Construction underway on FOB Andar medical clinic

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class andrew guffey | U.S. Army Spc. Neville Cole, a carpentry/masonry specialist with 623rd Engineer Company, 1249th Engineer Battalion, Nebraska Army National Guard, a native of Atkinson, Neb., assembles rafters for construction of the roof of the new troop medical clinic on Forward Operating Base Andar, Afghanistan, April 23.  

GHAZNI PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN

04.29.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. andrew guffey 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

GHAZNI PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Construction of a new medical clinic at Forward Operating Base Andar, Afghanistan, is well under way and projected to be completed by the end of May.

Soldiers from the Nebraska National Guard’s 623rd Engineer Company, 1249th Engineer Battalion, are constructing the 3,300-square-foot clinic that will provide care soldiers from 2nd Bn., 2nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Inf. Division, Task Force Duke, as well as Afghan National Security Forces and contractors.

“We give the best care that is possible, and with this new facility, we will be able to provide better care and get the Soldiers back to the fight faster,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. David Cole, a 2nd Bn., 2nd Inf. Regt., surgeon and native of Whitehall, Ark.

Cole, along with other medical staff members, had a lot of input on how the new facility would be constructed.

“We needed a hard building that would be able to handle the elements,” said Cole.

The older facility is a 300 square-foot tent with two litters for treatment of patients, which is hard to climate control and tends to leak in adverse weather.

Cole said dust is another factor because it’s hard to seal up a tent, and a sterile environment is key to proper medical care.

The new facility is being built near the helicopter landing zone to provide quick access to the trauma center for incoming wounded. The extra space inside allows medics to accommodate more patients and separate them by priority.

“We needed to be able to handle more traumas more quickly,” Cole said.

There are 24 medics assigned to work at the clinic, split into three teams: a detail team, a training team and a team on duty at the clinic. The teams rotate daily but in the event of a mass casualty situation, they all report to the aid station for further instructions.

“This is one of the few jobs in the Army that doesn’t get to do their job on a daily basis so we need to be able to keep everyone up on the skills, these skills are very perishable,” said U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Rodney Bost, non-commissioned officer in charge of the clinic, and native of Philadelphia, Miss.

When construction is complete, the facility will have three screening rooms, four trauma beds, command offices, a pharmacy, a storage area and an area for the combat stress team.

• Date Taken: 04.29.2011
• Date Posted: 04.28.2011 19:08
• Story ID: 69516
• Location: GHAZNI PROVINCE, AF