Today’s Navy Reserve: Sailors from across the nation provide critical support in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Photo By Cmdr. Jesse Ehrenfeld | A diverse group of Navy Reservists from 22 states make up 50 percent of the staff of the NATO Role 3 Multinational Medical Unit on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. This combat trauma hospital is the primary trauma receiving and referral center for all combat casualties in Southern Afghanistan.  

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AFGHANISTAN

03.02.2015

Story by Lt.Cmdr. Jesse Ehrenfeld 

NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan - On March 3, 2015, the Navy Reserve will reach the extraordinary milestone of turning 100, 100 years of providing critical supplemental service to the United States Navy. “Ready Now. Anytime, Anywhere” translates to over 58,000 Full Time Support and Selected Reservists serving across the world in varying capacities: 2,366 of those are currently mobilized, including 764 sailors across the Central Command.

NATO Role III Multinational Medical Unit

At the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Role III Multinational Medical Unit (MMU) on Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan, Active Duty and Reserve Sailors work side by side with little cognizance of their component status – seamlessly operating a 35 million dollar facility and working together to provide regional trauma care to U.S. and coalition forces. In an 86 personnel Navy Unit, Reservists provide essential medical services: Psychiatry, Orthopedic Surgery, Radiology, Physical Therapy, Emergency Medicine & Anesthesiology – and many other health care services found at stateside medical treatment facilitates.

Our Reservists

Fifty percent of the NATO Role 3 is staffed by Navy Reservists, which represent sailors from all over the U.S. – from Nashville to Seattle and Boston to Miami. Our Reservists are diverse: with several born outside the United States in places like Nicaragua, Haiti, and the Philippines. They represent 32 Navy Operational Support Centers from 22 different states. They work across the hospital in every department including the Intensive Care Unit, Operating Room, Supply, Laboratory, Operations, and the Emergency Department. Their ranks range from E4 to O6.

Many of the Reservists at Role 3 bring unique skills to our command from the private sector – each with their own unique story:

• Logistics Specialist 2nd Class Julianne Boeddiker from Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Tucson, Arizona, is a government civilian supporting the Department of Defense. She is the sole supply ordering authority for the Role 3 allowing for continued patient care throughout the hospital. A prior Yeoman, she has eight years of prior active duty service.

• Lt. Cmdr. Jesse Ehrenfeld, a physician anesthesiologist, from NOSC Nashville is on the faculty at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he has published 12 clinical textbooks and over 80 original research articles. At the Role 3, he has served as the Anesthesiology Division Officer, CME Coordinator, and Public Affairs Officer, in addition to providing care for countless surgeries, including several neurosurgical cases.

• Chief Hospital Corpsman Amy Johnson from NOSC Minneapolis is an Optician in Coon Rapids, MN. This is her fifth deployment with the Navy Reserves. At the Role 3, she is the Senior Enlisted Leader for four Departments supporting the Director for Nursing Services.

• Out of NOSC San Diego, the Director for Nursing Services (DNS) Capt. Susan Perry Tye manages all Nursing Services with 37 personnel assigned to the Emergency Department, Main Operating Room, Intensive Care Unit and Inpatient ward. Her active and reserve military career spans over 36 years. Currently in her third mobilization, back home she works for Scripps Health in San Diego, where since 2007 she has held a variety of Nurse Manager and Project Manager roles.

• Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Lakicha Ellzey from NOSC Washington, is a government civilian working at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland. She is currently serving as Lead Petty Officer for NATO Role 3's Laboratory Department. She has eight years of prior active duty service.

• Hailing from NOSC Pittsburgh, Lt. Ashley Weimer is a Clinical Consultant with Thoratec Corporation, where she leads national and international surgical training programs and provides operating room assistance, outcomes enhancement, and hospital and community education for ventricular assist devices. She is also maintains her Acute Care Nurse Practitioner certification. At the NATO Role 3, she is a nurse and training officer in the ICU. She has served three years as an officer in the Navy Reserves.

• Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Marie Frantz Pardieu from NOSC New York City, is the Patient Administration Department and Tactical Operations Center (PAD/TOC) Assistant Lead Petty Officer supporting 24/7 patient and casualty operations for the Role 3’s Area of Responsibility. Back in New York, she is a surgical nurse supporting Kings County Hospital Center.

• Lt. Cmdr. Thomas Bailey from Navy Operational Support Center (NOSC) Orlando, FL is a government civilian working at Tampa Veterans Affairs Medical Center. He is currently serving as the sole pharmacist aboard the NATO Role 3 providing 24/7 inpatient and outpatient pharmacy services. He served five years as an enlisted and six years as an officer prior to joining the Navy Reserves.

Reserve Impact

One hundred years of the U.S. Navy Reserves. It all began during the onset of World War I when the then Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels, and the Assistant Secretary of the Navy Franklin D. Roosevelt, signed the US Navy Reserves into legislation. During World War II, ten out of eleven Sailors were Reservists. On Sept. 14, 2001, the USNS Comfort was activated and sent to Pier 92 in Manhattan to assist in medical care in response to the terrorist attacks; since then – thousands of Reservists have been activated in response to Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and now Resolute Support Mission. The Chief of the Navy Reserve, captured the spirit of the component when she said:

“Today’s Navy Reserve is an essential element of America’s Navy. Each day Navy Reserve Sailors provide global operational support to fleet and combatant commanders using skill sets they hone through both military and civilian training. It is this breadth and depth of experience, unique to the Citizen Sailor that enhances operational readiness, provides strategic depth, and strengthens the fabric of our force.”

-- Vice Admiral Robin R. Braun, Chief of the Navy Reserve, 2012

• Date Taken: 03.02.2015
• Date Posted: 03.02.2015 09:10
• Story ID: 155681
• Location: KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF
• Hometown: COON RAPIDS, MN, US
• Hometown: NASHVILLE, TN, US
• Hometown: NEW YORK, NY, US
• Hometown: ORLANDO, FL, US
• Hometown: PITTSBURGH, PA, US
• Hometown: SAN DIEGO, CA, US
• Hometown: TUCSON, AZ, US
• Hometown: WASHINGTON, DC, US