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Two American Comandos send a big salute to the Base Central of CDS from Wenatchee Washington USA. Eric Lorenzo and Mark Hoffman served with the Comandos in the 90s. Eric, who now lives in Colorado worked with the Comandos from 1996-1998. He has many awsome memories of action.
“I remember when we were picking up a patient that was run over by a vehicle and he was about to die; but the ambulance was out of gas, so we had to go to Texaco first.”
“I also have good memories of going to the Hula Hula at midnight with Jhony to eat some good carne asada and listen to the drunk Mariachi singers., Johnny was super cool and is a good friend.”
Mark worked with CDS from 1996 to 2001. There are a “montón” of memories, such as the contact bomb run in Ciudad Delgado in ’97.
“A gang member named Freddy Kruger threw a contact bomb and hit a micro driver right in the back of the head. He was still driving dead and crashed into a wall. Then the “marero” was going to throw another, but it went off in his hand, blowing it off, so he ran down the street. We got there when Red Cross was attending to the marero in shock, and we attended to the passengers in the microbus. I will never forget the scene. One side of the drivers brain was hanging off his neck, and the other half was in the middle of the street a ways back. The police was standing guard over the half brain mass on the ground. I asked why he was guarding the brain, and he said, ‘because of the dogs”.
I wanted to throw up”.
“Right then a comando volunteer called Trukini asked me all non chalant , “Hey Mark are you hungry, we are going to Biggest”- a local hamburger restaurant.
“I also have a good memory learning from Carlos Leiva on a patient that was suffering a pneumothorax from abullet/drive by in the Zona Rosa.”
Eric adds, “Leiva was always great with patients and showed much professionalism and pride in his work as a brigade leader for Comandos de Salvamento.”
A big hug and salute from the Norte for Jhonny, Pacheco, Orsi, Leiva, Charlie, Chilindrina, Claudia, Sapo, Marlon, Nel, Mayen, Kolatto, Cruz, Wilmer, Cuche(David) Listo, Meme, Rosa y toda la mara de Comandos.
-Mark y Eric
