Nestled between the Army Wellness
Clinic and the Level 4 trauma designated
Winn Army Community Hospital, the U.
S. Army Medical Department Activity-Fort
Stewart ambulance office and shelter sits.
Just inside its doors are a few of Fort
Stewart’s 24 first responders, who after
completing a 24-hour shift greet the next
shift of emergency medical technicians,
paramedics and combat medic Soldiers.
“In this job nobody ever calls 911 on
their best day,” said MEDDAC Paramedic,
Jim Luck.
A few minutes later, a call from the radio
cut through the silence, “Assault with injuries.”
At once, MEDDAC AOS emergency
medical services technicians and paramedics
methodically prepare to answer
the plea for help.
The proud wail of two ambulance sirens
and blazoned strobe lights help the first
responders maneuver through the on-post
traffic. This call is one in approximately
seven they receive each day.
Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield
women and men first responders remain
ready to provide the highest quality of
healthcare to Soldiers, Family Members
and those in the surrounding communities.
Vito Powers, a paramedic and retired
Soldier with more than 24 years’ experience
in the medical services field as a flight
paramedic, said his role at AOS is a “most
noble” profession, one of which he takes
seriously.
“You are afforded the opportunity to
save lives in the defense of our nation and
in the face of our enemies,” Powers
lamented.
Uniquely, the medical services section
has the opportunity to partner with
Stewart-Hunter combat medic Soldiers
on a 90-day rotational basis. This collaboration
gives the Soldiers additional readiness
training, while helping fill empty
positions.
Spc. Paul Abante, a 1st Armor Brigade
Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division
Soldier was at the end of his three-month
training and commented on the differences.
“On the line we are just taking care of
our guys,” Abante said about serving in
his unit, “and they are completely different
from civilians. The biggest difference to
me was being able to actually see what we
do in the back of an ambulance … I got to
actually put all my skills to use. We want
to see how well we can deliver under pressure
and doing that here, was amazing.”
Art Rinconnes, an emergency medical
technician with more than a combined 40
years of military and civilian service under
his belt, said mentorship is an important
aspect of his career.
“They [Soldiers] get the chance to see
the other side of EMS and hospital care,”
Rinconnes explained. “A lot of them have
said they would like to go on, continue on
with medical care, even possibly going
into EMS.”
Luck said the chance of seeing
people’s lives impacted in a “horribly
negative way,” is high, and a strong
support system is important for longevity.
“The ability to deal with that [witnessing
traumas], to process that is
extremely important for long-term
mental health,” Luck said. “So we
try to develop a group where they
would feel free to talk to each other
and reach out to each other, but it’s
still a struggle.”
Luck said the camaraderie
between him and his
coworkers is second to
none.
“The reality is that anything
that we go through
individually in our daily
lives, the other guys are
always reaching out and
saying ‘hey, how are you,
what’s going on, how did it
go’…not with just negative things, but with
positive things and that’s extremely beneficial,”
Luck said.
So the next time red flashing lights are
in the rear-view mirror, pull over, because
no matter the call, the Fort Stewart-Hunter
Army Airfield EMS team is ready to answer
on your worst day.