USAF - Katrina

[BLUEHAWK]

A few current Zoomie initiatives in relief:



AETCNS 090905189
NCO defuses gas station crisis

By Susan Griggs
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AETCNS) -- Gasoline shortages and frustrated motorists are common in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

In one instance, a Keesler noncommissioned officer's cool head prevented a potential disaster from erupting.

A long line of motorists was waiting as Staff Sgt. LaShawndra Singleton pulled into a gas station on the interstate near Montgomery, Ala., Aug. 29. She was headed back to Keesler after evacuating to Alabama.

Sergeant Singleton, who has worked in the 81st Mission Support Squadron's military personnel flight for the past two years, topped off her sports utility vehicle's tank and filled a five-gallon gas can she might need for her journey.

"People started coming out of the station saying that they were only letting you get $10 worth, even if you already paid," the Ohio native said. "After I paid for my gas, across from where I was parked I heard a man telling someone to get up and don't make any movements other than rising up. I heard a female saying that she wouldn't, but please don't do this.

"As I got closer to the pump across from my SUV, I saw a man pointing a gun at an elderly woman," said Sergeant Singleton, who was in uniform. "The man was backing up, so I jumped in front of the woman. I told him that he didn't want to do this, and he responded by saying all he wanted was enough gas to get his family north.

"I told him I could give him money, but he said that the gas station was only letting people get $10 worth of gas now, and he needed gas," she said. "I told him that I was trying to get to the Gulf Coast to help, and by doing this, I can't help him or the people down there.

"Then he asked me if I was ready to die, and I said if I did, I knew I had God with me," the sergeant said. "I told him I had five gallons of gas that he could have. As I was opening the trunk, I was so nervous -- I tried talking to him so that no one else would get involved."

She asked him to throw the bullets in the trash and keep the gun if he was scared, but not to make matters worse. He told her he that he just wanted gas, and asked where she was from. When she said she was from Biloxi (Miss.), he started telling her about the terrible destruction Hurricane Katrina had inflicted on south Mississippi.

After the man walked away with her gas can, Sergeant Singleton went back to check on the crying woman who thanked her for intervening.

She pulled onto the interstate to continue her journey, but had to pull off on the shoulder because she couldn't stop shaking.

"It wasn't until I got to Mobile (Ala.) that my nerves had gotten back right," Sergeant Singleton said.

She credited her experiences during her deployment to Iraq last year for enabling her to maintain her composure in a stressful situation.

The sergeant was one of several Team Keesler members involved in hurricane recovery efforts who received coins from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld during his visit to the base Sept. 4.


AETCNS 090905190
Little Rock welcomes China hurricane aid

LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. (AETCNS) -- A 747 laden with 100 tons of humanitarian aid from China arrived here Sept. 7 as part of Hurricane Katrina relief operations. The relief supplies included bedding, clothes, tents and generators.

Little Rock Air Force Base is the hub for receiving international humanitarian aid for the hurricane relief efforts.

China's consul general said the shipment was a show of his people's support in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

"This was a chance to show our sympathy and support and to show that we're standing with Americans," said Hu Yeshun.

The location of Little Rock AFB and its people's airlift experience make receiving the international aid missions possible.

"We have a great location plus we have the infrastructure here at Little Rock Air Force Base. We have a huge ramp and we have people who are trained to off load planes," said Brig. Gen. Joseph M. Reheiser, 314th Airlift Wing commander. "Our airmen at Little Rock Air Force Base continuously train to move people and supplies. This life-saving effort puts our training into action by helping the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"Our airmen have played a vital role in this process and are working hard to provide relief to our Southern neighbors," he said.

To date, Little Rock AFB has received 17 international aid flights with more than 934 tons of relief supplies.


AETCNS 090905191
Baby arrives during hurricane via C-section by flashlight

By Susan Griggs
81st Training Wing Public Affairs

KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. (AETCNS) -- Hurricane Katrina's awesome power couldn't keep a baby from making her debut at Keesler Medical Center during a cesarean section illuminated by a ring of flashlights.

"Our team delivered a healthy, robust baby girl - definitely not a shrinking violet," said Maj. Betsy Majma, a nurse anesthetist. "She came into the world screaming, even before she was fully delivered. Except for the venue and circumstances, it ended up being a routine C-section - 23 minutes, skin to skin."

The Aug. 29 birth was coordinated by a team of about 50 medics and support personnel who prepared the makeshift delivery room, conducted the surgery and ensured the health and safety of the mother and child, according to Maj. (Dr.) Jaye Adams, supervising physician.

The woman was 39 weeks pregnant and had been scheduled for a repeat C-section Aug. 30. When she began having contractions and her water broke while she sheltered with other expectant mothers at Keesler Medical Center, the mom and the medical team had decisions to make.

"We couldn't air-evac her out of here because of the high winds," Major Adams said. "She could have proceeded with a vaginal delivery, but because of her earlier C-section, she had been advised to have the same procedure again. There are certain risks involved with any surgical procedure, even under the best circumstances, and we didn't have optimal conditions. She opted for the C-section."

When the medical center's generators flooded at the height of the storm and left the facility without power, an alternate location for the delivery had to be found. A room in the intensive care unit was chosen.

Unlike the delivery room, the ICU had windows where the afternoon light provided some illumination. The team needed power for the bovie device that's used to cauterize bleeds during surgery, so civil engineers ran a cable from an emergency generator in another room that was being used for another patient's ventilator.

"We had to push the equipment we needed down the hall from the operating room to ICU - about 500 feet in the pitch-black darkness," said Senior Airman Shantra Nuehring, an operating room technician who assisted with the delivery. "I couldn't see my hand in front of my face."

After ICU personnel cleared furniture and equipment out of the room, the floor was scrubbed and Airman Nuehring and other technicians cleaned the walls with antiseptic wipes to sanitize the area as much as possible.

Second Lt. Leah Nielson, an obstetrical nurse, was one of the medics who cared for the patient.

"I tried to calm and soothe her anxiety and make sure she understood exactly what we planned to do," Lieutenant Nelson said. "She was a real trooper - she did everything we asked her to do."

"The only concern the patient seemed to have was that she felt very exposed in a room with so many windows," Airman Nuehring said. "We wanted to give her some sense of privacy, so we taped up sheets over some of the windows."

Capt. (Dr.) Darren Pittard cared for the woman while she was in labor. Two other physicians in Keesler's residency program, Capts. Andrew Allen and Anna Flinn, were called on to do the C-section.

"The preparations were a carefully coordinated effort," Major Majma said. "I didn't do her spinal until everything was checked out and ready. We draped her, prepped her and boom-boom-boom, they got that little girl out."

The tiny room was packed with medics for the delivery, some holding industrial flashlights to provide as much illumination as possible. There wasn't room for the father to be present for the birth, so he waited down the hall with the couple's other daughter.

The darkness, heat, humidity and lack of ventilation presented significant challenges to everyone involved.

"It was so humid that our charting paper felt like damp toilet paper and started falling apart," Lieutenant Nelson said.

"We kept fanning the patient to try to keep her cool under the heavy drapes," Major Majma said. "Some people felt faint and nauseous. Afterward, we were all totally saturated - underclothes and overclothes."

"We were astounded that there was no sign of infection after the delivery," Lieutenant Nelson said. "We gave the mom plenty of antibiotics and she never spiked a temperature.

"Considering the circumstances and the challenges of the delivery, I'm really proud of the level of care our team was able to provide," Major Adams said. "I've been involved in more than a thousand deliveries during my medical career, and this is definitely one I'll never forget."


AETCNS 090905192
Recognition, treatment key in overcoming stress

2nd Lt. Rachel Smith
82nd Training Wing Public Affairs

SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AETCNS) - Now that the storm has settled, those military members and their families who were left with little in the wake of Hurricane Katrina could begin to experience signs of stress. Individuals need to be able to recognize those signs and be able to point those stressed members in the right direction.

According to Maj. L. Lynn Pauley, a clinical psychologist at Sheppard Life Skills Support Center, stress symptoms can come in a variety of forms and everyone has their own unique circumstances and concerns.

"There are physical and mental responses to stress," she said. "These are common and normal reactions to abnormal situations, such as surviving Hurricane Katrina."

These responses include but are not limited to changes in appetite, trouble sleeping, constant sweating or shakes, headaches, irritability, mood swings, indecisiveness, lack of concentration, confusion and trouble remembering things.

In spite of this, Major Pauley said most symptoms will diminish or normalize with time, rest, food and communication.

Some of the ways members can help themselves cope better is through rest and relaxation; staying hydrated; eating regularly and sensibly; sharing thoughts and feelings with others, pace and try not to do everything at once; ask for help and use those resources that are available.

Chaplain. (Capt.) Kristina Coppinger, a Protestant chaplain at the Solid Rock Caf? on Sheppard AFB, said stressed members should be encouraged to continue their traditions.

"If the person is involved in worship services, they should get back involved," she said. "Encourage people to return to the roots of their faith and if they have none, maybe now is a good time to explore faith."

Along with Life Skills and the chaplains, members seeking help can also find help in military training instructors, first sergeants and commanders.

"We do our best to help our people," said Master Sgt. Timothy Clouse, 82nd Mission Support Squadron first sergeant. "Any issue they have, we take care of - we (first sergeants) have an open door policy."

"(Keesler members) have been through a great ordeal," Major Pauley said, "and we hope to share our Texas hospitality with (them) for as long as (they) are here."

v/r

//SIGNED//

JON R. HANSON, MSgt, USAF
AETC Public Affairs News Division
DSN: 487-4400, Commercial 210-652-4400

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[Jerry D]

some great tales of hero's at work