Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

October 22, 2008, Page 4

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Local Soldier cares for wounded in Germany

Navy Reserve Petty Officer 3^rd Class Jeffery T. Schultz is a hospital corpsman deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.  Working for the largest air base in Europe, he helps care for wounded service members from the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan.  (Contributed photo)

By Phyllis Hanson

Caring for wounded or ill warriors is top priority for the son of a Neillsville couple who works at the largest American hospital outside the United States.

Navy Reserve Petty Officer 3^rd Class Jeffery T. Schultz, son of William and Betty Schultz of Neillsville, knows the realities and results of the war against terrorism.

Schultz is a hospital corpsman deployed to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center (LRMC), located amid the forested hills above Landstuhl, a cottage-nestled village town in the Rheinland-Pfalz region of Germany.  He is part of a medical professional team responsible for the care of patients, most coming from two well-known, war-torn countries, Iraq and Afghanistan.

The wounded are flown to nearby Ramstein Air Base and rushed to the hospital by the U. S. Air Force’s 435^th Contingency Aeromedical Contingency Facility team who work hand in hand with the LRMC team to ensure the fastest care possible.

Schultz works at the Deployed Warrior Medical Management Center.  "On a day-to-day basis, I keep track of the wounded service members who have come from down range," explained Schultz.  "I input their information into a program and then assist the patients while they stay ; I help to regulate patients to get them ready to return to duty or to go to the U. S. for further medical care," said Schultz, a 1986 graduate of Neillsville High School.

Schultz’s team comes together by an extensive network of care for service-members’ needs from medical and rehabilitation, to nutrition and spiritual guidance.  Since 2003, a "total force" of Air Force, Army, Navy active duty, Reserve and Guard members has provided support and care for more than 80,000 patients.  They tend to the needs of military dependants and Department of Defense employees living in the region as well.

"I notify the hospital staff on patients who are arriving and determine where the patient will be located," said Schultz.  "Once the patient is stabilized, I ready them for departure to the U. S. where they are sent determined by policies of U. S. Transportation Command and the Army Office of the Surgeon General," he said. 

Despite the long hours and working in one of the more stressful jobs in the military, Schultz lives in an idyllic background that few Americans get the privilege to experience.

"The different language is a challenge and the exchange rate isn’t so great.  But, the opportunities to travel far outweigh those issues," said Schultz.  "It’s interesting to learn about the castles and early times.  Germany is a lot like Wisconsin, but the availability of public transportation and trails for hiking and biking are way more abundant," he said.

Schultz has served in the Navy Reserve for five years, attached to the Naval Reserve Center in La Crosse.  He has been deployed for two years in Germany and just extended for another year.

Clark County Press, Neillsville, WI

October 22, 2008 Page 14

Transcribed by Dolores (Mohr) Kenyon.

Schultz on Medical team in Germany

Jeffrey Schultz of Neillsville is among the military personnel assigned to various medical squadrons and units assisting wounded warriors from the Middle East (above).  Landstuhl Regional Medical Center located in Germany (below) is often the first stop for wounded service members and civilians leaving the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A medical evacuation bus is offloaded at the Ramstein Air Base near Landstuhl.  Wounded patients will be aeromedically evacuated on the awaiting C-17 Globemaster III and returned to the states to received further medical treatment.  (Contributed photos)