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Airman bridges gap between U.S., U.K. forces

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary
  • AFCENT Combat Correspondent
CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan --  It's a rare thing for a person to be able to walk between two worlds and be comfortable in either setting. For Capt. Zoe Woolston, growing up British and later becoming a U.S. citizen and Air Force nurse has allowed her to bring a unique perspective to both nations.
Prior to the current contingency aeromedical staging facility's arrival in January, only a professional thread extended out of courtesy connected the British and American forces operating here.

"She's been crucial in circumventing the bureaucracy of two nations and stripped all the political manacles away that would normally restrain us from just working together," said Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Ken Brockless, 903rd Expeditionary Air Wing air operations. "She was able to get to the root of the issue and help us communicate. That's an indelible thing to be able to tap into."

The British-run Role 3 Hospital and Bastion air operations were separated from the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron Detachment 1 Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility by more than just location. Cultural ties prohibited them from synching - something Captain Woolston was determined to sort out.

"It's not about the military rather culture," the captain said. "We speak the same language but there's some understated differences between the two and it's being able to identify them and address a workable means of respecting those differences."

The first thing Captain Woolston did was call a meeting at the CASF to educate the staff on cultural differences and how to overcome certain obstacles in order to establish a rapport with the British.

"She gave us a nice briefing at the beginning of our tour and that really helped us understand how the British operate," said Staff Sgt. Mike Johnson, 451st AEAS Det. 1 CASF medical technician. "She's been a real vital link in establishing the relationship between the Americans and the British."

Similarly, the captain focused her attention on bring her British counterparts into the CASF fold.

"Likewise, I encouraged the British from the hospital to come down to the CASF. I said, 'Hey, you're taking care of our patients and we're taking care of yours, so how about we take care of each other,'" Captain Woolston said. "When you take people in and make them part of your family, they have better communication with you. That's what I did with the British."

Having served in the RAF herself from 1988 to 1996, Captain Woolston was also able to bring an understanding of assets, which affect the aeromedical evacuation mission.
"My RAF experience really helped me identify what assets we can tap into," Captain Woolston said, deployed from the 633rd Medical Operations Squadron Pediatric Clinic, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

One of those assets is the Camp Bastion airfield operations. More priority and courtesy is extended to the mission as a result of the relationship fostered between the two units. A key result of the bond formed is a greater understanding of how airflow can greatly affect patient care.

"Because of her, we now have a greater understanding of the urgency assigned to their mission and getting their aircraft landed and parked close by," Lieutenant Brockless said. "Because of her explaining their process, we now understand how air operations can hinder patient care. As a result, we've been able to help them overcome certain challenges such as road construction or poor roadways that jostle the patients about by opening up different routes for them."

Commonality has served the captain well in opening up communication between the Americans and the British. In doing so, she has had to embrace the discomfort of assuaging people's fears of working outside of their norm.

"We all have stereotypes of each other and once we start speaking to each other, we realize that those stereotypes don't actually fit," Captain Woolston said. "You start giving them a chance, actually their first chance really, and you realize that things aren't at all what they seem and you forget about those barriers and just focus on the mission--which for us is the patients."

At the end of the day, taking the time to foster goodwill between two nations has opened a lot of doors, which has had a direct impact on the improvement of patient care here.

"The important thing is, because of her, we now have a foundation set - one I hope our replacements continue," Flight Lieutenant Brockless said. "As long as both sides remain committed to working together and building upon that foundation, then we'll continue to work together all in the name of providing the best possible patient care we can. That's the largest mission (Camp) Bastion performs - taking care of the patients."