Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, shows Sgt. Seth Cantler, a force protection sergeant, how to hold the needle while he sticks his fellow soldier, Spc. Christopher Leonard, during combat lifesaver training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Cleveland regularly conducts first aid refresher courses for her fellow Task Force Keystone soldiers. Photo by Sgt. James Waltz

Spc. Amanda Cleveland describes herself as “a simple girl who is not into drama.” As an Army medic, sometimes she can’t avoid being in dramatic situations, but it is the ability to consistently help and aid people, not the drama, that drives this native of Williamsport, Pa., to excel at her job.

Cleveland graduated from Williamsport High School in 2007 and, at age 17, immediately set off for basic combat training and Combat Medical School.

“I really wanted to go into the medical field and wasn’t sure how I was going to do it,” said Cleveland. “A recruiter was able to get me into the health care field and give me a $20,000 bonus on top of it.”

Cleveland was 18-years-old when her six months of rigorous medical training began and she became very nervous. “It was the longest time I had ever been away from my family,” she said. “I don’t know if I could have graduated if it had not been for a few older friends I had made who shared their previous experiences with me.”

While at training, Cleveland learned the ins-and-outs of emergency medicine and basic medical skills in general. She recalled one particular exercise, which she called “blood lanes.”

“We went through these blood lanes where we had to treat mock casualties in a stressful environment,” she said. “It was fast-paced training and we had to deal with them screaming, among other things.”

She went through similar training at the regional medical training site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., in preparation for deployment.

Cleveland is currently serving with Task Force Keystone during her unit’s nine-month deployment to Iraq. Leading up to the three-month pre-deployment mobilization, Cleveland was one of several medics tasked with training the Soldiers of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade in basic combat medical skills. This allows each Soldier to act as a bridge during the time between an emergency and the arrival of a medic. This time is often the most critical in ensuring a patient’s survival, according to Cleveland.

Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, described the importance of pressure in stopping blood loss, during first aid training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Cleveland has trained nearly 1,000 soldiers in Task Force Keystone leading up to and during her nine-month deployment to Iraq. Photo by Sgt. James Waltz

Her supervisor, Sgt. 1st Class Collin Bowser of Indiana, Pa., said Cleveland is extremely proficient at medical training. “She has done an excellent job teaching several hundred Soldiers the basics of first aid,” said Bowser. “And these are mostly Soldiers who are novices at this stuff and have minimal medical experience.”

Cleveland is humble about her teaching ability, but is quick to acknowledge the importance of the subject matter.”I really enjoy teaching, but it’s not always easy keeping a student’s attention, because I’m not a dominating person,” said Cleveland. “I just keep reminding myself that what I am teaching these Soldiers will not only affect them, but also the people they may have to save. I may be helping my students save a life!”

Cleveland is the primary instructor of the 28th CAB’s First Aid Refresher Course at Contingency Operating Base Adder which is taught monthly to a rotation of Soldiers. When she is not training, she is receiving clinical experience in her unit’s medical clinic. She takes vital signs, screens patients, performs asthma treatments and even stitches sutures.

During her 12-hour shifts, she uses downtime to write home. Many Soldiers here use e-mail, but Cleveland prefers to put pen to paper. “I like to physically write letters for two reasons. First, some of my family members are technologically impaired,” she joked. “But really it just feels more personal. It feels good to have that letter in your hand, knowing there was more time and energy put into it.”

This is certainly one Soldier who thrives on putting time and energy into aiding others.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. James Waltz

Army Pfc. Serena Norman, a medic with Company C, 589th Brigade Support Battalion, 41st Fires Brigade, tends to Iraqi children during a mission in Kut, Iraq, Sept. 19, 2008. U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Daniel Bishop

Pfc. Serena Norman took some ribbing from her father and three older brothers — all combat-arms Army veterans — when she decided to follow their footsteps into the military.

Her family expected her to be the one to go straight to college in pursuit of a medical degree. Instead, she’s found a happy medium, providing medical coverage for more than 60 soldiers at Joint Security Station 5.

Norman, of Company C, 589th Brigade Support Battalion, 41st Fires Brigade, supports Battery A, 2nd Battalion, 20th Field Artillery Regiment, 41st Fires Brigade, and the Iraqi police officers who rotate through the station.

“We’re one big happy family,” she said.

Norman’s fellow soldiers said she proved herself to the “Renegades” on early patrols.

“She never complained, and always helped out when we needed,” said Army 2nd Lt. Anthony Mathis, a Battery A platoon leader. “You couldn’t ask for a better medic.”

In August, when the Renegades and Iraqi police took over the joint security station after Georgian soldiers were called home, Norman set up shop. She teaches combat lifesaver classes to the American soldiers and Iraqi police, conducts sick call, provides medical support on patrols and assists with details.

Norman said the camaraderie she finds among the Renegades and police officers always motivates her. She said she gets a kick out of knowing they all have different backgrounds and music preferences, but come together while deployed.

“They’ll do anything for each other. It’s exactly what I thought the Army would be,” she said.

The Los Alamos, N.M., native is torn between the adrenaline rush she feels when treating medical trauma and not wanting to see anyone injured, she said. A highlight, she added, is the satisfaction she gets from knowing the Iraqis are learning valuable skills from the Americans, such as holding patrol briefs and taking combat lifesaver bags on patrols.

“I felt so good after teaching the Iraqis CLS,” she said. “I smiled for about a week afterward.”

She added that she’s also inspired by the initiative the Renegades take in setting up their living space. When she first arrived, she recalled, the soldiers were setting up their air conditioners and she built a locking cabinet for the aid station.

“If we don’t do it, who is going to?” she asked.

Norman said she still plans to become a doctor, most likely a trauma surgeon, after completing her military service.

DoD
By Army Spc. Allison Churchill
Special to American Forces Press Service

A group of soldier-medics, whose duties adhere to the Hippocratic Oath to provide ethical medical treatment, pledged allegiance to another credo today — the oath of re-enlistment.

Between the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool here, nearly 80 troops stood at attention as Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Eric B. Schoomaker, Army surgeon general, recited a passage from Lincoln’s second inaugural address.

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right,” he said, “let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan, to do all which may achieve and cherish a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations.”

Before administering the oath of re-enlistment to the formation of troops standing at attention, Schoomaker said, “Your willingness to raise your hand and re-enlist speaks volumes about you and your love of country.”

One soldier re-enlisting today was Spc. Crystal Conner, a respiratory therapist, who along with many of the soldiers at today’s ceremony works at Walter Reed Army Medical Center here.

She originally enlisted in 2002 to prove to her family that she is dependable, and that she could do something without them “hovering over” her. “I know I’ve done that,” she said, “and more.”

Having achieved her original goal, Conner said, she continues serving in the Army – with today marking her second re-enlistment — because she feels it’s her calling.

“I’ve been deployed to Iraq before, so I can kind of sympathize with the soldiers coming back, and I know what they’ve been through,” said Conner, who deployed to Baghdad in 2004 for a year. There’s nothing she’d rather do than take care of wounded soldiers, she added.

Army Command Sgt. Maj. Rudy DelValle, command sergeant major of Walter Reed Health Care System, said those re-enlisting represent troops who love their duties as soldiers.

“They love what leadership is doing for them right now. They love their country, the sacrifices they’re making, they want to be a soldier, they want to take care of people,” he said. “There are only about five soldiers getting re-enlistment bonuses. The rest of them are doing it only because they want to be a soldier.”

Army Col. (Dr.) Norvell Coots, commander of Walter Reed Health Care System, said the re-enlistment of medics illustrates a show of support to the military and provides a boost to morale within the unit.

“Usually, you hope to get this many throughout an entire year,” he said of re-enlistments. “And here we’ve accomplished that on the second day of the fiscal year. It’s just an amazing sense of patriotism on the behalf of these medical soldiers.”

Staff Sgt. Clayton Eric Cunningham re-enlisted today for the second time in his seven-year tenure in the Army. As a warrior transition squad leader at Walter Reed, Cunningham’s job involves helping wounded troops transition after returning home from deployment. His favorite part of the job is interacting with veterans, he said.

Cunningham recalled a special bond he forged with a young Army specialist who was injured when a makeshift bomb struck his Humvee in Iraq. As a result, the soldier suffered from traumatic brain injury, a mental condition characterized by headaches, dizziness, lack of motor coordination, memory loss and other symptoms.

“It threw him out of the vehicle. It killed the other three people inside,” Cunningham recalled. “He got really messed up — really bad TBI. He couldn’t remember his name a lot of the time.”

Cunningham said it was great to see the young soldier’s condition improve under the warrior transition program.

“It’s really cool to see them advance in their medical treatment and get better,” he said.

DoD
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service

On December 19, 2006 I did a post about “a wee slip of a gel”, Michelle “Chuck” Norris, late of C Company, 1 Bn the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment. She had been awarded the British Military Cross for her bravery in action in Iraq. That’s the equal of our Silver Star.
Andrew Stuttaford notes a new story about this bonny lass.

Citation:

“At just 19 years of age and having only recently completed basic training, Private Michelle Norris was deployed as a medical orderly with The Queen’s Royal Hussars Battle Group in Al Amarah, Southern Iraq. 11 June 2006 saw the largest and most intense battle in Iraq since 2004. A search operation in Al Amarah turned into a war fighting engagement when her Company Group came under heavy, accurate and sustained attack from a well organised enemy force of over 200.

“During the heaviest of the fighting the company commander’s group came under accurate sniper fire and the commander of the Warrior carrying Private Norris was shot in the face and seriously injured. Private Norris realised the severity of the situation immediately and without thought or care for her own personal safety, she dismounted and climbed onto the top of the Warrior to administer life saving first aid to the casualty. On seeing her on the top of the Warrior the sniper opened fire again, firing a further three rounds at her, one hitting the radio mounted on the side of the turret inches from her leg. Despite this she continued to administer first aid through the commander’s hatch to the casualty until the gunner pulled her into the turret for her own safety.

“Despite the very real risks from sniper fire, heavy small arms fire and rocket propelled grenade she deliberately ignored the danger to her own life in order to administer live saving first aid to the commander of the vehicle. Private Norris’s actions on 11 June were extremely courageous and outstandingly brave and have rightly earned her the Military Cross for actions to save the life of a comrade when under fire.”

The Telegraph

“It was my first casualty since training, which was pretty scary,” she said. “On arrival at the scene, we stopped and when I heard ‘dings’ off the Warrior, I thought it was stones.

“All of a sudden, the driver shouted down to me that my commander had been hit. I didn’t know where he’d been shot and how bad it was at this stage.

“So I jumped out the back of the Warrior, climbed up on top of the turret, looked down and saw the extent of his injuries.

“In training you always get told to assess the situation first and then, if it’s safe to do so, to go forward. But that day I didn’t think about my own safety. I just knew I had to get him.

“I suppose I knew there were bullets, but I didn’t know how many and you don’t think, ‘I need to be brave’, you think, ‘I just need to get to him’.”

As she carried on with her rescue mission she could hear the “crack and thump” of rounds going past her head. Once Sgt Page was safely in the back of the vehicle she began to check his vital signs and administer first aid.

Pte Norris, whose most serious casualty beforehand had been a soldier with an infected mosquito bite, worked hard to prevent her comrade from going into shock.

“I just talked to him, I just kept saying, ‘Dad, are you with me? Dad stay with me’, until we got him to the casualty helicopter.”

Nine months later the young medic finds it “amazing” that she has been awarded the Military Cross. “I never thought I’d go down in history for something I did,” she said.

“I can’t explain it, I really can’t. It’s well over my head.”

Pte Norris, 19, who is nicknamed Chuck after the film star, dreamed of becoming a soldier from an early age.

“I remember sitting on my dad’s knee watching old war movies and documentaries, because he loves his history. I remember watching ‘The Battle of Britain,’ and we could both say the words before they came out of the actors’ mouths.

“And the next morning, I would wake up thinking, ‘I want to be a soldier. I want to do all that’. At 15 she was already in her second year as an Army cadet in Stourbridge and, although she did reasonably well at her GCSEs, her mind was focussed on one career.

“I wanted to join the artillery,” she said. “I went up for selection as soon as I could, but I failed on my fitness: I took two seconds too long on the mile-and-a-half run and I could only do two pull-ups and you had to do four.”

Devastated, she spent a year at college before trying again. This time she cut a full two minutes off her running time and managed nine pull-ups. She joined the RAMC and after nine months’ training was posted to Germany with 1 Close Support Medical Regt.

“After a while, they said they were looking for volunteers for Iraq and I thought that was what I wanted to join for, so I just put my hand straight up.”

Her mother, Susan, 55, recalls how she tried to make light of her heroism when she phoned home.

“I knew there had been an incident and I knew she was in a difficult situation, but Michelle played it down.

“When I realised the full enormity of it I broke down and cried. It was a mix of horror that she could have died and pride over what she had done.

“I just thank God she is alive. I’m so proud of her. We are all very, very proud.”

Mrs Norris said she and her husband, Peter, had not wanted their daughter – the youngest of their three children – to join up, but said they had supported her all the way.

Mr Norris, 58, confessed: “I’d prefer it if she was working in McDonald’s or something like that but that wouldn’t be Michelle. She gets on with all the lads out there. She’s a bit of a ladette.”

Michelle Suzanne Claire Norris – Military Cross, one of Britain’s highest awards for gallantry in combat

Evening Standard

An eighteen year-old Army medic has become the first woman ever to win the Military Cross, one of Britain’s highest awards for gallantry in combat.

Private Michelle Norris braved heavy sniper and machine-gun fire from 200 insurgents during a fierce battle in southern Iraq earlier this year, clambering on top of an armoured vehicle to give life-saving treatment to a severely wounded comrade, ignoring the bullets smashing into the turret around her.

It was the first time she had ever been confronted with a casualty on the battlefield.

The teenager, who had dreamed of joining the Army after watching old war movies with her father as a child, spoke of her pride at receiving the coveted medal, and said she hoped the award would help convince doubters that women can cope well with the dangers of frontline combat.

At a special ceremony in London yesterday the head of Britain’s armed forces Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup described the astonishing bravery which led to her ground-breaking gallantry award.

The Military Cross is awarded to soldiers ‘for exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy’, and ranks only below the Victoria Cross and Conspicuous Gallantry Cross as a recognition of bravery in battle.

Michelle Norris was a newly-qualified private in the Royal Army Medical Corps, only a few months out of basic training, and was sent to Iraq last summer as a company medic with the 1st Battalion the Princess of Wales Royal Regiment, aged just 18.

On June 11th this year her unit was caught up in ‘the largest and most intense battle in Iraq since 2004′, according to her medal citation, and ‘came under heavy, accurate and sustained attack from a well organised enemy force of over 200.’

At the peak of the battle the commander of her Warrior armoured vehicle was shot in the face and seriously injured while standing with his head outside the turret hatch. She climbed out of the vehicle and onto the turret to give first aid. Seeing this, enemy snipers concentrated their fire on the Warrior, sending bullets smashing into the armour ‘inches from her leg.’ Pte Norris continued giving treatment regardless, until other soldiers dragged her to safety inside the vehicle.

Speaking at the ceremony Michelle, now 19, told how the wounded man, Colour Sergeant Ian Page, was a good friend, and ‘like a father to me.’

She recalled: ‘The gunner shouted down to me that the vehicle commander was injured. I couldn’t see how badly until I got out of the vehicle. ‘A bullet had hit his rifle and actually gone through it and into his face. ‘At first I didn’t realise they were still firing at us. I was more worried about whether I would remember all the training and do the right thing, but it did all come rushing back to me.

‘I remember the gunner yelling at me to get down. I heard rounds come whizzing past my head and I thought ‘Yes, I probably do need to get down now. ‘Before I could move he grabbed me and dragged me down into the vehicle.’

Thanks to her bravery Colour Sgt Page subsequently made a full recovery and has since returned to duty.

Pte Norris said: ‘I’ve always wanted to join up. I was a bit of Tomboy as a girl, and was always out playing in the woods with my brother. I joined the cadets at 13, and really enjoyed it.

‘This medal hasn’t really sunk in. I’m really proud to be the first woman to get the MC. ‘I know some people doubt whether we can work properly on the frontline. I hope I’ve proved we can. ‘We do the job to the best of our abilities, and sometimes even better than the men.’

Michelle’s mother Susan and father Peter, from Stourbridge, West Midlands, voiced their delight at her award.

The parents of Michelle Norris last night told the Daily Mail of their immense pride in their daughter, who is now based in Germany.

Susan Norris, 55, said yesterday: ‘It is impossible to put into words how I feel. ‘I am so proud of Michelle – it is just amazing what she has achieved. ‘But at the same time I feel so sad for all of the people who have lost their lives out there. And for their families. ‘It is a real mix of emotions.”

Mrs Norris, a full time carer, added: ‘We had no idea before that Michelle was the first woman to get a Military Cross. ‘It is overwhelming. ‘None of us dreamt this would happen when she joined the army two years ago. ‘She loves her job and were are so grateful that she is safe. ‘She has done incredibly well and her brother and sister are so so proud of her too. ‘Now we are all looking forward to her being home for Christmas.”

Peter Norris, 58, added: ‘Seeing Michelle get the award brought a tear to my eye. ‘We are so proud of her and it has been a very emotional day. Especially when you think of her fellow soldiers who never made it home.’

Michelle said: ‘I didn’t want to tell my parents too much about it at the time, as I didn’t want them to worry. ‘They’ve all been a bit worried while I was away, although my mum was the worst.’

Ministry of Defence

Commenting on the actions of Pte Norris, her Commanding Officer, Lieutenant Colonel David Labouchere MBE, said:

“Private Norris acted completely selflessly and, in the face of great danger, concentrated on her job and saved someone else’s life. She is part of a larger team, all of whom are acquitting themselves admirably when faced with danger.”

Scotsman

In a statement released yesterday, Pte Norris, nicknamed “Chuck”, who only recently qualified as a medic with the Royal Army Medical Corps, described the ordeal. She said: “[The incident] brought it home to me and I realised why I was here. It was my first casualty since training, which was pretty scary.

“On arrival at the scene, we stopped and when I heard ‘dings’ off the Warrior, I thought it was stones. All of a sudden, the driver, Private Nani Ratawake, shouted down to me that my commander had been hit.

“I jumped out the back of the Warrior, climbed up on top of the turret, looked down, and saw the extent of his injuries. I then heard the crack and a thump of a round going past my head. I was under fire from a sniper, which luckily just missed me.

“Ratawake pulled me down head first into the turret. A round went over and hit a battery which was at my knee height, so if he hadn’t pulled me down at that point, my knee or my leg would have been shot. We managed to cross the turret and get my commander into the back, where one of the lads put a sweat rag over him. I got through and administered first aid, put a dressing on and checked his vital signs,” she said.

Pte Nani Ratawake, who is known as “Destroyer”, then drove to the helicopter landing point, where the casualty, who has not been named, was taken to a military field hospital.