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Surgical team deployed

by jmaloni
Thu, Nov 11th 2010 01:30 pm
A farewell ceremony will be held at noon Sunday, Nov. 14, at the Niagara Falls Armed Forces Reserve Center, 9400 Porter Road, for the 1982nd Forward Surgical Team.

According to Lt. Col. Kurt Vonfricken, commander, the team will deploy in support of Operation Enduring Freedom to Afghanistan for one year. This will be the second deployment of the team. Its first deployment, for 11 months, was in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom to Ba'Qubah, Iraq, in 2003.

This U.S. Army Reserve 20-member team (15 from Western New York) is comprised of doctors, registered and licensed practicing nurses, surgical technicians, medics, and administrative staff. Vonfricken said, "Our mission is to provide initial surgical service to the critically wounded in a division area of operations. At point of injury, a soldier's team will begin care. A request for evacuation is sent and casualties are transported by air or ground ambulance to a forward surgical team for stabilizing and life sustaining surgery. Once ready for transport, the wounded are sent to a combat support hospital for further care. The most severely wounded are flown to an Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, and eventually to U.S. Army state-side facilities."

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