Happy Birthday Air Force

September 18 is the birthday of the Air Force. The Army Air Corps became the United States Air Force on September 18, 1947. I decided that in order to honor that, I would recount some of my personal Air Force medical history. This is a repeat of a column that I wrote just over 10 years ago, but I thought it was a good time to do it again.

I joined the Air Force in May 1971 while I was still a third year medical student. The Vietnam war was still raging.

I officially went on active duty status on July 6, 1975. The Vietnam War officially ended on June 30th. So I started active duty after the Vietnam War. I retired in 1995 before the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Some might think that means that there was not much going on during my 20 years.

That was true for my first year. I was assigned as a pediatrician to Dover AFB Hospital from 1975-1976. It was a quiet year.

In 1976, I was reassigned as a pediatrician to Malcolm Grow Medical Center at Andrews AFB. I was still there in 1983. In October of that year, I was chosen to go to the Combat Casualty Care Course (C-4 course) at Camp Bullis in San Antonio, Texas.

We spent a week in the field with a group of Marine instructors. There was a question and answer session one night. They told us about their determination. They told us about the fact that they relied on their brothers in arms to protect them in any kind of conflict. It was invigorating to see how willing they were to do whatever was needed for their country.

On the last day, there was a formal graduation ceremony for the course. We met in the auditorium to find a TV on. It was showing live coverage of the U.S. Marines invading Grenada. All of the lessons of the last week were burned into our brains as we thought about the brave men facing danger in honor of their country. I never went to Grenada, but I experienced it.

My next assignment took me to RAF Upper Heyford in England in 1984 as the medical director of the hospital. One of my daughters attended an off base school. One morning in early 1986, we woke up to the news that aircraft from our base had attacked Libya.

It was not clear how Libya would retaliate. My daughter was moved to be schooled at an on base location. We lived in base housing and had Security Police with their M-16’s patrolling day and night. Barbed wire fencing was everywhere. I never went to Libya, but I experienced it.

Later in 1986, I was reassigned as the Commanding Officer of the USAF Hospital at Shaw AFB. We invaded Panama in 1989. I had to send a single one of my people to Panama to help provide medical support for the mission. He was sent before the actual invasion occurred. I received a letter from him while he was there.

He told me how scared he was. He told me that he could hear the noises of war at night when he was alone. He told me that he was writing to me because I was the closest person he had to a father figure. I never went to Panama, but I experienced it.

In 1989, I was reassigned as the Commanding Officer of the USAF Hospital at Langley AFB. The following August, Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait. Our hospital had a 50 bed Air Transportable Hospital with 128 people assigned. We also had a decontamination unit with 19 people assigned.

I had to send 147 people to the desert. I knew where they were going. The location was classified so I could not tell them. I knew that they would be there before the Army and Marines arrived to provide ground protection.

I knew that from the time they arrived until ground protection could be set up that the only thing between them and Saddam Hussein was 90 miles of sand. I knew I was sending them into harm’s way. But, I could not tell them that. I never went to Desert Shield, but I experienced it.

We sometimes forget that those of us who spent time in the military did not need to go into battle to experience just what it means to support your country. I was proud to be part of that. Happy Birthday to the Air Force.