LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, Va. –
Front Line Warrior: Capt. Margaret Linthicum
Deployed Unit: 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Detachment 1st Contingency Air Staging Facility at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan
Duty Title: Day shift Senior Nurse & Education and Training officer in charge
Home Unit: 633d Inpatient Operations Squadron Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
Hometown: Penn Yan, N.Y.
Time in Service: 26 years with the Air Force (16 active-duty, 10 Reserve)
Describe your deployed duties and the tools you use to accomplish it: I provide oversight for patient care of the nurses and medical technicians on the day shift. I also perform launch-and-recovery mission nursing duties for patients who are being transported throughout the AE system to a higher level of care. All this is accomplished from a prior deployment to the CASF in Iraq as well as using standards that have been implemented here for this particular mission.
What do you bring to the fight? Being a NICU nurse requires sharp critical thinking skills and strong team work; the qualities I use every day at homestation have helped while taking care of wounded soldiers during their transition from the front lines to a higher level of care here in Afghanistan or in Germany.
What are you overall thoughts and opinions about your mission there? The CASF is an amazing mission. It provides me with the satisfaction that I am contributing to the overall mission by providing compassionate, safe care to America's finest men and women whether it is Army, Air Force, Navy, or Marines.
Supervisor Comments: Captain Linthicum makes my job so much easier. She is stellar as a leader, mentor and instructor. Her vast knowledge and experience are gifts to everyone here. She is my replacement as commander of the CASF in my absence. Capt Linthicum created an additional duty here in Afghanistan. She organized a team to assist the Army veterinarian with transporting wounded canines from the flightline. She has facilitated shipment of veterinarian medications, supplies and equipment long needed for months. Thinking outside the box is her expertise which proved essential at acquiring the needed material for the animals. I will deploy anywhere with Capt Linthicum.