The worst injury Staff Sgt. Robert Trahan has seen at his clinic since arriving
in Iraq wasn't a fellow soldier.
The wounded man was an insurgent.
The man had been eviscerated by a gunshot wound to his stomach, a release
from the 256th Brigade Combat Team indicates. When the man arrived at Trahan's
Troop Medical Clinic, he was stabilized and bandaged.
Today, he is in stable condition in the intensive care unit.
Staff Sgt. Robert Trahan, left, and Staff Sgt. Cory
McClinton check a ProPak 12 at the 199th Forward Support Battalion's troop
medical clinic. photo: U.S. Army SpC. Erin Robicheaux, 256th Brigade Combat
Team Public Affairs
"Everyone has their rules of engagement, and the health care profession of
the Army is no different," said Trahan, the clinic's noncommissioned officer in
charge with Charlie Med, 199th Forward Support Battalion of the 256th Brigade
Combat Team.
"Whatever happens out there doesn't matter, once the soldier or insurgent
hits our door, they become our patient. It's our job to care for them and do
everything possible to save their life," Trahan said.
The Charlie Medics' headquarters is the armory in St. Martinville.
The patient with the gunshot wound had been firing rocket-propelled grenades
at U.S. soldiers before he was shot, the release states.
A small group of soldiers who were involved in the firefight were outside the
clinic and at first protested the care of their enemy, Trahan said.
"Once we consoled the soldiers and made them understand that this is our job,
they were fine," Trahan said. "They sat outside and were calm about the
situation."
The Charlie Medics' clinic is a Level II treatment facility, equipped to
handle everything but surgery.
There is always a doctor on duty, or on call.
The facility includes a lab, an x-ray room, a trauma center, a dentist's
office, and, on Fridays, a therapist.
If surgery is required, patients are evacuated to the 31st Combat Support
Hospital, which is moments away by helicopter.
As a civilian, Staff Sgt. Cory McClinton worked on an ambulance, but being a
medic in the Tiger Brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III is the
learning experience of a lifetime, he said.
"I want to pursue a career in the medical field and now is the best time for
knowledge," he said.
McClinton, who runs the clinic's day shift, said there is no such thing as a
normal day.
"We see a lot of problems that are common for people who are new to this type
of climate, such as respiratory infections, vomiting and diarrhea," he said.
"Then you have the soldier who comes in with an allergic reaction like we've
never seen, to something that we just can't figure out. It makes you wonder what
they have out here."
The Charlie Medics' clinic is under constant renovations, the public affairs
release says.
Medical personnel hope to have a triage area set up soon.
Also, the clinic continues to get new equipment, including ProPaks that
record a patient's vital signs automatically, Trahan said.
The facility also is scheduled to receive two new electrocardiogram machine.
The Charlie Medics are part of the Louisiana National Guard's 256th Infantry
Brigade, attached to the 1st Cavalry Division.
The 4,000-strong brigade arrived in Iraq earlier this month.
The brigade's 3,000 Louisiana soldiers come from units in Abbeville,
Alexandria, Breaux Bridge, Crowley, New Iberia, Jeanerette, St. Martinville,
Fort Polk, Houma, Jonesboro, Lafayette, Lake Charles, Napoleonville,
Natchitoches, New Orleans, New Roads, Opelousas, Plaquemine, Shreveport and
Winnfield.
In addition, units from New York, Minnesota, Washington, Wisconsin and
Illinois are attached to the brigade.
The brigade trained this summer in Fort Hood, Texas, and Fort Irwin, Calif.
They left for Kuwait in October.
