A Deployment to Sarajevo

Heroes Remember

A Deployment to Sarajevo

Transcript

Well I hit the ground and I was put in with the combined joint headquarters which was in Sarajevo, Bosnia so I wasn’t on the ground in one of the main areas such as Sipovo or Banja Luka where the other troops were fighting or were supporting peace in those areas. I was instead sitting at a desk all day in Sarajevo. So what we did there is we organized all of the medical airlifts in theatre so if you were injured within theatre we sorted out how you were going to get to medical care and sent the helicopter or whatever route you were going to be traveling we sent that transport to the sight of injury. I remember one time we had a guy that had chopped off his fingers. I don’t remember exactly how but we found a Bosnian transplant team and put them on hold and got this guy to them in time to save his fingers which was fantastic because who knew they had it. They were such a highly developed country that they had all these resources they had just happened to go through a terrible war that caused devastation in their country but those people still existed with that skill set so we were able to find them and use that. It was a really good tour and then we had moved over to the camp next door called Butmir and we were traveling back and forth between Aliga and Butmir which you’d live in one and work in the other.

Description

Crew speaks of her roles and responsibilities within the office headquarters and how they assisted troops on the ground.

Rhonda Crew

Rhonda Crew was born August 25, 1970 in Moncton, New Brunswick. Crew first joined the reserves as a 17-year-old, becoming one of the first women in an infantry regiment, the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders Regiment of Cornwall, Ont. Then, after going to nursing school and working in the civilian world for a few years, she rejoined the military in 1997. Almost immediately, she was serving as a flight nurse on helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. Crew accepted deployments to Bosnia 1999 and Afghanistan in 2007, holding rank of Lt. Colonel Nursing Officer and still serving today in the capacity of Canadian Armed Forces Nursing Officer. Stricken with PTSD during her time in military, Crew finds a positive approach in dealing with the effects and has recently been chosen as part of Team Canada for Invictus 2018! Rhonda and husband Duane, also a CAF Veteran now reside in Stittsville, Ontario.

Meta Data

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Recorded:: July 27, 2018
Duration:: 1:33
Person Interviewed:: Rhonda Crew
War, Conflict or Mission:: Canadian Armed Forces
Location/Theatre:: Bosnia
Battle/Campaign:: Bosnia
Branch:: Canadian Armed Forces
Rank:: Lieutenant-Colonel
Occupation:: Nursing Officer

Related Videos

Re-joining the Military

Second time around and trained as a nurse, Crew tells how she made a choice to make the military a lifetime career!

A Sense of Home!

Sharing special thoughts of home, Crew shares a story of how special occasions were celebrated and her continued interaction with the soldiers in a positive and appreciative approach!

Making a Difference!

Lt. Colonel Crew speaks about a very dark incident of sexual assault but how she handled the situation in a positive manner and helped make a difference to others who experienced the same horrific encounter.

Mayday, Mayday!

Speaking of the roles and responsibilities while on duty, Nursing Officer Crew tells of the unfortunate incident of finding themselves in Taliban territory when a mayday operation develops.

The Kandahar Hack

Stricken with a serious respiratory condition, Nursing Officer Crew finds herself in fear of discharge from the military only to be happily surprised with an offer of promotion in rank.

Date modified:: 2019-04-03