Bahrain

During the first week of December, we travelled to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and U.S. European Command (EUCOM) AORs. The number one reason for going was to convey our sincere appreciation for the outstanding work the active duty and reservists who perform each and everyday under very challenging conditions and to determine how Navy Medicine headquarters can better support their needs.

Our first stop Dec. 1 was Bahrain, the home of U.S Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), the Naval Component Commander for CENTCOM. I wanted to get a strategic view of the medical presence and services Navy Medicine provides to U.S. and coalition forces in the Arabian Gulf, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and parts of the Indian Ocean.

While in Bahrain, we visited the Bahrain Defense Force Royal Medical Services which provides Level IV medical care as needed by U.S. service members assigned to NAVCENT and Naval Support Activity (NSA) Bahrain.

Our next stop Dec. 3 was Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, the home of U.S Army Central (USARCENT), the Army component commander for CENTCOM and the Army's First Theater Sustainment Command (TSC). First TSC provides joint, theater focused logistic support in the CENTCOM AOR making Camp Arifjan the logistical command and control hub for Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.

Camp Arifjan is home to the 44-bed US Military Hospital Kuwait staffed by the Expeditionary Medical Facility-Kuwait (EMF-K). The hospital provides complete resuscitative surgery and acute care to approximately 20,000 coalition forces in five installations in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations. It is housed in Base-x modular shelters, tailored to meet the medical mission, and are setup in less than 48 hours. Try to visualize an operating room in a tent or a state-of-the-art digitized, computerized CAT scan machine in a large metal box or mobile units comprise of six ICU beds (expandable to 12) with full cardiac monitoring and ventilator capability.

Cumulative for 2007, EMF-K conducted over 80,500 outpatient visits, 1,200 surgeries, 15,200 dental encounters, and 22,500 immunizations, a productivity output similar to family practice teaching hospitals in the US and similar in terms of breadth and depth of talent.