Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 News
    
        Photos

    Week in Photos

    Air Force TV

    Commentaries

    Features

    Art

    About Us
    
        Air Force Senior Leaders
    
        SECAF

    CSAF

    CMSAF

    Biographies

    Fact Sheets

    SECAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library
    
        CSAF Leadership Library 2022

    CSAF Leadership Library 2021

    CSAF Reading List Pre-2020 Archive
    
        2018 CSAF Reading List

    2017 CSAF Reading List

    2016 CSAF Reading List

    CSAF Leadership Library 2023

    CMSAF Leadership Library

    50 Years of the CMSAF

    Adjunct Professors

    Air Force Strategic Documents

    Arctic Strategy

    Empowered Airmen

    State Licensure Portability

    Careers

    AF Federal Advisory Committees

    AF 75th Anniversary

    Policy Updates

    AF Content Management

    Contact Us

    AF Sites
    
        Site RegistrationU.S. Air Force LogoAir Force

        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      U.S. Air Force Capt. James Dunham, an intensive care ward nurse at Craig Joint Theater Hospital, checks the vitals of a patient at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, May 3, 2017. As a nurse, Dunham is the link between the patient and doctor. They are responsible for ensuring medicine is administered, pain is managed and attending to the patient in any way they can. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gonsier)Care under fire: Nurses provide medical, emotional support for those in need
                        
                        
                        Capt. James Dunham, an intensive care ward nurse at Craig Joint Theater Hospital, checks the vitals of a patient at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, May 3, 2017. As a nurse, Dunham is the link between the patient and doctor. He is responsible for ensuring medicine is administered, pain is managed and attending to the patient in any way they can. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gonsier)
                
                Photo Details /
                        Download Hi-Res

Care under fire: Nurses provide medical, emotional support for those in needPublished May 9, 2017
                    
                    By Staff Sgt. Benjamin Gonsier
                    
                    
                    455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
            **BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --**A doctor’s office can induce feelings of uncertainty and anguish, but those emotions quickly fade away when a warmhearted nurse greets you.Whether the nurse is checking your pulse or taking blood, their hospitality quickly puts patients at ease.In a deployed environment, where stress levels are through the roof, hospitality can mean everything to a patient who is recovering from a gunshot wound or was caught in a roadside bomb blast. "We are by our patient’s side 24 hours a day, ensuring their medication is administered and pain is managed,” said Capt. James Dunham, an intensive care ward nurse at Craig Joint Theater Hospital. “We are there when they eat, take care of their day-to-day living arrangements and redress wounds or reapply bandages when something is wrong with it.” Dunham, a native of College Station, Texas, graduated from the University of Texas Medical Branch with a Bachelor of Science in nursing. He joined the military for love of his country and to provide medical care to the warfighters and those affected by the outcome of war.Working alongside the doctors, Dunham and the rest of the nurses at Craig Joint Theater Hospital assist the medical team in places like the intensive care ward or emergency room--doing everything they can to help the patient. “Nurses are where the rubber meets the road,” said Capt. Daniel Flood, a doctor and internist at Craig Joint Theater Hospital. “They have more face-to-face time with the patients than the physicians do, which lets them get to know the patient better. It is their clinical impression that often notifies us doctors when we need to change our plan of care. The nursing staff makes all the difference in the world in having successful outcomes.”At Bagram Airfield, where the mission differs from a home station medical treatment facility, the time a nurse and the rest of the medical staff spends with a patient is crucial to their recovery, especially those with serious and life-threatening injuries. “At home station, we see retirees and dependents, and treat common ailments and injuries,” said Dunham. “Here, we treat wartime injuries inflicted upon U.S. service members, contractors, Afghan nationals and others in the warzone.” This is Dunham’s third deployment, with his first two being in Iraq, working at Balad Hospital, and in Ramstein Air Base, Germany, where he transported wounded warriors away from the battlefield to more long-term care. Medical professionals are trained to treat gruesome injuries, from car crashes to gunshot wounds, but the stress of a combat zone brings a new dynamic.“While working at Balad Hospital, we had a mortar hit the building, so we had to evacuate the patients out of the emergency room and hospital, and move them to bunkers,” said Dunham. “We were providing care to patients in full body armor and in bunkers while setting up a contingency ER so we could see more patients. It was neat seeing all the training we go through come to fruition. We prepare for situations like that.”The fear of being attacked and other factors of a deployed environment can take its toll on the medical staff, but the satisfaction from saving a life more than makes up for it.“To be with someone from their weakest hour to see them grow strong again, to care for someone’s spiritual, emotional and physical needs, and get them back to where they can see their families and become a productive member of their society is one of the most rewarding things we see as nurses and medical technicians,” said Dunham.Nurses, and all other medical personnel, work day and night ensuring the warfighter get back to the fight or back home, safe and sound. The mission relies on their professionalism and expertise, regardless of the situation at hand.Air Force 



military 



deployment 



Bagram Airfield 



Afghanistan 



AF 



Craig Joint Theater Hospital 



doctor 



nurse 



war 



injuries 



Emergency Room 



intensive care ward 



ICW 



Bagram Featured News
        Senior Leader Priorities
                DAF leaders talk budget, reoptimizing the force
                    
                    DAF leaders speak at National Character and Leadership Symposium
                    
                    DAF members recognized during BEYA STEM awards
                    
                    DAF senior enlisted advisors discuss Airmen, Guardians in the fight
                    
                    SecAF Kendall AFA Warfare Symposium Q&A: Reoptimizing for Great Power CompetitionInnovation
                AFWERX director discusses role of tech startups, quick innovation in Great Power Competition
                    
                    DAF delivers lethality at the speed of data during Project Convergence Capstone 4
                    
                    DAF welcomes industry partners to HQ development program
                    
                    DAF announces Spark Tank 2024 finalists
                    
                    Chief Digital, Artificial Intelligence Office to host hackathon in HawaiiMAJCOM News
                Safety enterprise announces new mission, vision, goals in 2024 strategic plan
                    
                    Air Combat Command welcomes new commander
                    
                    USAFE-AFAFRICA commander discusses Integrated Air, Missile Defense during Munich Security Conference
                    
                    Flosi to AFMC family: Embrace change, make every day count
                    
                    AMC rises to increasing global tension
 Quick Links
AccessibilityContact UsEqual OpportunityFOIA | Privacy | Section 508Information QualityInspector GeneralJAG Court-Martial DocketLink DisclaimerNo FEAR ActOpen GovernmentOSI Tip LinePlain LanguageQuestionsResilienceRSSSite MapVeterans Crisis LineCareers
Join the Air ForceAir Force BenefitsAir Force CareersAir Force ReserveAir National GuardCivilian ServiceConnect
            Get Social with Us
            
            Official United States Air Force Website
    Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil