Warriors in Peace Operations - Strategic Studies Institute - U.S. Army

his return, he inserted the fuel line into the generator tank,
only to find that the fuel line was frozen. He continued to
attempt to pump the fuel, however, and soon burnt out the
motor which pumps the fuel. Once again, he left the scene
and returned some 90 minutes later with a full operational
fuel tanker. We now had fuel for our generators, which
allowed us to heat and light the inside of our facility and
thus enable us to complete the interior establishment of the
hospital.
In spite of the external resource problems described
above, the unit moved methodically and expeditiously in
erecting the hospital complex. By 1200, the external
portions of the EMT, CMS, and OR were up and positioned.
The difficulty with obtaining fuel earlier in the day
somewhat delayed our ability to complete the interior
construction. However, by 2000 that evening our enlisted
soldiers and officers had completed a highly successful day.
We had a fully functioning EMT with four intensive-care
in-patient beds, a completely supplied CMS, and an
operating room equipped with two surgical tables.
In addition to the hospital construction, we had also been
tasked to establish a sick call facility in a barracks building
close to the one we were billeted in. We had identified an old
arms room and used that for our sick call area. It allowed us
to lock up our pharmaceuticals at night without concern for
their security. One nurse, one physician, and one medic
were assigned to this area. They established the sick call
area in a matter of 2 hours and then proceeded to provide
health care daily at this site.
The construction of the remainder of the facility was
constrained by two primary factors. The first was space. Our
instructions were to place as much of the hospital on the half
of aircraft pad as we could. After measuring the dimensions
required for additions to the hospital, we determined that
we could only place the x-ray and laboratory expansibles in
the space allowed. Lieutenant General Abrams, V Corps
Commander, then sent word that the entire aircraft pad
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