KANDAHAR AIR FIELD, Afghanistan – Amid the blazing heat, strong smells and rocket attacks, international service members work together to save the lives of coalition forces and Afghans every day.

Among them is Petty Officer 1st Class Billie B. Estes, U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and intensive care ward leading petty officer at NATO Role 3, Multi-national Medical Unit.

If a wounded service member in Afghanistan arrives at NATO Role 3 MMU, they have a 98 percent chance of surviving, said a military official.

“We want 100 percent success, and I know we can’t always have that,” said Estes. “Our mission is to give the best treatment and care of our patients that we are able to give.”

Estes said she has always believed in showing patients compassion. It was an example of caring that she experienced as a little girl growing up in an El Paso, Texas children’s home that inspired her to become a civilian nurse and Navy corpsman.

“They really planted the seed of caretaking,” said the Navy Reservist.

Years later and after several deployments, Estes finds herself in Afghanistan giving back. She treats patients of all nationalities – from U.S. service members to Afghan children – and does so with a smile on her face and cheer in her voice.

Estes said that it’s especially important to treat members of other nations with respect, because the respect and care that they show is what patients bring back to their countries.

“I treat all of my patients the same,” she said. “They’re here because they’re injured and we need to give them the right treatment like we would anybody else.”

As a licensed practical nurse for Muskogee Surgical Hospital in Muskogee, Okla., Estes is a veteran caregiver. She said that compassion is what makes all of the difference when treating patients.

“That’s why we’re here,” she said. “We have to give them hope to carry on.”

The corpsman of 20 years said that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is being able to treat patients and comfort them as they heal. Patients who know that people around them really care usually recover more quickly – they can concentrate on what they need to do to get better.

For Estes, it has always been about giving back. From dressing wounds to a kind smile, she has always tried to show the same care that she received as a child in El Paso, because to her, caring makes all the difference.

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