Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
5:43 | Justice describes life at F.O.B. Shank as well as the many different types of people that worked there. She details everything from the initial arrival at the F.O.B. to taking care of EPW’s that had significant cultural differences from the members of the FST.
Keywords : forward operating base Shank NATO multicultural blackout situation EPW's prisoners of war language barrier
After six weeks of RTC training at Fort McCoy, Patty Justice went to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, Florida. Justice worked the night shift in the operating room and saw her first taste of real trauma in this incredibly realistic and hands-on training environment.
The first place Justice went in Afghanistan was Bagram. She and her unit trained in culture sensitivity and climate conditions while at the base. When they finally left for F.O.B. Shank, they had to ride in C-17 cargo planes so as to avoid the dangers of the terrain and the Taliban.
Justice describes dealing with the locals and their injuries. Most were mild mannered civilians, but occasionally someone would show up on the HIDE test as either Taliban or former Taliban. Justice describes the HIDE test as well as an incident in which she and the other members of the FST were reminded that they could not always trust everyone that came through the doors of the F.O.B.
Justice details a too-close-for-comfort interaction with a vehicle-borne IED. The IED came as a complete surprise and the entire F.O.B. fell into what Justice could only describe as “chaos” immediately following the explosion. She suffered several injuries and had to work with the nurses back in Bagram and depend on the friendship of comrade Colonel Ellison to come back from the injuries.
