Air Force gathering data to protect troops

Jace Radke

Monday, July 7, 2003 | 11:04 a.m.

During his five months in the Middle East serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Air Force Master Sgt. Fred Suedbeck wasn't assigned to ferret out terrorists or to maintain the aircraft dropping bombs on key Iraqi targets.

Instead Suedbeck was making his way through the desert with a portable laboratory stuffed inside a suitcase, gathering information to ensure that U.S forces would not be plagued by the medical problems that veterans of the first Gulf War have developed over the last decade.

"During the first war we did not collect enough on-scene data," Suedbeck said in an interview at the O'Callaghan Federal Hospital at Nellis Air Force Base. "We gathered samples of water, soil, pesticides, whatever was there.

"We wanted to know what health and environmental hazards were there, and we wanted to have a record of them."

The information that was gathered by Suedbeck, who was deployed as part of an expeditionary medical group from December through May, and others, will be used in conjunction with new post-deployment medical checks to try to prevent mysterious illnesses.

About 15 percent of the 697,000 people who served overseas during the 1991 war later reported headaches, loss of balance, muscle and joint pain, while others suffered from multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease.

"The idea is to have as complete an epidemiological trail as possible to go back to," said Capt. Tolani Francisco, Nellis public health commander. "If the information is there we should be able to rule possible causes out if we see anything like we did after the first war."

As of June 9, all airmen returning to Nellis from overseas deployment must have a physical exam by a doctor within five days of their return.

"It's just another thing that we have to do when we get back," said Sr. Airman Julie Taylor, a bioenvironmental technician who recently returned from a deployment to Southwest Asia. "It's not a big deal. They just want to know if you experienced anything strange and what areas you were in."

A blood sample is taken from each returning airman during the 15- to 20-minute checkup. The blood is kept indefinitely at a secure repository, Francisco said.

Airmen also fill out a questionnaire that asks specific questions about where they were and if they experienced any illnesses during their deployment.

Before they leave for deployments, airmen also are checked before and given any vaccinations that they may need such as smallpox or anthrax.

"The ultimate goal is prevention, and then we move along tertiary lines of care and treatment," Francisco said.

Among the irritants that U.S. forces had to face in Iraq were the fumes and smoke from burning oil wells and the superfine particles carried by dust storms.

"The dust definitely was a problem, because it got everywhere," Suedbeck said. "You try to get everyone under cover, but you can't do anything for the guys that have to stand on post.

"We had a lot of upper respiratory problems."

There were no micro-organisms or chemicals detected in the fine dust, but Suedbeck's team was prepared for that possibility.

"We were ready if there would have been chemical or radiological attacks," Suedbeck said. "Not only would we need samples for medical records, but we were also charged with gathering any evidence of these kinds of attacks for the World Court."

Other areas that Suedbeck's unit was responsible for included testing drinking water and for setting up perimeter alarms around U.S. forces that would register any kind of chemical attack.

"We didn't run into any of that, but we were still pretty busy over there," Suedbeck said. "Chemical attacks are always a concern."

Francisco said she hopes that the extra medical checks, and the information gathered in Iraq can help to keep personnel healthy.

"It's hard to say if this can prevent what happened after Desert Storm, but it at least gives us a tool that we can work with," Francisco said.