CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan –
The "Return to Duty" program has allowed more than 1,100 Service members the opportunity to rest, recover and return to their units.
"Because of the Return to Duty program ... more and more Marines and other Service members are returning back to their units rather than be sent home," said. Col. John Collins, 451st Air Expeditionary Wing Operating Location--Bastion director. "That ability alone has been a real game changer because we're not constantly having to get replacements in."
The program is a safe haven for Wounded Warriors, which is run out of the contingency aeromedical staging facility here. For the Marines, it's an interim fix until a concussion restoration care center on Camp Leatherneck is built. This facility will function in the same capacity as the CASF.
"The Marines are trying to create something similar over on (Camp) Leatherneck but there have been delays," Colonel Collins said. "It was supposed to open in January then it was pushed back to March, and now it's slated to open in June but it keeps getting pushed back. And that's OK because the people here do a terrific job taking care of anyone who needs help and they really seem to enjoy what they do so it's a win-win situation."
Even though there have been setbacks in the opening of the CRCC, the Return to Duty program has become a mission of love for the CASF staff. The staff will continue to keep their doors open for this program for the foreseeable future.
"You know, we really love helping out the Marines," said Lt. Col. Barbara Persons, 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Detachment 1 CASF commander. "We don't really care if their center ever opens up. We're happy to help and we'll do this as long as there are people who need time to decompress."
The CASF staff aims at providing a laid back atmosphere where Service members can relax and focus on recovering. In many cases, laughter is the best medicine - something the CASF offers in abundance.
"I guess you could say that I subscribe to the Patch Adams philosophy on medical care - approach it with a little bit of humor," said Capt. Zoe Woolston, 451st EAES Det. 1 CASF clinical nurse from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. "Set your patients at ease, give them an environment they can relax in and maybe even laugh a little and you've just given them the perfect prescription for recovery."
This unique approach to medical care has won over the hearts of the Marines and other wounded who've walked through their doors in need of a little time and space to recover.
"It's that intermediate phase where you can go somewhere and you get that same care you need but you also get that down time, too," said Marine Corps Sgt. Todd Cross, 1st Tank Battalion, 1st Marine Division, Delta Company, M1-H1 Abrams tank gunner. "You go from the field where you're living rough and you get to come here where it's almost like your civilian life and you get a chance to decompress before you go on to your next level of care."
Another aspect of the Return to Duty program unique to the one held within the CASF tent walls is the touch of home that can be found in every spare space.
"You don't come in here thinking it's going to be as nice as it is. It's got all these comforts of home and it shows that people care about you," Sergeant Cross said. "I'm used to sleeping in my cot or in the heat in my position in the tank. But this is a big difference. Here you get a real bed and you get a chance to just relax."
One thing that binds all the patients together is their overwhelming desire to get back to their units and continue the fight alongside of their team. The staff has to continually remind the patients that in order to return to duty, they have to focus on recovery first.
"A lot of the Marines that come here they're anxious to get back out there and they're not concerned with the long-term effect of their injuries," said Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Alvin Jules, Petty Officer 2nd Class, hospital corpsman. "What we do here is we make sure they get that time to heal. In the long run, it benefits them."
Throughout the entire process of recovery, the service members convalescing here learn an important lesson: "We're all in."
"We all take care of each other in some way, shape or form," said Sergeant Cross, a Return to Duty patient recovering at the CASF. "This has just shown me that no matter where you go, no matter what branch of service you are from, we all care for each other in the same way."