Volunteers and airmen assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group load a soldier into an ambulance bus at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. When wounded servicemembers and Iraqi military members and civilians are brought to the Air Force Theater Hospital, they are treated and then taken to the contingency aeromedical staging facility to await transportation to either a military or Iraqi hospital. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Medics assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group emergency room and contingency aeromedical staging facility bring Army Cpl. Erick Rodriguez into the Air Force theater hospital's emergency room, Aug. 3, 2007. Rodriguez sustained abdominal injuries from an improvised explosive device. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

2nd Lt. Christine Duro and Staff Sgt. Derick Tibbetts, both assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, draw blood as Master Sgt. Nancy Quemuel, assigned to the contingency aeromedical staging facility, discusses air evacuation and treatment for Army Cpl. Erick Rodriguez, a cavalry scout assigned to the 2nd Infantry Division, Aug. 3, 2007. Rodriguez assigned to the Forward Operating Base Warhorse, sustained abdominal injuries from an improvised explosive device. He was the last patient to be treated in the Air Force theater hospital's tent facility at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Maj. Julie Zwies and Capt. Kathy Betts inventory equipment at the new Air Force theater hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. Starting at 4 a.m., about 150 base volunteers and 380 332nd EMDG airmen moved patients and equipment to the newly upgraded, pre-engineered facility. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Senior Airman James Ray and Tech. Sgt. Christopher Harwell move operating room equipment from the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group's Air Force theater hospital's tent facility to its newly upgraded, pre-engineered facility at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Volunteers and airmen assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group remove sandbags from part of the Air Force theater hospital's tent facility Aug. 3, 2007. The tent hospital was around 63,100 square feet which was made up of more than 30 tents. The upgraded former Iraqi Air Force Academy hospital is about 97,000 square feet. It has 20 intensive care units, 40 beds and up to eight operating tables. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Volunteers, airmen and soldiers assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group move equipment and patients from the Air Force theater hospital's tent facility to the newly upgraded, pre-engineered facility at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins

Staff Sgt. Tanja Green, Senior Airman Jacklynn Levasseur and Army Spc. Ivan Nazario finish moving the last pieces of equipment from the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group's Air Force theater hospital's tent facility to its newly upgraded, pre-engineered facility at Balad Air Base, Iraq, Aug. 3, 2007. U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Shannon Collins




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Labels: 332nd Medical Group, Air Force Theater Hospital, Balad Air Base, Iraq, military hospitals, photo essays, photos, USAF, Wounded Heroes