Courtesy Photo | Army Sgt. Amanda Marion, a medical specialist with C Company, 710th BSB, tends to a...... read more read more
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By Pfc. Melissa M. Escobar
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment
JALALABAD AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – When the first six Soldiers from the medical team with C Company, 710 Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, Task Force Spartan touched down here, they inherited a bigger and better aid station, but one that was in need of some improvement.
At the time, the building was occupied by Marine embedded trainers and served as the sleeping quarters for French troops, making it ill-equipped to receive patients.
When the building was finally cleared, the medical team of Soldiers, led by Army 1st Sgt. Danny Darroch, a native of Dodge City, Kan., was ready to begin the construction of the new aid station. With his guidance the team began to map out how it would transform the original sleeping quarters into a fully functional and operating aid station that would put the old single "B-hut" station before it to shame.
The trained medics would have to take on a new role. They would be part-time construction workers while remaining full-time medics.
"We didn't need engineers, we had medics," said the Army Capt. Lisa M. Dennis, commander, C Co., of Desoto, Texas.
The team had several challenges before it. The biggest challenge was to build up the station on their own without the expertise of engineers.
In order to accommodate the larger number of services the new aid station has to offer, such as X-rays, dental care, physical therapy, a laboratory and a pharmacy, the team needed to separate the new aid station.
The team members built partitions to give each new department moving into the aid station its own area, not to mention the fact that the station was in need of desks, cabinets and shelves the team was also responsible for building.
With construction projects going on in the aid station, the team managed to treat patients even as repairs went forward. Still, the team remained focused on marshalling resources necessary to achieve its vision for the future.
"When we first got here we were begging, borrowing and stealing to get anything we could to build the walls for rooms. The resources weren't available," explained Darroch.
Somehow they managed to complete the necessary projects to become fully operational in just three weeks.
"It was neat to have a vision in my head about how I wanted it to look and then watch it become real," Darroch said.
With several construction projects done and partitions up, the aid station officially opened the first week of March.
"I was very impressed when I came here to see the development that the team made," Dennis said.
The remainder of the crew joined the six soldiers here and picked up hammers and scrap lumber to build what they had needed to complete the aid station. Every piece of furniture, with the exception of three beds, was built by "Charlie Med."
Now the aid station door is open to receive those in need. Although it may seem like it is completed, it is a constant work in progress.
"There is always room for improvement but we're pretty confident with everything we've done here," Darroch explained.
| Date Taken: | 03.20.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 03.20.2007 11:31 |
| Story ID: | 9515 |
| Location: | JALALABAD, AF |
| Web Views: | 86 |
| Downloads: | 42 |
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