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For legal officer, there's 'no such thing as a traditional deployment'

  • Published
  • By Capt. Amber Balken
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Long gone are the days of the "traditional" Air Force deployment. The increase of troops into the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility is also increasing the non-traditional roles filled by Airmen in combat, straight into the Air Force's "all in" philosophy.

Capt. Maureen Wood, a legal officer deployed with Multi-National Forces Iraq Joint Task Force 134 and a former area defense counsel stationed at Andrews AFB, Md., recently found herself in one of those situations that was anything but "traditional." Using self-aid and buddy care, she helped save a life of a fellow service member after her convoy was attacked by an improvised explosive device.

On Aug. 21, while on a convoy in Iraq, Captain Wood's mine-resistant ambush protected, or MRAP, vehicle she was riding in with several other Army and Air Force personnel was struck by an explosively formed projectile, or EFP. An EFP is an improvised explosive device that is formed to directly penetrate armor and release shrapnel in all directions.

From the explosion her head was thrown back and smoke entered the vehicle. Doing a quick self-check, Captain Wood felt a large knot on her forehead and another on her left hand. She would later find out the "bumps" were shrapnel lodged in her skin.

"I found myself trying to figure out what had just happened, what was going on. I saw Wendy [Capt. Wendy Kosek] in front of me with a gash across her jaw line," she said. "Next to me was an Army major who was yelling that he couldn't feel his legs."

Glancing over at the major, she noticed his foot was turned up at the shin. Captain Wood unbuckled herself and went to help. The goal was to keep him from going into shock. The medic was there quickly and a tourniquet was placed on his leg.

Captain Wood attributes her actions and calm demeanor on that day to the advanced contingency skills training she received at the U.S. Air Force Expeditionary Center located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix Lakehurst. The "traditional" idea of deploying went out the window that day.

"Many people may find themselves saying or thinking this stuff (ACST and SABC) won't apply to them because they are going to be at a 'desk job' in some building somewhere," Captain Wood said. "Every passenger in our MRAP that day was assigned to 'desk jobs.'"

The training she received at the Expeditionary Center prepared Captain Wood to react instinctively in the aftermath of the attack.

"We learned by repetition," she said. "Everything we were trained on was repeated, until we reacted without thinking. We were also trained on the fog of war and reacting under pressure, which helped tremendously during the attack."

The MRAP was completely disabled in the blast. The injured service members needed to be cross loaded into the casualty evacuation vehicle. "We were grabbing the injured troops by parts of their uniform, the way we were shown in training, lifting and moving them into the vehicle accordingly," said Captain Wood.

Also in the MRAP with Captain Wood was fellow legal officer, Capt. Wendy Kosek, who was more severely injured in that attack, receiving shrapnel to her face, hand and leg.

With the help of the other service members Captain Kosek and the Army major were lifted out of the disabled vehicle onto the ground and guarded from secondary attacks.

As they continued the medical response, the Army major was loaded onto the floor of the casualty evacuation vehicle first. Captain Kosek was next; trying not to aggravate her injuries she was moved and loaded using her belt.

"Once we were all in the MRAP, we had to make some adjustments," she said. "The major's gnarled leg was underneath Wendy at first. I had to get her propped up to keep her from falling against his leg."

Pulling Capt Kosek up by her tactical vest, Captain Wood propped Captain Kosek up and balanced her against her leg. Two other service members were facing Captain Kosek and talking with her making sure she stayed coherent. Captain Kosek was able to keep talking and calmly gave directions on how to brace her broken leg.

Captain Wood then noticed the major's leg was still bleeding. She was handed a bandage so she could attempt to dress his wound. Using the knowledge from self-aid and buddy care, Captain Wood concluded that the color of the blood indicated it was not arterial bleeding. The leg was badly damaged. Trying to bandage the leg didn't stop the bleeding.

Captain Wood decided to use pressure to stop the bleeding. Using the bandage, she pressed the major's leg against hers to stabilize and secure his injuries.

"I wasn't nervous or scared. I was just reacting. It was a team effort that day," she said. "Everyone stayed calm. For the most part, it was like a well-oiled machine."

Captain Wood harkened back to her pre-deployment training, again saying it was invaluable.

"Pre-deployment training teaches you the concept of the fog of war and explains the necessity of having muscle memory, and having the ability to react as needed when circumstances arise that make it difficult to think clearly," Captain Wood said. "So many people go to training thinking they don't really need the training because they don't think it applies to them."

Prior to her attendance at the ACST at the Expeditionary Center, Captain Wood, along with other Airmen in the legal career field also attended the Judge Advocate Functional ACST Course which is taught by the center's judge advocate staff. The four-day course combines both classroom and field training exercises specific to the legal career field.