Photo By Sgt. Kayla Benson | Spc. William Casperson, a medical laboratory technician with the 987th Blood Support...... read more read more
FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, Calif. - Located in the back corner of the Combat Support Hospital in Camp Schoonover at Fort Hunter Liggett, Calif. is the 987th Blood Support Detachment’s field blood drive. Using only three tents, the small team of eight soldiers drew, packed, and prepared blood to be flown to San Diego and stored for future use during Warrior Exercise, June 22, 2012.
Throughout the day, service members were invited in to the tent to give blood. By 10 a.m., more than 10 soldiers had donated, all on a volunteer basis.
These citizen-soldiers, both the donors and the medical laboratory technicians, do these acts of service because they hold the seven Army values close to their heart.
Loyalty is bearing true faith and allegiance to the U.S. Constitution, the Army, and other soldiers. It means being loyal to the nation and its heritage.
The soldiers operating the blood drive during WAREX are loyal to those they serve.
“You have to be loyal to your patients and know how they’re feeling, and never leave them alone,” said Spc. Brittney Bentz, a medic with the 6250th U.S. Army Hospital who was attached to the 987th BSD during the blood drive.
Bentz greeted each volunteer with a bright smile. She was responsible for checking the vitals of each donor. She checked their blood pressure, body temperature and iron count.
The 987th BSD also showed loyalty to the volunteers by escorting the donors to a waiting room to recuperate after their blood was drawn to make sure they were feeling well.
Duty includes fulfilling your obligations, accepting responsibility for your own actions and those entrusted to your care. One finds opportunities to improve oneself for the good of the group.
The 987th BSD fulfills their duty of providing clean, usable blood to the military.
“We have to make sure that we don’t use any shortcuts in our processes,” said 1st Lt. Barbara Blanke, the chief of laboratory services with the 987th BSD. “We have to be really honest about maintaining our SOPs, our standard operating procedures, that we don’t shortcut and do anything that would possibly cause harm to any other soldier.”
Blanke’s role in the WAREX blood drive was reviewing the service members’ medical history and personnel information, as well as assigning each donor with blood bags and vials to take to the medical laboratory technicians. Blanke talked and joked with the volunteers moving through the tent.
If someone volunteered to donate blood and had a slight temperature, it would be really easy for the medical laboratory technician to say it’s OK, but then something could then happen later down the road that causes serious problems, explained Blanke.
Respect is relying on the Golden Rule. How a soldier considers others reflects upon the Army, both personally and as a professional organization.
The 987th respected the choice of the individual, as well as their donors’ status.
“This is a selfless act. These individuals are all volunteers,” said Cpt. Robert Valencia, the commander of the 987th BSD. “The people on the [camp] that are coming through… give up their time to give up that blood to make things happen. Not everyone does it,” he said.
Valencia, being the commander of the unit, had the job of overseeing the entire operation. One could find him floating between the different stations, making sure not just his team was doing well, but that the volunteers knew where they were going and answering any questions they had.
“Respect is a big thing,” said Bentz. “Because if you were in [the patients’] position, you would want them to treat you with respect.”
Soldiers with the 987th BSD respect each individual that comes to them, constantly checking on their status and ensuring they are comfortable.
Selfless Service is putting the welfare of the nation, the Army and your subordinates before your own. It leads to organizational teamwork and encompasses discipline, self-control and faith in the system.
“We provide for our own soldiers,” said Spc. Katelyn Davis, a medical laboratory technician with the 987th BSD. “We’re making sure our soldiers out there are OK by doing what we can here.”
Davis is the team leader of the medical laboratory technicians, overseeing her peers as they drew blood from the volunteers. An obvious expert in her field, she took on the tough donors with hard-to-see or very small veins who came through and made final decisions.
The 987th used selfless service to consider the completion of the overall mission, rather than their own needs. They quickly moved as a team to ensure each part of the operation was done efficiently.
Honor is living up to all the Army values.
“I think the Army values play a role in everything that we do,” said Davis. “With our job specifically, I think there’s a lot of attention to detail and you have to use and incorporate all of [the Army values] to make sure you do your job right,” she said.
The 987th BSD use each Army value from the beginning of a blood drive, when service members are briefed and interviewed, to the end, when they escort the donor to the recuperation room.
Integrity is doing what is right, legally and morally. It is being willing to do what is right even when no one is looking.
Each service member must answer questions regarding their lifestyle choices and a brief medical history before donating blood. The interviewer sits down with each donor and quietly asks him or her the questions, instructing the volunteer to only answer with a ‘yes’ or ‘no.’
The 987th BSD shows integrity by keeping the answers private and confidential.
“Everything about the blood supply has to do with integrity,” said Blanke. “Integrity has a lot to do with making sure the blood supply is as safe as it can be.”
“We certainly ask some personal questions,” she added. “I know that may seem a little bit strange, but our job is to try to protect everyone. Blood is a lifesaving, amazing organ.”
Personal Courage is the ability to face fear, danger or adversity. It is physical, emotional, and moral.
Many of the medical laboratory technicians were working in the field for the first time. They use personal courage to face any doubts they have, and to focus on the overall mission of the blood drive.
“This is the first time ever in the field environment our soldiers are doing this,” said Valencia. “It takes a lot of strength within to contain to do what these guys do. In a crisis situation… you have to have that person to stick those individuals, be sustaining those operations and to be able to look out for their fellow Soldier,” he said.
The seven Army values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. Together, these values are the building blocks that make up a soldier.
These values are based on the same ideals our nation was founded by and the fundamentals of the Constitution.
The 987th BSD soldiers live those values every day to ensure they are providing their fellow troops with quality blood to save lives.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2012 02:45 |
| Story ID: | 91563 |
| Location: | FORT HUNTER LIGGETT, CA, US |
| Hometown: | OGDEN, UT, US |
| Web Views: | 93 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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