4th CAB earns four aerospace medicine awards

Photo By Sgt. Sean Harriman | Maj. Matthew Hoefer stands in front of the troop medical clinic in Camp Marmal, Mazar-e Sharif, Afghanistan, during the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division’s deployment as part of the Presidential Surge 2010 - 2011. Hoefer, the 4th CAB flight surgeon, and three other 4th CAB medical soldiers, have been recognized for their outstanding work in the field of aerospace medicine with awards, including the Maj. Gen. Spurgeon Neel Flight Surgeon of the Year 2011 award.  

CAMP MARMAL, AFGHANISTAN

05.04.2011

Story by Sgt. Sean Harriman 

1st Armored Division Combat Aviation Brigade

CAMP MARMAL, Afghanistan - Four American soldiers in the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade won high honors from the Society of U.S. Army Flight Surgeons, announced May 3 as the soldiers approach the last two months of a year-long deployment to Afghanistan as part of the Presidential Surge.

Maj. Matthew Hoefer, the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division flight surgeon, earned the 2011 Spurgeon Neel Award for Flight Surgeon of the Year in recognition of his outstanding service during the tour in Afghanistan.

“It’s a great honor,” Hoefer said. “It’s nice because it’s recognition from peers that your work is being noticed.”

Named for Maj. Gen. Spurgeon Neel, MD, a United States Army physician who pioneered the development of aeromedical evacuation of battlefield casualties, the recognition of Hoefer as Flight Surgeon of the Year is both a testament to his skill and dedication as a medical practitioner and of that as a U.S. Army soldier.

Col. Daniel Williams, 4th CAB commander, had ample praise for Maj. Hoefer’s efforts since the day he arrived. “Within hours of stepping off of the airplane last July, he was in the back of a Chinook on his first mass casualty mission in support of Afghan national security forces and U.S. special operations,” he said. “In fact, he earned the coveted Combat Medical Badge before he was awarded his 4th ID combat patch.”

Also recognized were Capt. Phillip Berntson of Task Force Comanche, Capt. Todd Heins of the 404th Aviation Support Battalion, and Capt. Robert Olivi of Task Force Gambler, for their service as aeromedical providers, receiving the Outstanding Achievement Award on behalf of the Society of U.S. Army Flight Surgeons.

“Our medical soldiers, to include our doctors, medics and physician’s assistants, all led from the front and rose to the occasion during the Presidential Surge, and I am glad they got the recognition for their contributions and for their sacrifice and that of their families,” Williams said.

The awardees will be recognized during the annual Aerospace Medicine Association conference, held in Anchorage, Alaska, though the soldiers will be unable to attend due to their deployed status.

Though Hoefer will continue his work in lieu of the ceremony, he said it’s why he’s here. “I love what I do,” he said, “and I think there’s no more honorable profession in the world than taking care of America’s warriors.”

• Date Taken: 05.04.2011
• Date Posted: 05.04.2011 16:20
• Story ID: 69848
• Location: CAMP MARMAL, AF