BALAD AIR BASE, IRAQ –
Name: Staff Sgt. Tamika Clawson
Home Unit: 1st Medical Operations Squadron
What do you do?
Respiratory Therapy
What's a day in the life of an RT like?
We provide the breath of life for patients throughout the hospital here in Balad Iraq.
What's the most useful item you packed?
Family pictures
When did you realize you "weren't in Kansas anymore;" aka your "Dorothy" moment?
Probably my 5th day in Balad during my "Right Start" in processing brief when we had six warning alarms back to back and were in the bunkers for 30 minutes.
What has been the highlight of your tour?
Experiencing the level of patient care that we give here, and see the direct impact it has on the people we are able to help.
What's the best part of the deployment?
Meeting and working with everyone was truly a blast, we laughed enough to last us a lifetime.
The worst part?
The casualties of war.
What new survival skill have you learned?
I learned that in order to survive in life you have to expect the unexpected.
What do you do during down time?
Read, sleep, and the gym pretty much sum it up.
What is the first thing you will do and eat when you return?
Visit with family and friends and I am not sure what I will eat but I have been dying for a kiwi/strawberry Capri Sun.
What insight/experience will you take away from your time over there?
When you think you have it bad someone always has it worse.
What do you miss the most? Driving
How is your job that you are doing now different from the job back stateside?
There is more direct and invasive patient care here. Since we are at war the level of care patients need is more intense.
Have you tried the local cuisine?
No, we are only allowed to eat food prepared for us, and we cannot travel off the installation.
What do you think about what you hear on the news from what is going on stateside?
I am really thrilled with the level of participation from younger generations in the present elections.
Do you have plans for any extra money that you might be making from this deployment?
Save, living isn't getting any cheaper.