My name is Master Sergeant , Corey
Oakley . I'm with the 944 Fighter wing ,
a medical staging squadron . So I'm in
the Air Force for 19 years . My main
job is medical logistics . So I support
the medical mission with the air force .
Always been in the reserve . A large
part of why I joined the air force is I
grew up next to an air force base . It
has since closed , but I grew up next
to an air force base . So that had a
lot to do with me joining the air force
as opposed to army Marines Navy , the
Reserve . I just like the idea of being
able to be a citizen airman , still
have my civilian job and be able to
fight for and defend our country when
needed . So I've been with the 944
Fighter Wing for a little under three
years . And my civilian job at the same
time , I got a promotion , a new
management promotion . So life was
looking good . And about three months
after that , in March of 2021 I was
informed , I needed to fill a short
task deployment to Afghanistan . Um
This was a little bit interesting to me
since we were supposed to be leaving
Afghanistan . So I wasn't quite sure
why I was going . But uh nevertheless ,
I was , I was there to answer the call ,
you know , so starting at the beginning
being in Bagram , um we knew that we
were part of a part of history there .
Um Not knowing what was going to take
place after that closing down . Uh
Craig Joint Theater hospital is in the
medical community . That's , that's
monumental . The hospital has been
there for around 20 years uh named
after a an army combat medic who was
basically killed in the line of duty ,
gave his life to save others . And
that's why the hospital was named after
him . Moving on to Kabul , had no
idea what that was going to entail and
how big that was going to be on . You
know , the world , the world platform .
However , we did get security briefs
every week where you could see the
Taliban was closing in and starting to
surround the capital city of Kabul ,
right where we were at a little nerve
wracking . You see , you see them
moving in and surrounding you and
really at that point , your only way
out is air support . But even that at
the time uh was a little dangerous .
So as we're doing all the all of the
planning and we saw the Taliban closing
in closer and closer to Kabul , we just ,
we I knew , you know , it was a matter
of time before they were going to be at
our doorstep . And that's exactly what
happened . They took over the capital
and once they did that local citizens
started to panic and they came and
rushed the , uh , where they rushed the
airport in the airfield . Um , because
that was their only way out , you know ,
they , they , they were scared , they
were terrified . They , they wanted a
way out . Um So that's what prompted
everything . And shortly thereafter ,
we started the , the evacuations , um
is about a week and a half later ,
after those tens of thousands of people
started gathering at the gate that we
were getting reports of possible
attacks and suicide bombs . Um So we're
taking things very , very seriously .
Um And unfortunately , on Aug August ,
on August 26th at about 5:50 p.m.
suicide bomb did go off and we received
an influx of 70 plus patients uh during
a mass cow ,
we prepared the best we could . Um So
basically battle rattle , full battle
rattle helmet , uh 24 7 . Um those
sorts of things when the mass cow
happened , I had just left the hospital ,
went back to my dorm room and I was
there for 10 minutes and then we get an
alert that there's uh a mass casualty
event . Mass casualty can be anywhere
from a handful of people up to , you
know , um thousands or , you know ,
however you wanna categorize it . Um ,
so we went , weren't sure how many
people we were , we were going to get
because I did not hear the bomb go off .
Um , but when we showed up just people
upon people just , just started showing
up in vehicles of opportunity , marines
driving their , their friends who were
injured , uh , driving them in on
flatbed trucks , just whatever they
could find . Um , the proximity of the
bomb as the crow flies was only about
three quarters of a mile from the
hospital . Um , the route they had to
drive was about 2.5 miles to get around
the airfield to the hospital . Um , but
when the casualties started showing up ,
um , I can only explain it as something
that you see in a movie . You know ,
you kind of want , you watch these
movies , you wonder if they're real ,
if that's how things really happen . A
lot of it , I'm sure is far fetched .
But for me , the only way I can explain
it , it was , it was like a movie just ,
um , people upon people that were , um ,
you know , victims of the bomb just
kept , kept showing up . Um , it was
very , I don't wanna say chaotic
because there was a lot going on
because we all knew we were supposed to
do . There was just , there was a lot
going on at one time . One of the
biggest reasons I like to share now is
because there were 13 members who were
killed in that suicide attack . Um ,
they cannot be forgotten . You know ,
us medical personnel who were , there
were very close to that . We brought
all 13 of them in . Um , I
myself made sure that we had the
caskets and the flags . Um , and then
beyond that , we still forget that
there were other us soldiers that were ,
that were injured , that they survived ,
but they injured , they were injured
and they don't get talked about that
much as well . Um , you know , they put
their lives on the line . So a large
part of this talking about it is making
sure that they're not forgotten for
sure . And then there's a large part of
this that is just bringing awareness to
individuals and letting people know
that , you know , things like this can
happen that are unpredictable and you
just need to be prepared . Um , but at
the same time , you might come across
an accident on the freeway or God
forbid an active shooter or something
of that nature . You know , all your
training you get here will be put to
good use . Um , you know , any time
anywhere . So just stick with it . It's ,
you know , anything you get on this
side , uh , on the military side in
uniform , um , you can use them on the
civilian side . So .