Downrange: Our Airmen's perspective --- part 3 of series Published Feb. 4, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Kevin Wallace 436th AW Public Affairs DOVER AIR FORCE BASE, Del. -- Rank/Name: Maj. Marie McIntee Unit: 436th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Deployed Unit/Location: 332nd EAMDS/CASF at Joint Base Balad, Iraq Hometown: Bala Cynwyd, Pa. Describe your job at your deployed location: I am one of the flight surgeons working at the Contingency Air Staging Facility. Our primary responsibility is to medically clear patients that have to be air evacuated out of theater due to battle injury, non battle injuries or illness. We make sure that the patient has whatever they might need while on the 5.5 hour flight to Germany or other location and that it is reasonable for the patient to fly given the stresses of flight like altitude or decreased oxygen and their particular medical problem. It could even mean activating a critical care team to accompany the patient to assure their medical needs are met during flight. We also get to fly with some of the flying squadrons at Balad as a flight surgeon - one of my favorite things to do. We respond to flightline emergencies or mishaps with the ambulance crew and visit the shops on base just like back home. What was one of the most memorable experiences? I think the people are the most memorable and the patients themselves are remarkable. I see our Soldiers, Marines, Airmen and civilian's dedication to their mission, their unit and their remarkable sacrifice for our country at a time when their health has been compromised. They face their medical condition with courage and no regrets about the sacrifice they've made. Getting chow at the dining facility, I meet Soldiers, hear of their multiple longer-than-year tours over here and am amazed at their sense of duty. I see reservists taking time away from their civilian lives in order to volunteer for these deployments. Flying with the various crews, I see the same dedication to getting the mission accomplished. My colleagues at the CASF and hospital are equally dedicated. I am humbled by the remarkable dedication and sacrifice of our servicemembers and civilians. How did your job at Dover prepare you or relate to your deployed duties? At Dover, I take care of patients whose job is to fly. I get to fly with the C-5 and C-17 squadrons and therefore understand firsthand the stresses of flight on healthy people. The twist in the deployed location is that my patients are not healthy and in spite of that, need to fly. Back home, when my patients are sick they don't fly. Here, this mission takes precedence over their comfort. My experience at Dover better prepared me for what the injured or ill patient is likely to experience on their C-17 trip out of Balad. With that knowledge, I'm better able to make their trip happen with the least impact to their already compromised health. Dover's primary mission is to move people and cargo downrange. I've had the privilege to fly downrange with several Team Dover aircrews, which gave me a glimpse into the deployed environment. I'd also add that the same dedication I see here I've witnessed at the flying squadrons back home. How did Dover's airlift mission affect your deployed mission and/or quality of life there? The ramp for C-5, C-17 and C-130's is right by my quarters and I often see and hear them come and go. I get a thrill when I hear the distinctive whine of the C-5. I get a little homesick when I see a Dover tail on the ramp when I'm out running. I get very excited when we go to the flight line to bring patients to their aircraft and there is a Dover C-5 or C-17 out there. I am very proud of the fact that they come here and I know they are moving cargo and people important to our overall mission in Iraq.