March 2011 Article about Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Averill: "From Afghanistan, With Love"
Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Averill, senior medic with C Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, and a native of Citrus Heights, Calif., in southern Helmand province, Afghanistan, March 2011.
FORWARD OPERATING BASE PAYNE, Afghanistan – At firstglance, the back of the light armored vehicle designated as the casualty evacuation vehicle for C Company, 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, is nothing more than amobile trauma bay on eight wheels.Stretchers sit stacked to one side ofthe already cramped 6-foot by 7-foot cargo area. Emergency medical supplies are crammed into bags hanging from almost every surface.
There is more here, though – a hot water heater peeks out from behind a bag of combat gauze. A weightlifting kettle bell sits in front of a set of expeditionary tent poles. An assortment of freeze-dried meals poke out of a pack next to rifle cleaning gear. These and other comfort items are here because this closet-sized space is a home of sorts for Petty Officer 3rd Class Alex Averill and the rest of the vehicle’s four-man crew.
“It’s small, but it’s what we’ve got,” said Averill, 23, the senior medic for C Company, 3rd LAR Bn., and a native of Citrus Heights, California. Click here for entire article
