OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- Service members know that the possibility to deploy or go on a one-year unaccompanied tour to a foreign land is part of military life. For one Airman, it was an opportunity for self-improvement and making meaningful connections.
Meet Capt. Samuel Burton, a Detachment 1 95th Reconnaissance Squadron flight surgeon, from the 55th Operations Group who is serving in a remote assignment at U.S. Naval Support Activity Souda Bay in Crete, Greece.
Since being assigned in Greece, Burton has kept himself busy through professional development, mentoring medical students, caring for patients, and participating in a medical conference.
“There are many rewarding parts to my job. As a doctor, I value being involved in people’s lives when they need help,” Burton said. “As a military doctor, I love feeling like I’m a part of the mission because I took care of the members doing the mission. But the best part of my time in Greece is being with Greek people.”
Burton has taken on the sites of Greece even going so far to learn the language. He’s planning on taking the Defense Language Proficiency Test, which evaluates the foreign language skills of service members as part of the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center.
While embracing the culture and language would be enough for some Airmen, Burton has taken his job to new heights and has used his expertise to provide some professional insight and mentorship to medical students. When asked by the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, based out of Bethesda, Maryland, about case reports and his willingness to work with medical students in producing a poster, Burton stepped up. He worked with two medical students at USUHS and one pre-med student in the Enlisted to Medical Degree Preparatory Program to work on the case, poster, and presentation for the United States Academy of Family Physicians 2025 Annual Meeting and Exposition held in Las Vegas.
“We had several meetings in the last eight months fine tuning the case, poster and presentation. At the conference I met them in person for the first time and we practiced the poster presentation several times,” Burton said. “In addition to direct mentorship, I met many young physicians, residents and medical students throughout the conference both formally and socially where I advised them on potential jobs and career moves.”
He also contributed to presentations specifically about Souda Bay medicine where he was invited to share some medical cases.
“I presented on Souda Bay cases both Air Force and Navy,” he said. “The other panelists were far more experienced than me, but my motivation and likely reason for inclusion was my proximity to training and residency. We thought I could be a more relatable point of contact for medical students, residents, and new family physicians in the Air Force thinking about practicing flight or operational medicine.”
Burton has worked on several medical cases with one case standing out to him where a civilian member’s wife nearly died. She had to be intubated for days and suffered neurological damage. He coordinated her medical evacuation updating transportational medical reports to get her back to the states by commercial air ambulance.
With his medical expertise in mind, Burton said his partnership with the Navy is paramount. His work in Greece has also provided opportunities to build partnerships with international allies such as Royal Air Force members and the Greeks.
“Without them we could not get labs, obtain imaging, get specialty and/or surgical care,” Burton explained. “We have two Greek staff in the Navy clinic that offer cultural insight and continuity. Without them, the clinic would not work.”
Burton has become an example of how a service member far away from their home and family can use their time to seek opportunities and grow. His commander has advice for Airmen who might find themselves deployed or on a remote assignment.
“There are always stressors that come with a deployment and remote assignment, but I feel establishing personal and professional goals is critical along with establishing a routine,” said Lt. Col. Brian Wersching, 21st Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron and Detachment 1 95th RS commander. “I have always used exercise and education as my stress relief outlets and ensured they were established in a daily routine to complete my goals. Education could be Professional Military Education, a higher degree or working on certifications and education for life after the military.”
Wersching not only views Burton as an example for Airmen to follow, but as someone who embodies true military professionalism.
“Capt. Burton has worked to integrate himself in the U.S. Navy and Greek civilian/military health care system from day one,” Wersching said. “He setup tours of the local Greek Health Clinics and Hospitals to ensure he had a better understanding of the environment they are working in, capabilities and the limitations on the care they can provide the Air Force, Department of Defense and NATO members. Capt. Burton and the Navy Clinic provide support, as required, to deployed NATO members routinely. Building out this partnership with the Greek Military and Greek Civilian medical professionals, helps improve healthcare for DOD members along with decreasing the time required to get back in the fight. I hope people will see that even as a young Air Force doctor, Capt. Burton is pushing the boundaries of care and truly embracing the meaning of working in a joint and NATO environment.”