FORT BENNING, Ga., (June 17, 2015) -- The 14th Combat Support Hospital welcomed home four Soldiers returning from a 63-day mission in Liberia at a redeployment ceremony held June 15 at McGinnis Wickam Hall.
Maj. Savannah Brookhart, Capt. David Alford, Staff Sgt. Chaffee Cohen and Spc. Mohamed Conhen deployed from Fort Benning on March 26 to Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, in support of Operation United Assistance, which provided Ebola containment and management for Liberia.
The four returning Soldiers represented the last XVIII Airborne Corps returning from the USAFRICOM theater of operations. During their mission, the Soldiers served as the sole DOD surgical team in support of retrograde operations, direct Liberian Embassy support and led efforts to establish essential linkage to local NATO surgical facilities for remaining personnel.
"Unlike the many previous deployments, this time was not to Afghanistan or Iraq," Command Sgt. Major Kristopher Rick, 14th Combat Support Hospital, said. "This time it was in support of a humanitarian mission." Rick said that the 14th CSH team went to Liberia to supply surgical capability for interagency, joint and multinational partners.
"They established a surgical area of operation. Initially, it was in tents. Then, they transitioned out of tents and into a fixed facility. They were there to provide surgical intervention for any emergent cases that came in," Rick said.
Before deploying the team went through its normal trauma training, as well as extensive training with identification and personal protective equipment associated with the Ebola mission.
When the Soldiers left Liberia on June 5 they were given a health check. A 21-day observation for symptoms of Ebola is no longer a requirement. "Now, it is self-monitoring and they were briefed by CDC about what that entails," Rick said.
The Soldiers did not come into direct contact with an Ebola patient while deployed.
Rick said the team did an outstanding job gaining valuable experience that will help the rest of the 14th CSH prepare for the next deployment call in support of military, humanitarian or civil operations.
"The ability of these Soldiers to organize, train and deploy in a very short amount of time was truly remarkable. This type of expeditionary health service support is precisely what will be needed in the coming years as we move into greater uncertainty across all theaters of operation and face requirements to tailor our forces to meet the specific needs of those we support," Rick said.
Staff Sgt. Chaffee Cohen said the deployment was not what he expected.
"I have deployed before and was in a combat environment. This was more of a humanitarian environment. You had to get used to the culture. We had more interaction with local nationals and we also had the ability to work with different agencies," Cohen said.
Cohen said he and the rest of the team were anxious about being deployed to a region affected by the Ebola outbreak.
"Of course, not knowing is always the first thing, but once we got settled in and the team got to working, everything went fine," Cohen said.
Cohen said even though this deployment was more relaxed than combat missions the team still understood its mission and wanted to take care of anyone that needed assistance.
"It was a unique opportunity and I am fortunate to have gone to assist and help out with all that I could do. I feel we made an impact on the country as well as the coalition and the forces," Cohen said.
Cohen said returning home was a joyous occasion.
"We have been away from Family for a while. Everyone was happy to see me and our group greeted us back when we got off the plane. We were glad to be back," Cohen said.
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