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In-House Care - Strikers Take Care of Fellow Soldiers

By Pfc. April Campbell

Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs

Providing proper healthcare for Soldiers while they are deployed to Iraq is a challenge tackled by fellow Soldiers within the unit.

This is the case for deployed Soldiers of the 3rd Special Troops Battalion and the 64th Brigade Support Battalion, both with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division. Medical professionals from both units currently work together at an aid station at Camp Taji, Iraq, to ensure proper medical treatment for the Soldiers here.

"Right now at Striker Village on Camp Taji, we're setting up a Level II aid station combined with 64th BSB. We'll cover down on each other's Soldiers for sick call and any trauma (patients) we have," said 1st Lt. Darryl Sandberg, battalion physician's assistant with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd STB.

Noonday, Texas, native Pfc. Kelly Jones, left, a healthcare specialist with Company C, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, prepares to take the vital signs of Sacramento, Calif., native Pvt. Nigel Lane, also a healthcare specialist with Co. C, 64th BSB, during a training exam at the Striker Aid Station near the 3rd BCT headquarters on Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 16. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. April Campbell, Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs)

Sandberg, a Leadville, Colo., native, is one of three healthcare providers at the aid station. This combination of providers enables the clinic to offer a higher quality of treatment to the Soldiers who visit.

Because Soldiers who attend sick call may be seen by any one of the three professionals, Sandberg and his colleagues split their schedule so someone is on call for 24 hours every three days.

"In those 48 hours (that we are not on call), we do some follow up (on our patients)," he said, "and see anyone from our own battalion who needs to be seen."

Noonday, Texas, native Pfc. Kelly Jones, a combat medic with Company C, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, takes the blood pressure of a fellow Soldier during a practice exam at the Striker Aid Station near the 3rd BCT headquarters on Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 16. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. April Campbell, Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs)

Combining the two healthcare units has also helped give Soldiers in the 3rd STB access to a more advanced facility.

Because 64th BSB has an entire company of medical Soldiers (Company C), they have more people and equipment allowing them a Level II facility with a lab, an X-ray machine and physical therapy. The 3rd STB, alone, has only enough Soldiers to maintain a Level I facility, said Sandberg.

Combining the medics and doctors from the two battalions allows for more accessible healthcare. But, there are still unique challenges presented by a deployed environment the medical units must overcome to take care of the Soldiers' medical needs.

Noonday, Texas, native Pfc. Kelly Jones, a combat medic with Company C, 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, prepares to take out an intravenous tube from the arm of a fellow medic during a training exam at the Striker Aid Station near the 3rd BCT headquarters on Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 16.(U.S. Army photo by Pfc. April Campbell, Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs)

"In garrison you don't have the dust, the mud and the cold. You're not really going to see too many people come in with their (Improved Outer Tactical Vests) on or carrying their weapons, and we have to make allowances for that," said Pfc. Kelly Jones, combat medic with Co. C, 64th BSB.

Transporting sick or injured Soldiers is easiler at the home station, added the Noonday, Texas, native.

Sometimes, when Soldiers become sick or injured, they need to be seen by a professional specializing in a certain type of medicine.

Sandberg, who is deployed as a physician's assistant for the first time, sent two Soldiers on a helicopter to see a specialist at a medical facility on another camp in Baghdad earlier this month. Sandberg previously deployed as an infantryman during Operation Desert Storm.

Leadville, Colo., native 1st Lt. Darryl Sandberg, the battalion physician's assistant with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3rd Special Troops Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, performs an abdominal exam on a Soldier during a practice exam at the Striker Aid Station near the 3rd BCT headquarters on Camp Taji, Iraq, Jan. 16. (U.S. Army photo by Pfc. April Campbell, Multi-National Division - Baghdad Public Affairs)

However, not every Soldier needs to be sent to see a specialist. Many Soldiers are treated at the facility here, often during normal sick call hours.

Spc. Rajbir Singh, a radio and telephone operator with the Command Security Detachment, Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 3rd BCT, 4th Inf. Div., said he attended sick call after experiencing cold symptoms.

"The care was expedient," said the Upper Darby, Pa., native. "The medic gave me a pre-made cold pack including medicine for congestion, sore throat and aches. I was able to return to duty that day."

As the 3rd BCT moves further into its deployment, the medical professionals with the 64th BSB and 3rd STB will continue to overcome the challenges of providing quality medical care to fellow Soldiers.