Afghanistan experiences earn Navy master chief a Bronze Star

Wilson, who is currently Naval Hospital Jacksonville's Plans, Operations and Medical Intelligence (POMI) Department head was deployed to Afghanistan serving as a non-commissioned officer in charge for the Cooperative Medical Assistance (CMA) Team of Joint Task Force (CJTF) 76.

Wilson was the first Navy master chief to deploy as an individual augmentee to Afghanistan. His job was to serve as the liaison officer between joint coalition forces, several non-government organizations and the Afghan Ministry of Public Health. Wilson arranged securing resources of one hospital and four medical clinics.

"I was working with the Ministry of Health, helping them figure out how to rebuild the medical infrastructure of that country," Wilson said. "That infrastructure was a clean slate."

Photo courtesy of HMCM Rick Wilson Everyone on the Cooperative Medical Assistance Team pitched in to get the job done, including HMCM Rick Wilson who unloads medical gear for a mission in Miri, Afghanistan.

Beyond that, as the senior non-commissioned officer he spent a great deal of time helping newly arrived Navy enlisted learn the ropes of their assignments, orient to their new mission and environment while continuing their Navy careers.

Wilson enjoys being a boots on the ground corpsman providing direct patient care. What brought him into the Navy was hearing a retired hospital corpsman share his experiences in Vietnam. Later an incident that whetted his appetite for going where the action is was duty as a liaison officer aboard USS Comfort as it deployed to New York City following 9/11. Although most of the Comfort's care turned out to be supporting City and Federal Emergency Management Agency rescue workers rather than victims; it confirmed his desire to be involved in humanitarian missions wherever they exist. In Afghanistan, he came to a point that he faced a choice between the safer path and the one less traveled. He had to decide between a desk job or going into the field to deliver care to Afghan nationals with the CMA team, out of Bagram. His job would take him "outside the wire" frequently on humanitarian missions.

That was right down Wilson's alley. "Frankly, I didn't go to Afghanistan to ride a desk," he said. "I wanted to be out doing missions." He got his wish. He and a team of humanitarian personnel went to dozens of remote villages, towns and cities with rudimentary or no medical care available. He described it as similar to America's "Old West." On missions 80 percent of the time, accompanied by infantry security details and traveling by convoy over dirt roads or river beds, in helicopters or by fixed wing aircraft; Wilson's team went everywhere except the western portion of Afghanistan.

Photo courtesy of HMCM Rick Wilson Working with one of the teamÕs 10 linguists, HMCM Rick Wilson examines an Afghan boyÕs ankle in Qareh Baghi, Afghanistan.

On one road trip, the team came under small arms and rocket propelled grenade fire. Several other incidents involved improvised explosive devices. Wilson's action in these events was lauded as "a model of calm resolve to other team members and the infantry troops accompanying them as he focused on the success of the mission while ensuring the safety of his troops."

Not surprising from a man who, when asked if he ever was truly in fear, recounted, smiling, the harrowing battle landing the plane when he flew into Afghanistan for the first time. "The plane dropped almost straight down from 20,000 feet with no warning. After that, I figured I was in for some surprises," he said.

Wilson described his team. "Our team had a veterinarian, a dentist, an environmental health

officer, three other Navy enlisted besides myself, a doctor, a Navy nurse practitioner and an Army operations officer. The team had 10 linguists and an infantry security detail with them.

They were often joined by guest healthcare workers who were stationed in Bagram as well as public affairs and combat camera personnel. They'd load up 2.5 tons of equipment for each trip.

Wilson said his job was to make sure the team was trained and ready to go, making sure they were mission ready. That training and preparation took place in Bagram.

The team provided medical care to the population and even veterinarian care to their sheep and livestock. They did exams, treated injuries, administered anti-parasitic medications (deworming) to the children and when approved, some vaccinations. Wilson said he thought the most important thing they did was hygiene training.

They also had people with them who distributed humanitarian equipment such as school books, shovels, rakes, rice and food. He said the team did a lot of teaching with the scarce Afghan medical community. He noted that some of the people considered to be medically knowledgeable would be boys only 12 or 13 years old. "There, they were men," said Wilson.

Wilson emphasized the importance of following cultural norms. For security reasons, he said, they would simply show up at a village unannounced, then he and Col. Dalton Diamond, the physician in charge of the team, would meet with the community leader, exchange greetings and secure their assistance in setting up a clinic site.

Cultural tolerance was one of several valuable lessons Wilson said he learned and that will always stay with him. "The people of Afghanistan are very likeable, very hospitable people," he continued. He also said that when going into other countries "we need to respect their cultures as what it is."

A big cultural difference is how women are dealt with. Only other females can approach the women, either for examinations or for the required security searches. If no females were available on the team then they just wouldn't provide care to the women in the village.

This seems shocking by Western standards but Wilson said, "We respect their culture. We didn't go into their country to force U.S. standards. We go into there and allow them to work with us according to their culture."

Each mission was different Wilson said, noting they rarely stayed in a village for more than one day because of security reasons and because if they stayed longer they'd start seeing the same patient repeatedly, taxing the team's resources.

Wilson said that when he retires in Georgia he hopes to have the opportunity to again provide humanitarian assistance with some organization working abroad. His wife is completing a career in nursing so he hopes they can be a team in this effort.

Wilson said he was impressed with how well all the branches, U.S. and foreign, worked together to accomplish their mission. And, he was proud of what his team accomplished.