FORT CAMPBELL, Ky (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Blanchfield Army Community Hospital (BACH) named its newest Soldier of the Quarter on Tuesday, July 30.
Spc. Mondeka Douei, a native of the African nation Ivory Coast, is a behavioral health specialist at the 101st Combat Aviation Brigade Embedded Behavioral Health Clinic. He has served in the Army for nearly two years. Douei competed against 14 other soldiers in the rigorous two-day competition.
The Soldier of the Quarter Board tested candidates in a variety of areas including, tactical combat casualty care, hot and cold helicopter patient loads and hoist operations, day and night land navigation, written exam, essay, oral board, Army Combat Fitness Test and combat water survival proficiency.
“Congratulations to all the soldiers who competed for the honor to be called Soldier of the Quarter. This experience will certainly make them better soldiers,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Daniel Santiago, BACH command sergeant major. “Spc. Douei showed what right looks like and earned the right to compete for the hospital’s 2020 Soldier of the Year. Col. [Patrick T.] Birchfield and I are extremely proud of Spc. Douei’s accomplishment.”
This was the first Soldier of the Quarter board held at BACH since Santiago’s arrival. He noted that, at many locations, Soldier of the Quarter winners are selected by oral board only and commended BACH NCO’s for going above and beyond in their competition.
“Winning the competition was very important for me because my parents are visiting me from Africa next month and I wanted them to assist in the award ceremony,” said Douei. “They have sacrificed a lot for me and my brothers to have better chances than they had, and I wanted to make them proud.”
Located on Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Blanchfield Army Community Hospital supports the medical readiness of Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault). They provide primary care service to more than 72,000 enrolled soldiers, retirees and family members.