Richland soldier deploys to Romania for multinational exercise

Army combat medics live by a creed — those who have proven their skills under fire and put their lives before others receive the title “Doc.”

One combat medic who has earned the right to be called “Doc” is Staff Sgt. Brad Foster, a Richland resident who serves in the Oregon Army National Guard.

In 2004, while deployed to Iraq with the 1st Battalion, 6th Field Artillery Regiment during a routine mission, a rocket-propelled grenade hit the rear vehicle in his convoy.

He ran to two soldiers with life-threatening shrapnel wounds, dragged them to safety and patched them up. He received the Combat Medic Badge for his heroism.

He recently spent three weeks training in Romania with Army active duty units and soldiers from nine other nations during Exercise Saber Guardian 16, a multinational exercise designed to develop joint combat readiness.

Foster, a member of the National Guard’s 3rd Battalion, 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team out of Pendleton, spent most of the exercise training combat medics in his platoon on how to save lives, pulling on his 17 years of experience in the field and two overseas deployments.

At the end of Exercise Saber Guardian, soldiers were scheduled to have a cultural day to visit local tourist stops. Foster said he wanted to sit at a local cafe after exploring the cities’ historical buildings.

“I volunteered to come to Romania,” he said, “I love to travel … [and] I really enjoy being a medic. Any chance I can go do it, I jump on it.”

Serving all over the world

It is early in the morning in the Romanian countryside, but the sun is already sucking the moisture out of the brownie-batter mud underfoot. It will be a hot, humid day, and Foster is already thinking about the repercussions for his soldiers.

“Did you drink at least a liter of water since waking up?” he asked a soldier who walked in for sick call, while handing him a two-liter bottle.

Being a medic is much more than repairing wounds and treating sickness — it is a social game of trust. If soldiers trust their medics to treat them in any situation, they will have the confidence to perform higher-tempo missions.

Foster supported 140 soldiers from Bravo and Charlie companies of the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team. There were no heat casualties or serious injuries. The tankers shot 120mm rounds in a live-fire exercise while maneuvering through uncharted terrain. The infantry conducted air assault drills.

He trained with the same group last year at the National Training Center (NTC) in California’s Mojave Desert.

The NTC is a demanding place, designed to challenge soldiers in around-the-clock exercises resembling actual combat against highly trained opposing forces.

“I’ve never seen so many heat casualties in my whole career,” Foster said. “I think a lot of our medics at our NTC rotation realized how viable our training is. It woke up a lot of people, making sure they’re trained up.”

Spc. Gaige Spencer, another combat medic, said Foster maintains high expectations of everyone in the battalion aid station. During the NTC rotation, soldiers were sent on 14-hour missions in temperatures exceeding 115 degrees. There were no heat casualties in Charlie Company, however.

This year’s Saber Guardian involved 2,800 soldiers from 10 countries — Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Georgia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Ukraine and the U.S.. The wealth of culture and diversity was worth more to him than a subscription to National Geographic.

“We are all from different countries, but military guys have similar experiences; there is camaraderie no matter what country you are from,” Foster said. “You may not [always] speak the same language, but deep down you know that you experience similar things … it’s kind of unspoken, but it’s great.”

Foster has served all over the world, from Korea to Germany to two tours in the Middle East. He met some really great friends in the Canadian Army while serving in Afghanistan, played hockey with them, and even started a ball hockey league.

For Foster, hockey was always a door to interact with locals and experience the culture.

“When I was stationed in Korea, I got to play hockey with the locals and was invited to their homes,” he said.

Supporting homeless veterans

On the civilian side, Foster works with the Department of Veterans Affairs as a housing support specialist for homeless veterans in Richland.

“I love to work with vets, to find homes and get them stable so they can be safe,” Foster said. “It’s the most rewarding work I’ve ever done.”

The Army prepared Foster, especially as a noncommissioned officer, where he has to solve problems and think innovatively.

“Every day is a different day; the scenarios are all different to get these guys taken care of,” he said.

Foster sympathizes with the men and women who served and now suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, he said. He was shocked when he found out how many of his neighbors had served and didn’t have homes.

“They trust me because of my experience being a veteran medic,” he said.

Foster is grateful for all the organizations that do an exceptional job of helping vets in the Tri-Cities area — the American Legion in Pasco, Department of Human Services of Tri-Cities, Blue Mountain Action Council in Pasco, Veteran Opportunity Center in Pasco, and the VA’s Supportive Housing program.

Spc. Timothy Jackson is a public affairs specialist with the 115th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment of the Oregon Army National Guard.

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 6:23 PM with the headline "Richland soldier deploys to Romania for multinational exercise."