Madigan welcomes Soldiers home

By Ms. Suzanne Ovel (Army Medicine)February 25, 2016

Madigan welcomes Soldiers home
Madigan Army Medical Center honored redeploying Soldiers and their spouses at a Warrior Recognition Ceremony here on Feb. 23. Pictured are Virginia Krause, Capt. Vincent Krause, Capt. Nathan Parsons, Capt. Rebecca Gerard (front), Capt. Marie Elliott... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

Madigan Army Medical Center Soldiers returning from deployments got a warm welcome home at a Warrior Recognition Ceremony here on Feb. 23.

The quarterly ceremony welcomed back Soldiers who redeployed since November. Unlike tactical units, medical Soldiers deploy individually or in small groups to augment deploying medical units.

"I consider it the biggest honor to welcome our returning heroes back," said Lt. Col. Jacob Gin, Madigan's Troop Battalion commander. In fact, his team strives to meet every Soldier immediately upon their return. "It is that important. It is the essence of why we wear these uniforms."

The ten Soldiers who were welcomed home deployed to countries such as Afghanistan and Kuwait, serving in a range of fields from surgery to emergency care, and from behavioral health to physical therapy. Gin said that the skills that these Soldiers use to care for servicemembers downrange are exercised daily in their work as clinicians at Madigan.

Returning Soldier Capt. Rebecca Gerard's work in the Department of Behavioral Health echoed her job in Afghanistan as an aeromedical psychologist with the 101st Airborne Division. She traveled to several locations in country to meet the 101st Soldiers at their bases, offering behavioral health evaluations, psychoeducation and therapy. Gerard said the most impactful part of her mission was counseling young Soldiers with families going through their first deployment.

"I think the most valuable thing was helping them realize that it's tough but it doesn't mean it's not doable," she said.

She found that being embedded with the brigade built trust between her and the Soldiers. When they returned home to a unit ceremony, though, she flew back separately to Madigan.

"Having this (ceremony) be an option just made it kind of feel complete," Gerard said.

The ceremony recognized not only the Soldiers who deployed, but the families who supported them as well; these families are considered just as much a part of the team, said Gin.

Those family members included Virginia Krause, wife of Capt. Vincent Krause. Virginia took care of their three children when her husband deployed to Afghanistan as a critical care nurse and officer in charge of emergency care. Virginia was recognized with her husband, receiving a bouquet of yellow roses.

"It was really special. I'm glad they do something for the hospital team," she said.

After the ceremony, Madigan's Family Readiness Group returned the Soldiers' photo collages to them from the Warrior Wall. Throughout Soldiers' deployments, the FRG sent weekly emails with offers of help, mailed care packages, and also contacted Soldiers' families to reach out to them.

"They definitely made us feel that we're not forgotten," said Gerard.

Other redeploying Soldiers honored included Capt. Marie Elliott-Gaffield, Capt. Sarah Pace, Capt. Nathan Parsons, Maj. Brian O'Reilly, Maj. Mark Hardin, Maj. Rohul Amin, Maj. William Herrmann, and Lt. Col. Justin Robbins.

To view more photos from the ceremony, visit https://flic.kr/s/aHskv9U4pR