A 25-member team from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, is in the Normandy region of France, searching for three missing airmen, whose C-47A aircraft was presumably shot down by German anti-aircraft fire on D-Day, June 6, 1944.
While finding their remains is important, so is the health and well-being of the recovery team. Air Force Master Sgt. John Rinaldi, an independent duty medical technician, is tasked with providing medical care for the search team.
For civilians not familiar with the term, an IDMT is an enlisted medical provider, usually called a medic, who is utilized in forward-deployed locations for units conducting military operations.
With so many troops deployed around the globe, there just aren't enough doctors to be in all places at all times, he said.
"That's why we get advanced training to handle a variety of medical issues," he said, adding that all independent duty medics organically assigned to DPAA are nationally registered paramedics. Additionally, Rinaldi is a certified flight paramedic.
That advanced training means he can diagnose, treat and prescribe medications within certain limits, just like medical providers do, he said.
"We stay pretty busy," he said, meaning one other team medic and himself.
"After working all day, guys come up to see us with cuts, bruises, colds or stomach bugs and we take care of all that," he said, noting that there's been a lot of colds, given the cold, rainy and windy conditions that the team faced since arriving early April.
Rinaldi also provides a lot of preventative care such as monitoring the sanitary conditions for water and food. In France, though, this isn't a big issue, he said.
Training to respond to medical emergencies is also important, he noted.
Before deploying, Rinaldi had to determine where the local medical facilities are, what their capabilities are and what procedures are needed to take people there. Fortunately, there are a couple of large hospitals nearby, he said.
Also, at the start of each mission, medics do casualty evacuation drills to freshen their skills, he said.
In addition to his medical work, Rinaldi pitches in with the rest of the team sifting through dirt in hopes of finding remains.
Rinaldi said he's privileged to be on this mission "with a noble cause."
The Charlotte, North Carolina, native has been an Air Force medic for nearly 17 years. His stepfather, who was a mechanical engineer in the Air Force, talked about his own service and influenced him to join, he said.
He chats regularly with his stepfather and mother who still live in Charlotte.