Guard unit reflects on treating combat wounded during long flight home

Finally buckled into their seats, ears plugged to mute the growl of the four engines, members of the 152nd Airlift Wings medical group were ready to leave Germany after two weeks treating combat casualties at Landstuhl Medical Center.

As the C-130 pilot hit the throttle, the engines roared, and the crew swayed in their seats. Instead of lifting off, however, the engines slowed and the plane rolled to a stop in the drizzle.

It was the first in a series of delays on their three-day trip home to Reno. They unloaded from the plane, piled onto buses and headed to a passenger terminal to wait for a fuel filter to be replaced. This gave them plenty of time to check e-mail, watch Olympic swimming on television, and reflect on the previous 14 days.

Several said their time at Landstuhl - treating seriously wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan - was more meaningful than training trips they've had in the past.

"I felt almost like this time it meant more - like we were actually making a difference," said 2nd Lt. Maryanna Moyer of Carson City.

During previous annual trainings, she has done less hands-on work, she said.

"You train and train and wonder, 'Am I ever going to be able to use this training?'" she said. "And this really put all the puzzle pieces together."

She said she could see what the soldiers had been through just by looking into their eyes.

"They all had heart and they all wanted to go back, and I was inspired by that," she said.

The group's chaplain, Tim Gregory, said using skills in a real-world situation brings the guard unit together.

"You're seeing these (wounded soldiers) come back from the war - come back from what I think is probably man's worst evil against himself, and in that situation, there's a deeper sense of camaraderie - a deeper connection."

During his two weeks at Landstuhl, Gregory met each busload of wounded as they arrived from Ramstein Air Force Base. Because the unknown leads to fear, he would answer their questions and explain where they were.

But mostly he would just listen.

"A lot of them are almost withdrawn. They're being real introspective. (They withdraw) into almost, just a safer place (than the combat zone)."

The best way to bring them back to reality is to listen to their story, Gregory said.

"I just help people process what they have experienced and make sure they are moving through their emotions."

He had plenty of time to move through his feelings during three long days on the red webbing seats of the C-130. After the engine was fixed, they flew from Ramstein, Germany to Lajes Field in the Portuguese Azores islands for the night. Then they flew to St. John's, Newfoundland, for fuel. Then to Selfridge Air National Guard Base near Detroit for another night. Then there was the last seven-hour day to Reno.

He and 35 other members of the medical unit shook gently with the plane's movements while shafts of white light spilled through little, circular windows.

Col. Karen Evans, a Care Flight rescue helicopter nurse in Reno, worked in the intensive care unit at Landstuhl. She described the experience Monday morning on the way to Selfridge for the flight to Reno. (The group met another delay there - a runway closed by construction. They waited until crews stopped for lunch).

"It was very moving and very emotional for a lot of us," she said. "And we had a lot of pride to be there. (The full-time staff at the hospital) are the real heroes. We were able to be a part of it just for a short time."

Now back in Northern Nevada, the unit will resume their regular monthly drills. The 120 members of the 152nd who have been put on active duty - some for almost two years - will begin to return to their day jobs. The number on deployment is expected to be down to about 60 by November.

"Our mission in southwest Asia is being downsized," explained spokesperson April Conway.

The 152nd Air Lift Wing will continue to do rotations, however, meaning specific aircraft and crews will be called into action around the globe as needed.

With increased terror threats around Las Vegas and wild fires across the state, the guard members are ready for action in Nevada as well, Conway said.

"Even though they are based in Reno, should the governor need them anywhere in the state they are definitely ready to go."

Contact Karl Horeis at khoreis@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.