is the NCOIC of the mortuary affairs team that supports Camp Adder.
"Here, in fact, we don't get very many combat casualties compared to other places," said Hernandez. "The majority of the casualties we've treated so far have been accidents, health-related deaths, like heart attacks ... But there have been few deaths because of [improvised explosive devices]."
Since last summer, Hernandez, 51, Spc. Andres Castellano, 22, and Spc. Jose Salas, 44, have provided support for Camp Adder, praying that their days will be "boring" and that they can work on training rather than on bodies. However, when the mission demands that they do their job, they do it promptly.
"Our goal is to get the casualties out of here within 24 hours from when they arrive. The sooner we can get them out of here, the sooner they get to their families," says Hernandez.
"It doesn't matter if it's a Soldier, or a civilian that they bring in off the street — Everybody gets treated the same according to standards that have been set. Everyone is treated with dignity."
The team tries to preserve the casualties" bodies in the state in which they come into the morgue. When the casualties are American troops or civilians, the team ships them to Kuwait, where another group from the 311th processes them at a Theater Casualty Evacuation Point.
A major part of the process is assuring that all of the casualties" belongings travel with them and that a careful identification record is compiled.
The Adder team members say they are lucky, in a way, because their casualty rate has been low compared to places like Baghdad. Still, they say that one casualty is one too many and that the job has taken a toll on the Soldiers.
For example, Hernandez says he will never forget having to treat a 6-year-old girl who died from severe burns.
"You just don't expect to see a child that young dying here," he says.
Castellano says he was particularly disturbed when he had to treat three Soldiers who died in a rollover accident and whose bodies were severely beaten from the accident.
"I try to take everything professionally and that helps me deal with the job," Castellano says. "But at the same time you think, 'that could have been me," you know?"
The team says it copes with the difficulties of the job by relying on experience and family support. While Castellano has barely been in the military for less than three years, Hernandez has been in the Reserves for more than 20 years. Hernandez and Salas served with the 311th at the Pentagon in 2001, helping to process the remains of victims of the terrorist attacks, an experience that has helped them to cope with treating casualties here.
Family support has also played a strong part in keeping the team focused. Hernandez says he calls his wife and three children periodically. Castellano says he relies on the support of his wife to keep mentally sane.
"She is studying psychology, so when I go home, if I have any problems, I won't have to pay anyone," Castellano jokes.
The 311th is expected to return home by August.
| Date Taken: | 06.09.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 06.09.2006 13:03 |
| Story ID: | 6764 |
| Location: | TALLIL, IQ |
| Web Views: | 89 |
| Downloads: | 21 |
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