Changing it Up

So the new schedule came out, and with it, a drastic change in the personell schedule. I am now on the 6am to 3pm shift, which will turn into the 7am to 4pm shift later this week, and "should" stay that way for the rest of the time I am here. So that meant that I had to totally rework my daily routine. Oh well. It keeps things interesting I suppose. The good side is that I am back to a somewhat gentlemanly schedule. The bad side is that means that all the other people on base are on that schedule, too (i.e. the squadron, group, and wing commanders... not to mention any DV's that happen to come through and want to see the squadron).

At the hospital a few days ago, I was volunteering at the PAD (the helicopter reception area where we essentially wait for a helicopter to come in to help unload patients). I had been there for about 30 minutes, when we were told that I helicopter was incoming. A few of us went out there, and I was picked to be the "strong man" (the person that leads the team with the stretcher cart out to the helicopter). I was the first person to get to the side of it, and helped lift the patient out and onto the stretcher. It was an Iraqi Army soldier who had been injured by an IED. He was severely burnt and bleeding. It smelled like barbeque. After we got him onto the stretcher, we wheeled him under the "Hero's Highway Tunnel" (see the facebook page for a picture) so that he could be inspected... just in case he had anything hidden on him, like an IED. Then we brought him into the ER and they let us stay for a few minutes while they started working on him.

I guess I felt like I helped out a bit, although there were plenty of other people that could have done the same thing since so many people were there volunteering. I didn't know how I would react if someone was really badly injured. I guess I actually didn't really think about it until I was right there. It was a little odd, at first, but overall it wasn't that disturbing. It actually kinda felt more like a movie, although I know that it was much more serious. It definitely helped to remind me of why I am here, though.

Other than that, things are pretty much the same. Over the next day or so I'll be helping to get the squadron acclimated to the new schedule (as well as myself).