thedrifter
06-21-07, 10:18 AM
Reservist going from fighting house fires to avoiding enemy fire in Iraq
By Bill Hess
Herald/ Review
SIERRA VISTA — The Sierra Vista Fire Department’s Station 2 will be less one man for a number of months, as Louie “Chris” Davila responds to a Navy call for his special services as a hospital corpsman.
The 36-year-old Navy reservist will be part of Shock and Trauma Platoon 1, which is forming at a Marine Corps installation in North Carolina in preparation for a seven-month deployment to Iraq.
“Two buddies, both firefighters and paramedics from Tucson, and a surgical technician (he knows) from Tucson have also been called up,” the petty officer second class said.
As he spoke, some of his gear was on his living room floor and couch as his wife, Deyka, sat near him.
With four years of active duty in the Navy under his belt and 13 in the reserves, Chris is no stranger to deployments.
He was in Somalia in the early 1990s while on active duty. He was reactivated 2003, where he went to Kuwait. He did not go into Iraq when the war began.
The Sierra Vista fireman and emergency medical technician’s final shift before his deployment ended at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Earlier this year, members of the platoon pulled their yearly two-week training at the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia.
“It was a pre-deployment work-up,” Chris said about the 25 reserve members of the platoon.
The platoon consists of corpsmen, medical technicians and doctors, as well as Marines who provide security.
Today, Chris will be in Tucson doing paperwork necessary for returning to active duty. On Tuesday, he will leave for North Carolina and six weeks of additional training before deploying.
And, no, the six weeks do not count as part of the seven-month deployment.
For Deyka, her husband’s departure is coming at a difficult time.
The couple have two sons, Cody, 12, and Chase 10, recently sold their home and are preparing to move into a new home in the Ramsey Canyon area.
They must be out of their old home by the end of July, and Deyka said she hasn’t even begun to pack boxes for the move, which now will be done without Chris’ help.
Family, friends and firefighters have said they’ll help.
“When he comes home, the new house will be set up for him,” she said.
It’s a little difficult for Cody to accept his father’s departure, Deyka said. Chase is still young enough not to fully grasp the significance of the deployment.
Deyka said she will not allow the children to watch the news, something she said she did too much during his deployment in 2003.
“It was a rough five months,” she said.
Mail was slow during the first deployment, she added. Even though she wrote him every day, it took a long time for the letters to reach her husband. One time he got 12 or 13 letters at once, and he put them in date order to read them.
The delay in the personal communications between the two, in light of what was being reported in the news, made it hard to know if Chris was all right.
“I was driving myself bonkers,” she added.
With better systems in Iraq now, she said she believes there will be faster communications between them. But she still will not watch the news, so as not to have stories play with her mind.
The Davilas have lived in Sierra Vista since 1995, drawn here by his father, a retired Army chief warrant officer aviator who was assigned to Fort Huachuca.
Besides his dad and mother, Chris has two brothers, both graduates of Buena High School, and a sister, who will be returning to the school as a senior. One brother lives in Tucson. The other is attending Arizona State University.
Deyka works as a contractor at the Department of Defense’s Joint Interoperability Test Command on Fort Huachuca.
Being a Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine unit is special, Chris said.
Traditionally, about the only sailors Marines really like are their corpsmen, and all seem to have the same name — “Doc.” Although sailors, the corpsmen wear Marine uniforms.
To be accepted, Chris said, sailors must prove themselves to the Marines, which means showing you can do what they do and having the stamina required of Marines.
With the combat roles involving Marines, the potential for treating wounds is a reality.
The training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., will focus on wounds caused by improvised explosive devices, the No. 1 cause of casualties in Iraq. About 80 percent of GI injuries are from the bombs. Training on initial care of anyone wounded by an IED centers around the limbs and potential brain injuries, Chris said.
He and the other corpsmen also will be training Marines in a more sophisticated type of first aid. And the sailors will be learning security.
During the six weeks in North Carolina, Chris expects the platoon also will learn more about spotting and the initial treatment of mental health issues.
The Army has a combat lifesaver program, and the Navy and Marines are looking at similar type of training, the Sierra Vista fireman said.
Because of the combat situation in Iraq, everyone needs to know how to care for a wounded person and how to perform security duty, Chris said.
If something happens to a corpsman, a Marine may have to provide initial treatment. If a Marine is hit and security is a problem, a corpsman may have to assume those duties.
“It’s you teach me your skills, and I’ll teach you mine,” Chris said.
When it comes to the wounded, the object is to stabilize the individual, or individuals, at the scene to prepare them for movement up to the next level of treatment, he said.
“Training has to become second nature,” Chris said.
For him, past experiences are a well of knowledge to be drawn upon.
Although there is trauma sin Sierra Vista, especially vehicle accidents, those incident do not compare during a battle or explosion caused by an enemy, the corpsman said.
“It (the deployment) will definitely be a different experience,” he said.
Building team cohesion of reservists from throughout the country — besides Arizona, some who will be members of the platoon are from California, Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey — is an important part of the six-week training before the group heads for Iraq.
Chris was packing some items meaningful to him — a couple of crucifixes from family members, a small plastic bag of items given to him by friends, a folded American flag he had in 2003 and a small Navy flag.
Perhaps the most poignant is another American flag, which he said he will fold and put in a pocket of his “flak vest,” which will be right over his heart.
Regarding this deployment, Chris said he must be ready to respond when called. And, that will be if he hears the words, “Corpsman up” or “Doc.”
Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Ellie
By Bill Hess
Herald/ Review
SIERRA VISTA — The Sierra Vista Fire Department’s Station 2 will be less one man for a number of months, as Louie “Chris” Davila responds to a Navy call for his special services as a hospital corpsman.
The 36-year-old Navy reservist will be part of Shock and Trauma Platoon 1, which is forming at a Marine Corps installation in North Carolina in preparation for a seven-month deployment to Iraq.
“Two buddies, both firefighters and paramedics from Tucson, and a surgical technician (he knows) from Tucson have also been called up,” the petty officer second class said.
As he spoke, some of his gear was on his living room floor and couch as his wife, Deyka, sat near him.
With four years of active duty in the Navy under his belt and 13 in the reserves, Chris is no stranger to deployments.
He was in Somalia in the early 1990s while on active duty. He was reactivated 2003, where he went to Kuwait. He did not go into Iraq when the war began.
The Sierra Vista fireman and emergency medical technician’s final shift before his deployment ended at 8 a.m. Wednesday.
Earlier this year, members of the platoon pulled their yearly two-week training at the Quantico Marine Corps base in Virginia.
“It was a pre-deployment work-up,” Chris said about the 25 reserve members of the platoon.
The platoon consists of corpsmen, medical technicians and doctors, as well as Marines who provide security.
Today, Chris will be in Tucson doing paperwork necessary for returning to active duty. On Tuesday, he will leave for North Carolina and six weeks of additional training before deploying.
And, no, the six weeks do not count as part of the seven-month deployment.
For Deyka, her husband’s departure is coming at a difficult time.
The couple have two sons, Cody, 12, and Chase 10, recently sold their home and are preparing to move into a new home in the Ramsey Canyon area.
They must be out of their old home by the end of July, and Deyka said she hasn’t even begun to pack boxes for the move, which now will be done without Chris’ help.
Family, friends and firefighters have said they’ll help.
“When he comes home, the new house will be set up for him,” she said.
It’s a little difficult for Cody to accept his father’s departure, Deyka said. Chase is still young enough not to fully grasp the significance of the deployment.
Deyka said she will not allow the children to watch the news, something she said she did too much during his deployment in 2003.
“It was a rough five months,” she said.
Mail was slow during the first deployment, she added. Even though she wrote him every day, it took a long time for the letters to reach her husband. One time he got 12 or 13 letters at once, and he put them in date order to read them.
The delay in the personal communications between the two, in light of what was being reported in the news, made it hard to know if Chris was all right.
“I was driving myself bonkers,” she added.
With better systems in Iraq now, she said she believes there will be faster communications between them. But she still will not watch the news, so as not to have stories play with her mind.
The Davilas have lived in Sierra Vista since 1995, drawn here by his father, a retired Army chief warrant officer aviator who was assigned to Fort Huachuca.
Besides his dad and mother, Chris has two brothers, both graduates of Buena High School, and a sister, who will be returning to the school as a senior. One brother lives in Tucson. The other is attending Arizona State University.
Deyka works as a contractor at the Department of Defense’s Joint Interoperability Test Command on Fort Huachuca.
Being a Navy corpsman assigned to a Marine unit is special, Chris said.
Traditionally, about the only sailors Marines really like are their corpsmen, and all seem to have the same name — “Doc.” Although sailors, the corpsmen wear Marine uniforms.
To be accepted, Chris said, sailors must prove themselves to the Marines, which means showing you can do what they do and having the stamina required of Marines.
With the combat roles involving Marines, the potential for treating wounds is a reality.
The training at Camp Lejeune, N.C., will focus on wounds caused by improvised explosive devices, the No. 1 cause of casualties in Iraq. About 80 percent of GI injuries are from the bombs. Training on initial care of anyone wounded by an IED centers around the limbs and potential brain injuries, Chris said.
He and the other corpsmen also will be training Marines in a more sophisticated type of first aid. And the sailors will be learning security.
During the six weeks in North Carolina, Chris expects the platoon also will learn more about spotting and the initial treatment of mental health issues.
The Army has a combat lifesaver program, and the Navy and Marines are looking at similar type of training, the Sierra Vista fireman said.
Because of the combat situation in Iraq, everyone needs to know how to care for a wounded person and how to perform security duty, Chris said.
If something happens to a corpsman, a Marine may have to provide initial treatment. If a Marine is hit and security is a problem, a corpsman may have to assume those duties.
“It’s you teach me your skills, and I’ll teach you mine,” Chris said.
When it comes to the wounded, the object is to stabilize the individual, or individuals, at the scene to prepare them for movement up to the next level of treatment, he said.
“Training has to become second nature,” Chris said.
For him, past experiences are a well of knowledge to be drawn upon.
Although there is trauma sin Sierra Vista, especially vehicle accidents, those incident do not compare during a battle or explosion caused by an enemy, the corpsman said.
“It (the deployment) will definitely be a different experience,” he said.
Building team cohesion of reservists from throughout the country — besides Arizona, some who will be members of the platoon are from California, Florida, Minnesota and New Jersey — is an important part of the six-week training before the group heads for Iraq.
Chris was packing some items meaningful to him — a couple of crucifixes from family members, a small plastic bag of items given to him by friends, a folded American flag he had in 2003 and a small Navy flag.
Perhaps the most poignant is another American flag, which he said he will fold and put in a pocket of his “flak vest,” which will be right over his heart.
Regarding this deployment, Chris said he must be ready to respond when called. And, that will be if he hears the words, “Corpsman up” or “Doc.”
Herald/Review senior reporter Bill Hess can be reached at 515-4615 or by e-mail at bill.hess@svherald.com.
Ellie