Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

Two months ago, Hurricane Gustav struck the US, causing severe damage ($15 billion) and 138 deaths in the U.S. and Caribbean. It had entered the U.S. along the Louisiana coast, coming northwest from Cuba on Sept. 1,2008. In Baton Rouge, wind damage from Hurricane Gustav was the worst of any storm in memory. Power lines were easily brought down as thousands of trees were uprooted and snapped in half by Gustav’s fierce winds. Entire sections of the city were cut off by the mountains of debris. Few homes escaped roof damage as the storm passed over the capitol city. It took two weeks before power was restored to all residents. President Bush declared 34 Louisiana parishes as disaster areas and visited the area on September 3.

The Hurricane could have caused greater damage and taken more lives if not for the effective evacuation of people pre-hurricane landfall. Nearly 2 million people had evacuated from south Louisiana in the days before Gustav’s arrival.

Playing a major role in the evacuation who was personally thanked and congratulated by President Bush when he visited the area Sept 3 is a Filipino, Lieutenant Commander Christopher Cesa, with the US Navy.

"During Hurricane Gustav, I was deployed to Baton Rouge as the Team Chief for the

4-person Joint Patient Movement Team (JPMT) to safely and swiftly move all National Disaster Medical System patients out of Louisiana," Cesa told Asian Journal. "We were the first team to ever successfully move more than 500 patients to safety pre-hurricane landfall."

Chris Cesa wears a Flight Nurse Badge, which is a military badge of the United States armed forces issued by the U.S. Air Force and United States Navy to flight nurses. A flight nurse is a highly trained registered nurse that normally has experience in not only advanced life support but also critical care. They need the combined skills of an intensive care nurse, emergency nurse and critical care nurse as they deal with a large variety of emergencies and under numerous conditions. As a flight nurse, Cesa works on medical emergency teams that reach critically injured or ill patients in remote areas and treat them while airlifting the patient to a healthcare facility. They also work with teams that land at disaster sites such as car accidents, tornados, earthquakes and fly the seriously injured to hospital trauma centers. They perform the necessary, specialized intensive care while transporting their critically injured or ill patients by plane or helicopter to the appropriate health care facility.

As a commissioned officer and a Registered Nurse who completed training and advanced studies in Aerospace Medicine, Cesa is a military flight nurse with the Global Patient Movement Requirements Center (GPMRC). It is a joint activity reporting directly to the Commander in Chief, US Transportation Command, the Department of Defense single manager for the regulation of movement of uniformed services patients. GPMRC authorizes transfers to medical treatment facilities of the Military Departments or the Department of Veterans Affairs and coordinates continental United States patient movement requirements with the appropriate transportation component commands of the US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). The mission of USTRANSCOM is to provide air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, both in time of peace and time of war.

Born in New Jersey in Nov 21, 1971, Lt. Commander Cesa said his parents are originally from Tanza, Cavite where they still regularly visit. In an interview with Asian Journal, Chris narrated his story. "My Father, Eddie Sosa Cesa, was my inspiration in being who I am today. I owe him and my Mom for forging a wonderful future for me to fulfill. I Enlisted in the US Navy in 1990 immediately after high school and stayed to the rank of Petty Officer Second Class (E5) and then was picked up for the Officers program to become a US Naval Officer. I went to the University of South Carolina and graduated with a Bachelors of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree and also commissioned in the US Navy Nurse Corps as an Ensign."

"My subspecialty is Emergency/Trauma nursing and Navy Flight Nursing. I have received many military awards to include the Joint Service Commendation Medal during my tour in CENTCOM during the War on Terrorism, one Navy Commendation medal, two Navy Achievement medals, and the Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal. I was the Junior Nurse Corps officer of the year at the US Naval Hospital Guam 2001. I have received many commendations on my involvement in high-visibility patient movement’s throughout my tour here at the Global patient Movement Requirement Center (GPMRC)," Chris said.

Cesa’s father immigrated to the States through the US Navy but has kept strong relations with the homeland and the Filipino American community. Chris said, "He was enlisted as a Steward November 1, 1960. My Father has held numerous offices in the Filipino associations throughout his years. I was very involved in the FIL-AM myself while growing up. I maintain very close ties with all of my Filipino compadres to this day. Being in the Navy provides me many opportunities to meet and maintain Filipino friendships that stand the test of time!"