Joint surgical team provides vital mission capability

Photo By 94th Airlift Wing | Members of the Forward Surgical Team assigned to Forward Operating Base Wright perform surgery on a trauma patient at the installations medical center. The FST is a joint team made up of Active Duty and Reserve Army members, as well as Air Force augmentee's and provides front line trauma care.  

KUNAR, AFGHANISTAN

03.24.2012

Story by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Marasky 

Provincial Reconstruction Team Kunar

KUNAR, Afghanistan - In 1972 the TV show M*A*S*H aired and portrayed the lives of forward operating surgeons during the Korean War.

Forty years later, doctors and nurses from the 948th Forward Surgical Team, assigned to Forward Operating Base Wright, in the Kunar province of Afghanistan, are conducting the same mission.

The FST provides trauma care to military members who are wounded in combat, as well as civilians from the local area who are injured.

“The goal of the FST is to provide immediate trauma care to medical patients in the ‘golden hour’,” said Army Reserve Captain Robert Niccolini, 948th FST commander, a native of Anderson IN., deployed from Southfield, Mich.

“What we’re finding out is that a lot of times when we have death to patients, it’s because they need medical attention faster than they can be medically evacuated to a base further back,” he said.

The need for a forward unit is particularly important in the mountainous area of the Kunar province according to Army Reserve Staff Sgt. Jeremy Johnston, 948th detachment sergeant, a native of Wayne, Mich.

“There are special considerations for the brain in our area of operation,” he said. “The air here is already thinner, so when you have traumatic blood loss, it’s that much more important to get expedient surgical attention.”

There are other valuable benefits to the FST beyond saving lives according to Johnston.

“I see the FST as a bit of a force multiplier, particularly with this dynamic mission we’re accomplishing out here in helping and befriending the people of Afghanistan,” he said. “We can make more friends in a day than other companies can in a month, just by giving compassionate care to people’s families.”

The team that conducts this important mission is almost as complex as the mission itself, as the 948th FST is a reserve unit, and is augmented with active duty Army, as well as Air Force members to form a joint unit at FOB Wright.

“I was a little apprehensive at first with all these different groups,” said Niccolini. “But the Air Force personnel have blended in since day one, it feels more like they’re part of the team we’re going home with than not.”

Working in the joint environment has provided numerous benefits to the team, particularly Air Force Captain Michelle Woodie, assigned to the FST from 779th Medical Operations Squadron at Joint Base Andrews, Md.

“This type of opportunity gives you chances to learn new things, have new experiences, and see different ways to accomplish the mission,” she said. “This has really enhanced my critical thinking skills and my patient care overall.”

A major benefit to the incoming team was Army Major April Turner, a native of Little Rock, Ark., and deployed from Ft. Leonard Wood, Mo., who stayed with the FST as the team took over for 102nd FST in January, according to Niccolini.

“Major Turner has been a great help to us, I couldn’t imagine not having her here for the interim,” he said. “She was here with the old team and then into the new team, we’ve just been very lucky to have her here to help us with the transition.”

For Turner, the opportunity to work at FOB Wright with the FST has been a rewarding experience.

“I’m proud to serve and do what I can, medicine has been my life since I was 12 years old, and I was trying to get to this point,” she said. “To take care of patients, and to take care of them appropriately, gives you more than one level of accomplishment.”

Another important aspect of being part of the team on FOB Wright is working with the other units on the base, such as the Provincial Reconstruction Team and the Agricultural Development Team.

“I feel it’s truly heart-warming to see how much support we get from the other units,” said Turner. “I’ve seen the PRT commander over here mopping up blood off the floor, and we’ve had thirty soldiers sitting quietly, waiting to be litter bearers when you only have one patient, but they just wait there quietly to do whatever they can to help out. It’s just heart-warming to see that.”

At the end of the day, playing a part in the crucial mission the FST conducts while forward deployed to the border of Afghanistan is a rare opportunity not to be missed according to Johnston.

“Right now there’s nowhere in the world I’d rather be. I’m here doing my duty to help our soldiers get home as safely as I can,” he said. “This is probably one of the most important things I’ll wind up doing in my life, and I’m just happy to be here and do my part.”

• Date Taken: 03.24.2012
• Date Posted: 03.24.2012 04:51
• Story ID: 85740
• Location: KUNAR, AF