NHB received orders February 2003 to allocate, ready and deploy personnel to stand up and support a 116–bed Expeditionary Medical Facility (EMF) to Rota in support of Operations Enduring/Iraqi Freedom (OEF/OIF) and possible future contingencies. “We were materially ready thanks to good preparation and training, but we had no idea what to expect or how it would affect our own lives.” Jackson, who deployed from March to September 2003 as leading chief petty officer for Fleet Hospital Eight Surgical Services. “I don’t recall exactly when I knew that Fleet Hospital Eight would play a major role, but soon after 9/11, we knew something was ramping up,” recalled retired Hospital Corpsman Chief Steven C. The time spent brought many to the forefront of their chosen Navy Medicine profession, in ways that forever remain etched in their professional bearing and personal mindset. Yet the decade for many NHB staff members, some who did multiple deployments, produced more than simple statistics and accumulated data. NHB staff members were directly involved in assisting with caring for the almost 3,500 American troop fatalities and the approximately 32,000 service men and women wounded throughout OIF and OND. Naval Base Rota Spain in early 2003 to gear up for Operation Iraqi Freedom, and also deployed approximately 200 additional staff members to help run Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait that rendered support to the ground mission just north of the Kuwaiti border inside Iraq through 2011. NHB sent nearly 300 staff members to augment Fleet Hospital Eight at U.S. They embedded with various units which included Marines 1st Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 1st Medical Battalion, Special Warfare Group Iraq, 20th Seabee Readiness Group, Civil Affairs, Warrior Transition Team, 1st Marine Expeditionary Forces, 3d Marine Air Wing, 1st Marine Logistic Group and 1st Force Service Support Group, and 28th Combat Support Hospital. They were also there during the surgeries and surges in the battle-scarred years to follow.Īt the onset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, March 20, 2003, to the final days of Operation New Dawn in 2011, Naval Hospital Bremerton staff members continually deployed for medical support inside and out of Iraq.įrom the Kuwait/Iraq border on up to cities along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, from Baghdad’s Green Zone to the western desert of Anbar Province, and a host of contested locales in between, NHB doctors, nurses, hospital corpsmen, and support staff were there. They were there - slogged and sutured - at the very beginning. Navy Medicine Operational Training Command.Naval Medical Leader and Professional Development Command.Naval Medical Readiness Logistic Command.Navy and Marine Corps Force Health Protection Command.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |