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Meet Your Military: Airmen Support Ebola Operations
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PHOTO: An airman takes a passenger’s temperature at a temporary holding facility at Ramstein Air Base. RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany– As service members travel to Africa in support of Operation United Assistance, Ramstein Air Base continues to establish itself as a power projection platform for Europe and Africa. Germany, Oct. 19, 2014, after the passenger returned from West Africa. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Sara Keller Medical professionals from the 86th Medical Group recently implemented plans to ensure safety precautions are taken to protect the air crews, passengers and the 54,000 members of the Kaiserslautern Military Community from possible exposure to the Ebola virus.
Exposure assessments All personnel are screened before departing from Ebola-affected areas, and those categorized as “no known exposure” or “low risk of exposure” are allowed to board Air Force aircraft bound for Ramstein. “Transient aircrew members who are on the ground for only a few hours are actually below the lowest Center for Disease Control exposure category,” said Air Force Capt. Michael D’Amore, a flight surgeon assigned to the 86th Aerospace Medical Squadron. “Additionally, airmen from the 86th Airlift Wing that are located in the areas of the Ebola outbreak are kept within secure Department of Defense areas,” D’Amore said.
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Meet Your Military: Texas Guard Soldier Saves Roommate's Life
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PHOTO: Army Pfc. Wil Ledford is credited with saving the life of his roommate after an accident in their apartmentGRAPEVINE, Texas – A Texas Army National Guard soldier saved his roommate's life after the accidental discharge of a weapon in July. Ledford, of Grapevine, Texas, is a newly trained combat medic in the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Mike Perry Pfc. Wil Ledford, 19, of Grapevine, used skills and techniques he had learned just two months earlier while attending the Combat Medic School at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Ledford, a 2013 graduate of Southlake Carroll High School and a member of Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3-124th Cavalry Regiment in Wylie, said he was in his apartment when he heard a gunshot. He went into the next room, saw his roommate looking down at his leg, and asked, "Did you shoot yourself?" The matter-of-fact response was a somewhat casual, "Yeah."
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Meet Your Military: Soldier Pulls Grenade From Man's Leg
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PHOTO: Army Staff Sgt. David Mensink removed a grenade from a man's leg in an ambulance outside of the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, Ala., Oct. 11, 2014. Courtesy photo BIRMINGHAM, Ala., – An explosive ordnance disposal soldier removed a grenade from a man's leg in an ambulance outside of the University of Alabama Hospital here Oct. 11.
Army Staff Sgt. David Mensink from the 789th EOD Company, based at Fort Benning, Georgia, received a call from the Birmingham Police Department bomb squad around 1 a.m. The police sought Mensink's advice to determine what kind of explosive item was stuck in the man's leg. "From the initial X-ray, it looked like a 40mm grenade," said Mensink, a 27-year-old Iraq and Afghanistan veteran from Seale, Alabama.
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Meet Your Military: Captain Serves Nation Her Family Chose
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PHOTO: Army Capt. Susana Guerrero, a behavioral health officer, listens intently as one of her soldiers discusses the day’s cases at Camp Buehring, Kuwait, Oct. 3, 2014.CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait– A behavioral health officer serving here with 1st Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, has given more than 10 years of service as an enlisted soldier and as an Army officer. The El Salvador native immigrated to the United States with her family in 1980 and has served in the military for more than 10 years. U.S. Army photo by Maj. Fredrick Williams The desire to serve the country that gave her family a better chance in life was one of the main reasons Capt. Susana Guerrero said she enlisted in the Army. Guerrero and her family fled El Salvador in 1980 during the Salvadoran civil war and settled in the Washington, D.C., area. Her mother had immigrated to the United States in 1977 and left Guerrero, then 3 months old, with her grandmother until the family could be reunited. Guerrero’s grandmother died in 2008. “My grandmother was the most influential person in my life. She was the matriarch of our family,” Guerrero said. “She kept our family together and our values strong, always being there to listen and give life lessons through parables or stories.”
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Meet Your Military: Guard Soldier Aids Comrades Beyond Battlefield
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PHOTO: Army Staff Sgt. Pamela Pugh, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and 14-year member of the Tennessee National Guard, helped two homeless soldiers in her unit get a new start in their lives. LOBELVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 16, 2014 – Army Staff Sgt. Pamela Pugh, a veteran of Operation Enduring Freedom and 14-year member of the Tennessee National Guard, was contacted during the late summer by two of her fellow soldiers who found themselves homeless and in dire need of aid. Pugh guided them to resources and various support programs that aid current military personnel, veterans and their families. Courtesy photo A platoon sergeant for her unit here, Pugh immediately took the initiative to help her comrades in arms, not only by her own actions, but also with help of numerous resources now available to military personnel, veterans and their families.
“These are my soldiers. I take care of them every month, and they know I care about them whether on or off duty,” Pugh said. “They know they can call me any time, especially when they are having difficult moments in their life. I take extreme pride in helping these soldiers. They are like my family, like my kids, and I feel an obligation to assist them as best I can.” Study shows extent of veteran homelessness Battling homelessness among service members and veterans has become a priority in the United States.
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