Nebraska medics return home from Texas, call hurricane relief mission fulfilling

LINCOLN, NE, UNITED STATES

11.20.2017

Story by Tech. Sgt. Jason Melton 

Joint Force Headquarters - Nebraska National Guard

The Nebraska National Guard welcomed home Air Guard members mostly from the 155th Medical Group in addition to several members of the Nebraska Army National Guard, Sept. 9, after a five-day deployment to Texas in support of the ongoing Hurricane Harvey relief operations.
“The team really proved to themselves that they are up to the mission,” said Lt. Col. Scott Shaddy, commander of Detachment 1, Medical CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and high-yield Explosive) Enhanced Response Force Package (CERFP). “We’ve been told that we are one of the best, if not the best medical element in the country. It proved true on this particular mission.”
According to Col. Kathleen Amyot, commander of the 155th Medical Group, the mostly volunteer Nebraska team received mobilized and were on their way to Texas within 12 hours of their final deployment notification. Amyot, who deployed as a physician, said once they arrived, the team set up in approximately 90 minutes started taking care of patients.
First stop for the Guard team—who are trained to provide medical triage operations in a variety of environments—was Beaumont, Texas, where they set up their mobile triage facility and provided overnight medical triage support after the hospital there lost power and water. When utilities were restored the next morning, the team packed up and traveled to Vidor, Texas where they fell in and provided relief for an Army National Guard Unit that had already been there five days.
It was the first time working in a real-world joint environment many of those deployed including Airman 1st Class Aaron Link, an aerospace medic from the 155th Medical Squadron. Link, a Biology student at the University of Nebraska Lincoln, who was part of the team’s hot zone triage team, got a chance to hone his skills working alongside the Texas Army National Guard. “They do things a little differently, but I just adapted and jumped in.”
The team treated 180 people in approximate 48 hours they were in operation, said Amyot. She said a majority of patients they saw were not acutely ill, but suffered from abrasions and lacerations that were infected from being in the water for long periods of time.
The team also treated many patients for upper respiratory problems caused by exposure to mold.
The Guard members are part of the state’s larger CERFP, which most recently conducted an emergency response exercise at the Nebraska National Guard’s Mead Training Site the weekend before the deployment. Many of the deploying Nebraska Guardsmen were involved in that exercise, said Shaddy.
“Frankly, the Nebraska Team does very well with exercises, but it’s really nice to see the team perform above and beyond with excellence in real-world situations where things shift rapidly and you have to modify things and treat patients a bit differently,” said Amyot. “The team was outstanding. I am really, really proud of how they performed.”
“This is something I have trained for the last five years to do,” said Senior Airman Dominic Pasquinelly, a biomedical equipment technician in the 155th.
Pasquinelly, who is responsible for maintaining the power grid that runs generators and lights to operate medical equipment, was also on his first deployment.
“When asked,” he said. “I jumped at the opportunity to go out and show the world what this Nebraska Team is capable of. It was very moving and nice to be part of something where you can see that we are actually helping. Unlike in training, we are touching peoples’ lives.”
“It was neat to see the direct impact we had on the community and humbling to see what they were going through, said Senior Airman Megan McGahan, an aerospace medic in from the 155th. She said the most rewarding part of the deployment was working together as a team, not only with Nebraska Guard Members, but also with other Guard Units and with members of the community.
“The volunteers that took care of us were amazing. They brought us tons of food, put us up and did our laundry… no one went hungry. Everyone was so welcoming and so appreciative of us being there.”
“One of the common themes I heard from Guard Members who returned home was how much support they received from the people they were helping,” said Brig. Gen. Keith A. Schell, Nebraska Air National Guard assistant adjutant general. “It was a big effort by all. The deployment was great training and once again, the Nebraska Guard showed it really knows its craft. Congratulations on a job well done and my hats off to all who participated.”

• Date Taken: 11.20.2017
• Date Posted: 12.12.2017 13:37
• Story ID: 258454
• Location: LINCOLN, NE, US