U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Fortkamp, a senior medic with the Fort Knox, Ky.-based Company C, 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, and a native of Coldwater, Ohio, examines the ear canal of a soldier at her unit's medical clinic, Forward Operating Base Salerno, July 19. Photo by Staff Sgt. John Zumer

As a young non-commissioned officer, U.S. Army Sgt. Elizabeth Fortkamp enjoys an enviable position. One of her biggest supporters happens to be her battalion commander, yet as far as Fortkamp is concerned, the feelings of professional respect in her unit have always been a two-way street.

Fortkamp, a senior medic with the Fort Knox, Ky.-based Company C, 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Task Force Duke, is a five-year Army veteran presently serving in eastern Afghanistan on her second deployment.

Raised in a large family in Coldwater, Ohio, she is the fifth of seven children. Fortkamp cites that circumstance as one of the most influential reasons for joining the Army

“Coming from a large family, I wanted to get out and be my own person,” she said.

Three years spent as a certified nursing assistant at an Ohio nursing home before joining the Army convinced her she wanted to remain in the medical profession.

“I’ve always loved medicine and helping people,” said Fortkamp, adding that “seeing what’s wrong and being able to fix it” from a medical perspective always intrigued her.

As the senior enlisted member for the 201st BSB medical clinic at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Fortkamp supervises a team that fluctuates between three to six soldiers depending on patient numbers and mission assignments. That supervision consists of sick call duties, organizing training opportunities for the companies of the 201st BSB, and looking for ways to increase the skill sets of the soldiers working under her.

Having also been assigned to the 3rd BCT, 1st Inf. Div., on their last Afghanistan deployment in 2008–2009, she doesn’t hesitate to offer up advice to young soldiers preparing for their first deployment.

“Plan for the worst but hope for the best. If you can alleviate stressors affecting your soldiers, do it,” said Fortkamp.

That commitment to others hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“Absolutely one of the best medics I’ve ever worked with,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Dave Brown, 201st BSB commander and a native of Dover, Del.

“She has a positive attitude, never backs away from a challenge, and is always teaching and making things better,” Brown added.

The ability to share her military and medical knowledge, as well as her enthusiasm and encouragement, have loomed large in the professional development of junior soldiers in her unit.

“She definitely lets us get our hands dirty,” said U.S. Army Pfc. Brandon Cupp, a combat medic with Company C., and a native of Des Moines, Iowa, serving on his first deployment.

He said Fortkamp encourages her Soldiers to rotate through many of the medical sections at FOB Salerno to supplement their skills.

This can include helping out at the Combat Support Hospital, staging combat lifesaver classes for the benefit of soldiers, conducting medical Preventive Maintenance Checks and Services before going out on missions, and accompanying the flight medics of TF Tiger Shark when they go out on missions.

“My medical knowledge has expanded greatly” under Fortkamp, he said.

Much work remains on this deployment, but Fortkamp does allow herself the luxury of thinking of her mid-tour leave in September and the end of her deployment later this year. Spending time with family and friends, getting married, and being reunited with her dog Zoe are just a few things she looks forward to. Her free time is spent exercising and with her new hobby, crochet.

Her Army enlistment will expire in April 2012, and while the military is losing a committed professional, she’s looking to help sick and injured civilians by pursuing a nursing degree, possibly in emergency medicine. She cites the teamwork, unit leadership and quality soldiers that she works with for making it possible to take care of the people her clinic is entrusted with.

“You couldn’t ask for a better command,” said Fortkamp. “If you need something they’ll get it for you,” she said.

But as grateful Fortkamp is for the environment and leadership team she works under, with mutual feelings expressed from above, the more revealing story may be in how she’s perceived by her peers and subordinates.

Army non-commissioned officers are entrusted with mentoring, counseling, teaching, leading and inspiring their Soldiers to reach their potential, while also looking out for their Soldiers’ daily welfare.

If such factors when fulfilled signify success, then at least one soldier considers Fortkamp’s example to be an open and shut case.

“Anything we soldiers need, she’s there for us,” said Cupp.

DVIDS
Story by Staff Sgt. John Zumer

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Seth Alderman, a squad leader for the military police in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, waits for his squad prior to a mission out of Combat Outpost Sabari in the Khost province of eastern Afghanistan. Photo by Pfc. Andrya Hill

Deployed Soldiers have all kissed their families good-bye, and headed off to war with the expectation of learning to handle the constant heartache of missing their loved ones.

However, in a rare exception, two Soldiers in eastern Afghanistan have found unexpected relief from this typical situation by being assigned to the same location at Forward Operating Base Salerno in the Khost province.

U.S. Army Maj. Una Alderman, the chief nurse officer for the 452nd Combat Support Hospital, received deployment orders after her son had already been serving in Afghanistan.

“His [mailing] address said Salerno, and then I found out that was where I was going. I just couldn’t believe it,” she explained.

Her son, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Seth Alderman, a military policeman with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, out of Alaska, was equally surprised.

“When I came here with 4-25 in March, she was on orders waiting to deploy, but we didn’t know where,” he said. “When I found out she was coming here, to Salerno, I just thought ‘Wow.’ It was a huge surprise to both of us.”

Seth works on Combat Outpost Sabari, just a few miles from FOB Salerno, and convoys between the two locations each month.

“Having her here really gives me something to look forward to when I come to Salerno,” he said.

While their close proximity is unique to the deployed environment, and provides a form of solace in the midst of war, it also enables more frequent visits than they have experienced in the U.S.

U.S. Army Maj. Una Alderman, the chief nurse officer for the 452nd Army Reserve, from Wisconsin, tends to a patient at the hospital on Forward Operating Base Salerno, Aug. 5. She is stationed in the same area of operation as her son, Staff Sgt. Seth Alderman, a military policeman with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division. Photo by Pfc. Andrya Hill

“It is nice because I live in Wisconsin, and Seth lives in Alaska. We’ll be able to see each other on a more regular basis here, instead of every year-and-a-half,” Una said.

Both Soldiers said they have tremendous support from their colleagues, and other Soldiers are excited about their opportunity.

“There is a lot of joking around from my Soldiers, but there is also a level of respect. They think, who else’s mom is over here, really?” Seth said.

Combat brings a level of daily danger and with Una working in the hospital, and her son working on the ground, they each have had to face the possibility of continuing their jobs in an unfortunate tragedy.

“I am a mom, he is my son, so I do worry,” said Una.

Despite her motherly worry, Una, with help from others is able to focus on her mission.

“I have a lot of support from the colleagues that I work with, and we will do the job regardless,” she said.

Seth has a half-year remaining in his year-long deployment, and Maj. Alderman has just begun hers. They said they are appreciative of the time they will get to spend together, and are looking forward to the new level of camaraderie, as fellow Soldiers, as well as mother and son.

“I am really proud to be in the Army,” Una said. “The people I am here with are just outstanding Soldiers, so I think it is going to be a very good year, a very meaningful year. Besides my children, this is probably one of the most meaningful things I’ll ever do in my life, and adding that Seth is here, at least until February or March, it makes it that much better.”

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Andrya Hill