Filling a Void

WESLACO — When Lt. Col. Eloisa Tamez retired from the Texas National Guard after 17 years of service as an army nurse, she felt a void in her life that needed to be filled.

Tamez got that opportunity Saturday as she was sworn in as the commander of the South Texas Medical Brigade at the National Guard Armory in Weslaco.

"What a special way to get back in the Guard than have my own command," she said. "I am extremely excited about this opportunity and will work very hard to make this unit a very successful one."

Tamez, who works as  an assistant professor and program director of the Master of Science in Nursing Program at The University of Texas at Brownsville and Texas Southmost College said the medical brigade would have a prime role in assisting Rio Grande Valley residents recover from a disaster.

"Basically, we are the first response group in the Valley whenever a disaster hits," she said. "Whenever a natural disaster hits, we offer medical support. We help evacuees with illnesses and follow-ups with their medication as well. Plus, in the summer time we offer immunizations. Pretty much we are here to serve the community."

Now the commander of an entire unit, Tamez said she fondly recalls the start of her nursing career with the U.S. Army so many years ago.

"Back in the 80s, there was a nursing shortage in the army and I worked at the VA as a recruiter for nurses," she said. "In 1982, I was commissioned and was stationed in a hospital in San Antonio. Then, I was transferred to San Juan, Puerto Rico and ended up at a VA hospital in Hot Springs, Arkansas."

Tamez said she continued her medical career in the military by eventually joining the National Guard.

"There were no medical units close to Texas, so I ended up joining the National Guard and had a small command unit that was just nurses. I ended up in Ohio with another VA hospital and ended up in a M.A.S.H. unit," she said. "We were deployed to Panama and Bolivia and built makeshift hospitals from scratch. Then, after that was done, I retired and here I am now."

Brig. Gen. Marshall Scantlin, who oversees the Texas Medical Brigade, said he is very confident that Tamez is the right person for the job.

"Lieutenant Colonel Tamez is a great asset to the brigade and brings tons of experience to the table," said Scantlin. "I know that she will run her brigade to the best of her ability and I am excited to see the progress she will make as well."

Tamez said she is eager to begin her command, adding that her unit is already accepting applications.

"We have an admission process to join the unit and we will train people as well," she said. "If anyone would like to look us up and see what the job entails, they can go to our Web site at www.texasmedicalrangers.com to get more information."

Tamez said the job is all about assisting those in need.

"It is a job just like anything else, but it is also very rewarding helping people who are in need."