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It is a privilege to fill in and put together a guest blog.
The Boss . . .
I am 1SG Child, COL Phillips right hand man who makes things happen and takes care of the day to day business of running the hospital. I refer to COL Phillips as the Boss since he is my direct supervisor. The Boss is the father of the group while I (his 1SG) take on the role of the mother of the group taking care of Soldiers and Airmen's needs. It is a full time job and I am happy to be here in Afghanistan doing my trained job.Our Hospital's primary mission is to perform Combat Surgical Trauma.
Soldiers and Airmen perform their military occupation specialty -- saving lives. They learn about the day to day rigors of serving in a combat zone. I am in a unique position to observe and train different groups that come and go.
When a new rotation of Soldiers and Airmen come into the Hospital it is like the 1st day of school. There is a learning curve and after about a month they learn what their battle rhythm is and they get better at saving lives.
In our off duty time we train so we will keep sharp and stay busy.
After a few more months its time for them to leave and then we start all over again.So instead of having just one “1st day of school”, we get to have lots of 1st days.
A new 1st day with each new rotation, that run into months for us.
We do have some continuity with the Army folks who stay here for the duration.
I think each time we start over we get better and better at this.
Combined Joint Hospital Staff
Training:
MEDEVACS:
I feel it is an honor to serve with such outstanding Soldiers and Airmen of the Salerno Hospital in Afghanistan. I have seen all of our staff in action and they are truly living up to our hospital motto of "Caring for the Best," saving American, Coalition, and Afghani lives.
COL Richard Phillips, "The Boss", is the glue that holds everything together.
Hurry up and get home Father… (Your children miss you.)
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1SG David S. Child
Salerno Hospital
Task Force MED
FOB Salerno
CJTF-82 / 82nd ABN
Afghanistan
OEF VIII
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