Reservists to flesh out medical units

With active-duty medical personnel being pulled from Army medical centers and deployed during the war with Iraq, a group of Army Reservists is being activated to fill their slots in the Southeast region.

The deployment of 25 members of the 3297th U.S. Army Hospital, an Army Reserve unit from Fort Gordon, will ensure there are no gaps in services to active duty, retirees and dependents cared for at Army hospitals in the region, said Brig. Gen. Eric Schoomaker, commanding general of the Southeast Regional Medical Command and Dwight D. Eisenhower Army Medical Center.

"If we didn't have the reserves, we simply couldn't do (the job)," said Brig. Gen. Schoomaker. "Two-thirds of our medical support is in the Army Reserves."

A mobilization ceremony for the reservists was held Saturday morning at the Army Reserve Center building at Fort Gordon.

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Brig. Gen. Schoomaker told personnel deploying he has special memories of the reservists called for duty during Desert Storm. At the time, he was stationed in Germany.

"We are eager to have you back to care for these soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines," he said. "We are pleased you are willing to serve. Without you, we could not do what we do."

Capt. Jewel Montgomery's yearlong assignment will bring her from Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta to Eisenhower at Fort Gordon. An operating room nurse, she will continue in that capacity while on active duty.

"I'm very excited. I'm glad to serve," said Capt. Montgomery, who joined the Army Reserves after Desert Storm.

"I always wanted to be an Army nurse," she said.

Others in the group will be sent to hospitals at Fort Benning, Ga., Fort Campbell, Ky., Fort Rucker, Ala., Fort Belvoir, Va., and Fort Jackson, S.C.

Reach Charmain Z. Brackett at (803) 441-6927 or czbrackett@hotmail.com.