DeLaney organizes flights of mercy for wounded soldiers

Nevada Herald

U. S Navy Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Petty Officer Randy DeLaney, a 1999 graduate of Nevada High School, is working to make sure wounded soldiers get to the medical aid they need.

It's his job, as a patient movement operations officer who's now in the Middle East, to "ensure there's an airplane to move patients form one area to another, i.e, Baghdad to Germany. I ensure that all of the hospitals and medical facilities involved know what time the patients need to be ready to go to the flight line to catch the flight, and also how many patients are allowed to get on the plane if there is limited space. I also let the receiving facility know how many patients they should be expecting." DeLaney said.

The role of the coordinating officers is an important one, which gets wounded soldiers "to more definitive care so that they have a better chance to live."

DeLaney is also involved with making sure patients who are transported are stable enough for the flight and that the patient will live to reach the destination.

"We don't have to completely rely on our (U.S.) planes to do all the work. We are constantly using other coalition planes as well, such as the Australian C-130s. Sharing the workload makes life easier for everyone," DeLaney said.

Of being away from family and coping with the weeks without the comforts of home, DeLaney said, "Of course the hardest part of any deployment is being away from your friends and family. I have been on a few deployments so this time wasn't as hard. Staying active helps to keep your mind from wandering."

He also keeps in contact with friends and family through phone calls and e-mails.

DeLaney is the son of Larry and Sam DeLaney, Nevada; and the grandson of Jeanne Craig of Nevada and the late Don Craig. His active duty enlistment is scheduled to end in May 2005, after which he plans to attend Cleveland Chiropractic College in Kansas City.