UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – National Nurses Week began May 6 and ends May 12 – Florence Nightingale’s birthday. To recognize the work of nurses, the 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team spotlights U.S. Army Capt. Eve Tanas, a nurse in the 30th ABCT, North Carolina National Guard, deployed in the Central Command area of responsibility.
“I became a nurse truly just to care for people and benefit my community,” said Tanas. “I enjoy feeling like I’m leading a life of purpose.”
Tanas, assigned to Charlie Company, 230th Brigade Support Battalion, has dual medical responsibilities in her civilian and military life, with her specialty in medical-surgical. A native of Raleigh, North Carolina, she has served in the North Carolina Army National Guard for five years.
“What I was taught that has always stuck with me is that you always treat the patient and not the disease,” Tanas said.
Tanas said she enjoys the challenges of medicine and how it forces individuals to think critically. She added that supporting her patients and caring for them is what makes her job so worthwhile.
National Nurses Week was established in 1954. However, nurses have been caring for the wounded on the battlefield since the Revolutionary War and Civil War. Florence Nightingale laid the foundation for formalized training of nurses by opening a school in 1860. The U.S. Army Nurse Corps was established in 1901.
“Being a part of this lineage of Army nurses is a humbling experience, to realize you are something that has not only stood the test of time but has successfully adapted to the challenges of these changing times,” said Tanas, who is on her first deployment.
The 30th Armored Brigade Combat Team is overseas for Operation Spartan Shield. It is comprised of approximately 4,000 Soldiers from National Guard units in North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, West Virginia, Washington and Illinois supporting operations in the Middle East.
“Being deployed puts into perspective how vital health care is to keep the mission going under many scenarios,” said Tanas. “It’s like being a link in this historic chain.”