Brigade medical personnel with the 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Combined Task Force Spartan), hosted a Congressional visit led by Congressman Phil Roe, U.S. Representative of Tennessee's First District, and escorted by the Army Deputy Surgeon General, Maj. Gen. Patricia Horoho, Oct. 9, at Forward Operating Base Pasab.
The Congressional Delegation consisted of Roe, Rep. Tim Wals, Rep. Dan Benishek and Rep. Jeff Denham, members of the Veterans Affairs Committee, and Rep. Scott DesJarlais, a member of the Oversight and Government Reform, and Education and Workforce and Agriculture committees.
The delegation came to FOB Pasab to see how CTF Spartan operates their medical facilities and treats Soldiers and local Afghan civilians.
"Maj. Gen. Horoho, she had been here before (and) liked what she saw so much that she wanted to bring the Congressional Delegation out to see an example of how things could be," said Maj. Brian Egloff, 3rd IBCT surgeon.
The visitors received a tour of the medical facilities on FOB Pasab, starting with the Spartan Resiliency Center. The Spartan Resiliency Center is equipped to treat Soldiers struggling with behavioral health issues, and help rehabilitate mild traumatic brain injury patients.
"The resiliency center is a very multi-disciplinary approach. There is behavioral health and MTBI rehabilitation all under one roof, it is a central location for patients to sleep, rest, recuperate and (rehabilitate)," said Egloff.
The visitors saw the state-of-the-art facility and received information on how many patients have been treated, treatment success rates, and what treatment methods are used at the center from the Soldiers that manage the Spartan Resiliency Center.
After the center, the group moved to the Role II clinic, which is equipped to handle minor casualties, and also has a dental clinic and a physical therapist on site. Having a dentist and a physical therapist in a deployed environment, especially on a FOB, is very unique, as most deployed units do not have access to extensive medical assets.
Outside the Role II clinic, the brigade surgeon showed the visitors the prosthetic leg prototype that was created by welders in 710th Brigade Support Battalion. The prosthetics have already been fitted and given to local amputees, including an 8-year-old boy. The brigade nurse, 1st Lt. Kimberly Duenow, spoke about Operation Spartan Stork, which is an initiative led by medical personnel from CTF Spartan to educate local women about childbirth and help reduce infant mortality rates.
Before the guests left FOB Pasab, they saw the "doc-in-a-box," which is a small medical and dental office in a metal container. The container can be put in a convoy and travel with a doctor or dentist to smaller Combat Outposts, while treating Soldiers in more remote locations.
The visit not only demonstrated the tremendous job TF Spartan medical personnel are doing, but also set the standard for other military units who will deploy in the future.
"If (we) show the Congressional Delegation and Surgeon General the things we are doing, then programs like that can be mimicked throughout the Army, so other people can benefit from the work we are doing," said Egloff.
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