Page 10 - Desert Lightning News 8-14-15

10 August 14, 2015
Warriors caring for warriors
Staff Sgt. Jerilyn Quintanilla
59th Medical Wing Public Affairs
JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACK-
LAND, Texas -- It is 6:30 p.m.
Most of San Antonio is winding down from
a full day’s work, settling in at home with
their families and friends. For Airmen from
the 559th En-Route Patient Staging System,
the day is just beginning as they make their
way to the office one-by-one.
Based out of the 59th Medical Wing head-
quartered at Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgi-
cal Center on Joint Base San Antonio-Lack-
land, the ERPSS unit was formerly known as
the Aeromedical Staging Facility.
“The ERPSS mission is to support the
transporting and caring for wounded war-
riors returning from deployments overseas,”
said Tech. Sgt. Crystal Beckham, ERPSS flight
chief. “San Antonio is the hub in the Midwest
for receiving patients, meaning the patients
who stay with us were deployed from some-
where in the Midwest region of the country.”
JBSA-Lackland is one of three stateside
installations supporting the Department of
the Defense’s aeromedical evacuation mis-
sion. Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and
Travis Air Force Base, California, also sup-
port aeromedical evacuation missions serv-
ing as the hubs for the East and West Coast
regions, respectively.
As soon as they receive a notification of an
incoming flight, the team goes into prepara-
tion mode. Like a well-oiled machine each
person has assigned tasks and they are re-
sponsible for making it happen.
“We have 12 people permanently assigned
to this team, which never seems like enough,”
Beckham said. “But we make it work. We’re
truly like a family and I think part of that is
because there are so few of us. It didn’t take
us long to learn each other’s personalities and
figure out each other’s strengths and weak-
nesses. I trust everyone in this team to do the
job and also to do my job.”
On mission days, organized chaos ensues
but there is a clear order of business and ev-
eryone has a vital part in it. “When we have
a mission, it’s all hands on deck,” added Beck-
ham. “I think it’s the single most important
thing that keeps us working together as well
as we do; we’re all in it together, working side-
by-side, mission after mission, regardless of
the time of day or day of the week.”
But not everything operates as smoothly as
the ERPSS team.
“The mission is as unpredictable as they
come so we have to be flexible and adapt,”
Desert Lightning News
www.aerotechnews.com/davis-monthanafb
Facebook.com/DesertLightningNews
U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Jerilyn Quintanilla
Tech. Sgt. Crystal Beckham, 559th En-Route Patient Staging System flight chief, gives the signal for wounded warriors to start being
moved off a C-17 Globemaster III from Mississippi’s 172nd Airlift Wing, July 23, at Kelly Air Field, Texas.
Beckham added, “AE flights can come in at on the Kelly Field flightline waiting for an AE
any time of the day; arrival and departure flight to arrive. As soon as the patients are
times can change in an instant.” transported off the plane and to Wilford Hall,
they are set up at the ERPSS facility.
Due to the erratic nature of their mission,
team leaders go the extra mile to ensure their Toting the slogan “Gateway to Recovery,”
troops get the time they need to recharge. the team’s focus is on two things: taking care
of the patient’s medical needs and ensuring
Our Airmen live the core value service be- they are as comfortable as possible.
fore self, day-in and day-out, said Tech. Sgt.
Kimberly Kemp, ERPSS NCO in charge. They To aid in eliminating stressors, the ERPSS
are out there on weekends and holidays at odd facility aims to create a home-like environ-
hours of the night and they do it with a great ment. Patients are given hot meals and snacks,
attitude. We’re always checking in with each and have access to modern conveniences like
other and making sure everyone has a good a workout room, wireless internet, a media
balance between work and home. room where they can watch movies and play
video games, and much more.
“Working here can be tough sometimes.
It’s hard to make plans with family and “I’m sure I speak for everyone on the team
friends because things can change anytime; when I say that being able to care for and hav-
we could get a call and have to start prep- ing a hand in reuniting them with their fami-
ping for a mission,” said Airman 1st Class lies is the greatest part of this job,” said Staff
Megan Pollard, ERPSS team member. “But Sgt. Travis Smith, ERPSS team lead and for-
when you see the wounded warriors and you mer ERPSS patient.
learn more about their cases, it puts every-
thing that you’re worried about or complain- Smith suffered from central serous neurop-
ing about back into perspective.” athy, a disorder affecting his eye sight, during
a deployment in 2014 and was ordered to be
That unique perspective is the other piece transported home.
that keeps the team united and going full-speed.
“There were several stops on the way back
“We never let ourselves forget that our pa- and each time we stopped, we were evaluated
tients are wounded warriors,” said Beckham. by a doctor to make sure we were able to en-
“Regardless of their service or the severity of dure the next leg of the trip,” he said. “The
their injuries, they’re all wounded warriors feeling of coming home after going through
and you can’t help but feel grateful to them all of that was the greatest feeling in the
and appreciative of what you have.” world. I view it as a privilege now to be able
to welcome these warriors home.”
Many nights the ERPSS team can be found