From MASH to CSH--a nurses story

By Rachael Tolliver-Ireland Army Health Clinic PAOSeptember 15, 2016

Then & Now
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Left) In 1999 Cpl. Francie Davila was promoted to sergeant by her company commander, 1st Lt. Matthew Konopa. (Right): Lt. Col. Matt Konopa, chief of the Health Services Branch, Army Human Resources Command, promoted 1st Lt. Francie Gonzales, formerl... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Oath
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
CSH
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Capt. Francie Gonzales was the officer in charge for patient hold at a remote aid station created by the 21st CSH, from Fort Hood, during Cadet Summer Training at Fort Knox. But when she is at Fort Hood she is a medical/surgical nurse assigned to the... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Perimeter Run-Hawaii
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – The Charlie Company Cobras, made up of Soldiers from U.S. Army Health Clinic, Schofield Barracks, pose after completing the grueling 134.5-mile O'ahu Perimeter Relay Run in 1999. Cpl. Francie Davila, center, bottom row, was new to the company when s... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

In 1999 Cpl. Francie Davila, a healthcare specialist stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was promoted to the rank of sergeant by her company commander, 1st Lt. Matthew Konopa. And in an odd twist of fate the two met again on Fort Knox for similar event Aug. 5, when Lt. Col. Matt Konopa, chief of the Health Services Branch, Army Human Resources Command, promoted 1st Lt. Francie Gonzales, formerly Davila and now a staff nurse with First Medical Battalion, Fort Hood Texas, to captain.

The two have met occasionally over the years--as Soldiers within the same job specialty will sometimes do--and met again when he was invited June 23 to brief Task Force 21st Combat Support Hospital. The unit is a medical task force primarily assigned at Fort Hood, Texas, and spent the summer on Fort Knox supporting Cadet Command's summer Cadet Summer Training mission.

Gonzales said she is an "Army brat" but claims Puerto Rico is home. She enlisted in the Army in 1995 as a combat medic but thought she was enlisted for something else.

"When I originally enlisted I was going to nursing school and I thought the (military occupational specialty) I was enlisting into was what the Army called a 'nurse,'" she explained. "I always wanted to be a nurse like my grandmother. The (Army Medical Department) Enlisted Commissioning Program allowed me to do that and stay in the Army--something that by the time I entered the program I had been a part of for 15 years."

Her responsibilities during summer training for the cadets was as officer in charge for patient hold at a remote aid station.--but when she is at Fort Hood she is a medical/surgical nurse assigned to the 21st CSH.

A CSH--pronounced "cash"--can be compared to the mobile hospital from the 70s-80s TV show "MASH" that a lot of people remember. Gonzales said Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals are no longer in the Army inventory and the CSH is configuring to be a more agile deployable element like what a MASH use to be.

She added that the medical field has always been her focus and her enlisted time taught her many aspects of AMEDD. Gonzales advanced to the rank of master sergeant before going through the AMEDD Enlisted Commissioning Program. Now, as an Army nurse, she said she can use the knowledge and experience gained to, "better bridge the gap between the tactical and technical aspect of the AMEDD."

Today, Konopa oversees a team that manages the worldwide assignments and leader development of almost 35,000 Health Services Soldiers including combat medics--like what Gonzales started out as. He said that as a leader, no matter where he has served, the most important thing he could do was to set his people up for success.

"Our job is to make all Soldiers successful to ensure the "Army Goes Rolling Along,'" he said. "It is extremely gratifying to see a young (enlisted Soldier) excel though the ranks, become a leader in a Combat Support Hospital, and attain her current rank as captain. That alone ratifies that perhaps, with many members of a great team back in 1999...we did things the right way."

Gonzales noted the most rewarding part of job--as a medic and as a nurse--is taking care of Soldiers. She added that when the day comes when she has to leave the Army, she wants to continue to take care of Soldiers and their Families.

"The Army gave me these skills, it is only fitting that I give back."

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