Bataan Death March

Written by: HM2 Joshua Dancel

The Bataan Death March was one of the darkest hours of the Alliance between the United States of America and the Philippines during World War II. About 75,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war captured by the Imperial Army of Japan after the Fall of Bataan in 1942 were forced to march 60 miles from the Bataan peninsula prison camps to concentration camps in Capaz, Tarlac without food and just one sip of water. Under the sweltering summer heat, the prisoners were mercilessly murdered along the 60-mile hump. Anyone who complained, was too weak to march or helped those who could not walk or stopped were all summarily beheaded, shot, had throats cut, or were run over by trucks that were travelling behind them. For the next five days, bodies of American and Filipino soldiers littered the dirt road as testimonies to the brutal cruelty of the Japanese Imperial soldiers. It was estimated that out of the 75,000 prisoners, only about 54,000 made it their destination alive.

So as not to forget their ultimate sacrifice in the name of freedom and democracy, Expeditionary Medical Faciltiy Kuwait warriors participated in the first Bataan Memorial Death March in Camp Arafjan on 21 March 2010 carrying 35 pound packs and marching 12.5 miles.

Warrior Spotlight - Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait

The United States indeed is the land of opportunity for those who earnestly seek it. LCDR Amer Skopic, would attest to this fact.

Originally from war-torn Bosnia, LCDR Skopic was only 17 years old when he and his family were expelled from Bosnia as part of a so-called “ethnic cleansing” being instigated by Serbians in that part of the world.

He and his family resided in a Serb “occupied town” for a year before being expelled from the country he called home. “My family was offered asylum in the United States after my father was freed by the Red Cross from one of the Serb held concentration camps,” LCDR Skopic said.

Despite the harsh experience his family went through, it did not daunt this young Bosnian’s will to pursue his dreams of becoming a medical doctor in a foreign country that welcomed them with open arms.

LCDR Skopic enrolled at the Central Connecticut State University from 1993 to 1997. He worked as Certified Nursing Assistant through those years and two years after graduation, he was accepted to Medical School, completing his M.D. in 2003. He went on to specialize in Gastroenterology.

Now 36 years of age, LCDR Skopic and his wife Carrie Skopic, have two children, Ramajana, 3 years, and Zerin, 11 months. He is currently stationed at the National Naval Medical Center (NNMC) in Bethesda, MD.

He has been on active duty with the United States Navy for six years in the Medical Corps, but has been in the Navy Reserves since 1999. “I joined the Navy for multiple reasons, including the opportunity to serve and give back to country that provided so much for me and my family,” he said.

What he thought violence, hatred, and war took away from him and his family, he got back more than a hundred fold through the help of the Navy in the country he now calls home.

A special patient at Camp Buehring TMC

On March 9th 2010 the troop medical clinic (TMC) at Camp Buehring was visited by a very important patient. “Nina” from the Camp Buehring K-9 unit was brought to the TMC for a bad rash on her back. Working hand in hand with Sgt Kohler from the Army’s 719th MDVS unit Dr. Holmes assessed and recommended a course of treatment for the patient.

The TMC has continued its partnership with the 719th MDVS unit and has provided other services such as x-rays and laboratory testing for dogs of the Camp Buehring K-9 unit.

Welcome Juliet Detachment!

Friends and families of EMFK,

Welcome to the first blog of Juliet detachment. All of India detachment has sailed onto the next leg of their voyage, and Juliet’s 1st wave is boots on the ground and takin’ charge. We currently are running leaner than India, with ~160 of our 207 warriors here doing what needs to be done. And they are doing an amazing job. This further proves the resiliency and innovation of a US Navy Sailor. When a knockout punch is thrown, we do a little sidestep, and get back in the fight meaner and leaner than ever. We’re proving the outstanding medical care that our colleagues out here have come to expect from us, without a stumble at all. Well done Warriors!

We will continue to get reinforcements for the next couple of months. As we do we will adjust fire on the projects we have ongoing, and will be able to step up the pace on our efforts to become even more effective an efficient in the fight against terror. As our nation transitions from Operation Iraqi Freedom to Operation Enduring Freedom, our priorities will change, and we will adapt to meet them. We are continuing to actively prepare for the transition from a Navy facility to an Army facility in the near future.

For families that are new to EMFK, I’m going to reprint some information from the 1st blog on how to contact us. Part of my goal in having this blog is to ensure you keep in touch with your warrior should there be an accident or disaster over here. I also what to ensure you know how to get help for any concerns you may have about family, pay, orders, or anything on your mind.
Please read the section below, and don’t be afraid to call.
Until next time, be safe, and stay in touch!
R/
CAPT Welling
CO, EMFK

Please remember these ways to contact your warrior, or get emergency information to/from them should you need to. As always, myself, the XO and the CMC, along with our spouses are here to help.

Please print this out and put it on your refrigerator, or in some other place you can find it should you need it. If you have an emergency at home, or hear of a potential emergency or disaster over here in Kuwait, these are the procedures you can use to get in touch with your warrior to get as much information as possible. They are listed in order.

Contact your warrior via the method you have already set up. In most cases this should work. However, due to operational security, there are times when the phone and internet lines to the base are shut off, and then you must use an alternate method, and be prepared to wait until the authorities open the communications up.

Contact your warrior’s parent command (i.e., the one they are normally attached to or their duty station from which they deployed). You should have been given contact information for the CIAC (command individual augmentee coordinator), the POMI (plans operational medical intelligence), or the CMC/XO/CO. We will attempt to get information to the commands as soon as possible after an event out here. Your parent command also has good contact information on your warriors, and can get messages to them out here.

If your warrior is on GSA orders, you should be getting a GSA monthly deployment newsletter. Read it, as it has good generic information on getting assistance for all sorts of issues. It also lists phone numbers and emails for the duty crew that can be of assistance. For Kuwait, these contact #’s are:

ECRC family help desk ecrc.fs.fct@navy.mil
Team Kuwait: ecrc.gsa_other.fct@navy.mil, Telephone Number: 757-462-4744 Ext(s) 123, 126, 143 or 235

If none of the above are able to help you, you can call the following numbers, they are international and long distance charges will apply. We will call you back as soon as possible.

CO – CAPT Lynn Welling: Cell: 011.965.9965.6095, DSN: 318.430.1913
XO – CAPT Robert Alonso: Cell: 011.965.9901.7024 DSN: 318.430.1910
CMC – HMCM Tom Countryman: Cell: 011.965.9965.8984, DSN: 318.430.1908

Our leadership spouses are available to assist also, and may have important information sooner than some of the official sources:
CO Spouse –Patricia Welling - 619.995.1766
XO Spouse – Rhonda Alonso – 757.635.5630

CMC Spouse – Cindy Countryman – 360. 874.1354

Enjoy the site, and lets stay in touch!

Regards,

CAPT Lynn Welling

Commanding Officer

Expeditionary Medical Facility Kuwait.

Juliet Detachment has arrived!

Juliet detachment has arrived! It will be a busy week for them as well for the India Detachment.

We will keep you posted.

Happy Holidays

Friends and families of EMFK,

Happy Holidays to you all! Thanks to the new technology of internet communications I know that many of you were able to connect to your warriors and actually see each other during this holiday. I’ve heard many wonderful stories of how families got to watch each other open presents, share in the joy of the season, and just plain connect. We who are forward very much know that it is often more difficult for those that stay behind taking care of the home front. We greatly appreciate your efforts and sacrifices, and your support for those of us deployed in the War on Terror. You guys are awesome!!!!

We recently advanced several of our shipmates. Please join me in congratulating the following:
Petty Officer First Class; LS1 Adegoke, HM2 Abdullah, HM2 Olivar, HM2 Rios (redeployed), HM2 Siegert, Petty Officer Second Class; HM3 Freeman, HM3 McCauley, HM3 Nixon, HM3 Randle, YN2 Shouse (redeployed), HM3 Smith, HM3 Theopolous, HM3 Hall (redeployed), HM3 Pescadormartinez (redeployed), Petty Officer Third Class; HN Andrews, HN Aninzo, HN Barry (redeployed), HN Fajardo.

By now I'm sure most of you have heard that EMFK was shorted 32 of the incoming billets for Juliet detachment. We have a plan that enables us to continue to provide the essential services that we need to do to support those warriors going into harm’s way, and at the same time minimizes the impact on our returning India det warriors. BUMED and USFFC are working hard to get us every warrior we need, and while some of them will arrive late, they will all get here. We have asked for volunteers to stay for additional time, and have only had to keep 2 of our warriors here out slightly past their expected return date. All of those we will need to stay longer have been notified, so if your warrior hasn’t been notified there is no plan to extend them.

Juliet det starts to report for training next week, and should be out here towards the end of January. India should be returning home sometime soon after that. Due to security concerns I can’t tell you exactly when, but you will be notified by official channels when your warrior is due to return.

India detachment was in my opinion the most successful detachment to date for EMFK. The things your warriors accomplished in the last 6 months have been incredible. They nailed the # 1 goal of EMFK, to provide outstanding medical care 100% of the time. Not a single patient was turned away, or failed to get an appointment when they wanted it. There were NO adverse outcomes. We nailed the response to H1N1 preventing a major epidemic that could have had a significant effect on the US Military’s ability to prosecute its mission. And we were able to do things in a single day that would take months to have accomplished back in the states. We also did this with 42% fewer staff than previous detachments, we moved an entire clinic into new facilities, we struck the main supply tents (the last vestige of the legacy EMFK) and moved into a new supply facility, we deployed warriors forward into Iraq, Afghanistan, and the Gulf of Aden to support the front line efforts, and our warriors learned new skills that will be of great benefit to themselves and the US Navy. WELL DONE SHIPMATES!!!!!!

I wish you all an amazing New Year, and thank you all for your unflinching support.

V/R
CAPT Lynn Welling

Captain's Corner

Happy birthday to our Warriors celebrating November birthdays: FTCS Almanza, LCDR Payne, SK2 Ballard, LTJG Smart, LT Buchanan, HMC Smith, YNC Lazo, LCDR Griswold, HM2 Siegert, YN2 Collins, HN Alinsunurin, HM1 Phetkhamyath, HM1 Aponteblanco, LT Grajeda, HM2 Bestoguey, HM3 Keeling, HM3 Warren, IT2 Flash, HM3 Roll, and HN Bigley. My thanks to the MWR committee for putting on great monthly celebrations that link our EMFK Warrior’s birthdays to events from our rich naval history. The ceremony serves to recognize those who are here today having a birthday, along with reinforcing our awareness that we are part of something bigger than each of us individually, and that our heritage forms the base of what we create today. BZ MWR!
CMC Murray and I just returned from a trip to Afghanistan, specifically Kandahar and Camp Bastion. While medically things were relatively slow at both locations, they were all working hard to prepare for the next campaign, the next mass casualty, and to improve their current working situation. In fact, they are working just as we are to be constantly ready to take care of that next Warrior that is rolled into our casrec. At Kandahar, LCDR Schuette is doing amazing things providing anesthesia care for critically injured patients, and has grown significantly in both his professional skills and personal qualities. He is an integral member of the Kandahar team; your extra work here to cover for him on the front line is definitely worth it. And by the way, the CMC and I learned, first hand, how to eat UNDER A TABLE during a mortar attack on the base. While we were eating chow (Scroff is what the Brits call it), the incoming attack warning sounded. Everyone in the DFAC hit the deck, and as we looked over the Brits had grabbed their trays and put them on the floor with them, and continued to eat as the mortar’s hit the far side of the base. That’s getting your priorities straight.
At Bastion we met up with HM3 Dressel and CDR Birdsong; both are creating great results. HM3 Dressel has been there for ~3 months, is considered one of their best OR techs, and is involved in many of the major trauma cases. He loves every minute of it. CDR Birdsong has been there a couple of weeks, is becoming an accomplished scrub nurse (well outside her comfort zone), and has hit the deck running. The British hospital at Bastion is fairly new, and not unlike what we have here at Arifjan, although better set up for trauma. They live in crowded tents, sleep on cots, and only have mosquito netting to separate them from the warrior next to them. Also, they eat British food, which if you’ve never tasted it, is about as bland as you can get—just imagine blood sausage and stewed tomatoes for breakfast.
Bottom line, our guys that we have sent forward are doing great things on the front lines. EMFK staff at the camps and at AJ are doing great things for our local Warriors (to include some very sick trauma and medical patients we’ve saved in the last few weeks). Your assumption of additional duties enables our shipmates to support the warfighters forward and to make a difference in saving lives on the front line. Your extremely professional and skillful work here is saving lives, returning warriors to the fight, and improving our living and working conditions each and every day.
Well done warriors.
R, CO