Fleet Surgical Team, Noble Eagle 4608 (retired)
On May 2nd, 2011 I met half of the 15 people that would make up 4608 in Norfolk, VA. At that time we had all heard rumors that we were going to Camp Bastion, but some of us would be stashed elsewhere to make up for shortages. On May 8th at FT Jackson we met the other half - 1 ER Doc, 1 General Surgeon, 2 Anesthesiologists, 5 Nurses, 4 corpsman, a Master Chief and myself. Since then we have become good friends, worked our butts off and seen things that we will probably never want to talk about again.
Our Noble Eagle number has now been retired and will no longer be filled - which can be seen as a good sign as we are no longer needed in certain parts of the country. We have all been reassigned to Kandahar for the duration of our tour (3 stayed there to begin with and 3 are coming from an outlying FOB (Forward Operating Base). It can also be seen as bad sign as the footprint of Navy Medicine is getting smaller here. As you read this we will be settling into our new assignment and with any luck will be finishing out our final 6 weeks of deployment continuing to do what we've been trained to do.
If you get a chance you can watch the video from the BBC and British Forces Broadcasting Service in which you will see me starting at about the 2:53 mark in the light blue scrub cap with a Union Jack on it - it was a gift from one of the British surgeons. Unfortunately for the censors (and the Brits) the big '1776' and 'Don't Tread on Me' that I drew made it on the video. One last jab! Brilliant!
147 Days BOG, 174 Away from Home
All for now.
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