Petty Officer 1st Class Billie B. Estes, U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and intensive care ward leading petty officer at NATO Role 3, Multi-national Medical Unit, holds a newly-born Afghan child. Estes treats patients from coalition forces and local nationals daily. She has been a licensed nurse practitioner for 26 years and a Navy corpsman for 20. U.S. Army Photo by 1Lt. Tyler N. Ginter

Amid the blazing heat, strong smells and rocket attacks, international service members work together to save the lives of coalition forces and Afghans every day.

Among them is Petty Officer 1st Class Billie B. Estes, U.S. Navy hospital corpsman and intensive care ward leading petty officer at NATO Role 3, Multi-national Medical Unit.

If a wounded service member in Afghanistan arrives at NATO Role 3 MMU, they have a 98 percent chance of surviving, said a military official.

“We want 100 percent success, and I know we can’t always have that,” said Estes. “Our mission is to give the best treatment and care of our patients that we are able to give.”

Estes said she has always believed in showing patients compassion. It was an example of caring that she experienced as a little girl growing up in an El Paso, Texas children’s home that inspired her to become a civilian nurse and Navy corpsman.

“They really planted the seed of caretaking,” said the Navy Reservist.

Years later and after several deployments, Estes finds herself in Afghanistan giving back. She treats patients of all nationalities – from U.S. service members to Afghan children – and does so with a smile on her face and cheer in her voice.

Estes said that it’s especially important to treat members of other nations with respect, because the respect and care that they show is what patients bring back to their countries.

“I treat all of my patients the same,” she said. “They’re here because they’re injured and we need to give them the right treatment like we would anybody else.”

As a licensed practical nurse for Muskogee Surgical Hospital in Muskogee, Okla., Estes is a veteran caregiver. She said that compassion is what makes all of the difference when treating patients.

“That’s why we’re here,” she said. “We have to give them hope to carry on.”

The corpsman of 20 years said that one of the most rewarding parts of her job is being able to treat patients and comfort them as they heal. Patients who know that people around them really care usually recover more quickly – they can concentrate on what they need to do to get better.

For Estes, it has always been about giving back. From dressing wounds to a kind smile, she has always tried to show the same care that she received as a child in El Paso, because to her, caring makes all the difference.

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Story by Spc. Edward Garibay

Chief Petty Officer Ellis standing in the Battle Aide Station located at Camp Moreell, Kuwait.

Christina K. Ellis, Chief Petty Officer and hospital corpsman from Pittsburg, Texas, assigned to the Seabees of Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 22, is currently serving in Kuwait awaiting forward deployment to Kandahar, Afghanistan.

HMC Ellis, a 2007 graduate of American Intercontinental University, is the mother of four children, who reside in Pittsburg, Texas.

Ellis is deployed from Navy Operation Support Center Fort Worth, Texas. Ellis is the Battle Aide Station Senior Medical Department Representative and leading chief petty officer who supervises the hospital corpsman staff who provide the battalion with medical support including sick call, preventive medicine and field medical care.

“Ensuring our hospital corpsmen have the training they need to care for our Seabees 24/7 is my number one priority,” said Ellis. Ellis, who joined the Navy July 15, 1991, says she feels proud to be part of an event that is making history.

“As a leader, I remind myself of a quote by St. Francis. “Be servants of men, not masters,” said Ellis. “This unique opportunity allows us to carry out a mission and develop our troops.”

The Seabees of NMCB 22, homeported in Fort Worth, Texas, are deployed to Afghanistan and other areas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

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BAKIT, Iraq (March 20, 2007) Hospital Corpsman 1st Class J. L. Knuth examines the face of an Iraqi child during a combined medical engagement in Al Anbar province. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Scott B. Wyatt

Due to technical difficulties, I was unable to interview Jennifer Knuth. She’s on her third deployment to the AOR, with the first two being on the carrier Lincoln. She’s a single mom, with twin five year old girls. The high point of this deployment has been her participation in humanitarian missions outside the wire. This pic illustrates what makes her happy, helping Iraqi women and children.

PACIFIC OCEAN (March 15, 2008) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Elena Williams administers Anthrax vaccinations on the mess decks aboard the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72). Lincoln is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class James R. Evans