Fort Leonard Wood’s Top 10 Donors of 2012

02/04/2013
By Carl Norman, ASBP Blood Donor Recruiter, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.

Pfc. Colin Jenkel of the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center helps 2nd Lt. Marty Smith, Bravo Company, 554th Engineer Battalion, donate blood.

Service members, veterans and their families worldwide rely on the Armed Services Blood Program for blood and blood products when illness and injury strikes. On average, the Armed Services Blood Program uses 400 units daily—or about 12,000 units per month—are used to treat everything from routine medical procedures to battlefield injuries. So the blood donor center relies heavily on volunteer donors to meet its collection goals, and 2012 was a great success! Over the course of the year, the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center processed more than 5,700 willing donors and collected nearly 5,000 units of blood over the course of 219 blood drives.

Since Fort Leonard Wood is a training installation, most of the donations came from soldiers in training at the installation. Forty-two individual walk-in donors gave in 2012, but the remainder came from basic and advanced individual training companies. But no matter where they came from, they are all true heroes.

“We’re thankful for everyone who comes in to donate,” said Capt. Paul Ambrose, officer-in-charge of the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center. “Without them, we couldn’t accomplish our mission and blood wouldn’t be available when needed.”

To salute the training organizations who donated at the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center in 2012, the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center staff offers its list of its Top 10 Donors of the Year.

10. U.S. Air Force Detachment
This detachment trains airmen in civil engineering specialties, but in 2012, they donated! And they donated a lot. By the end of the year, the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center collected 161 units of blood from the detachment.

9. Bravo Company, 35th Engineer Battalion
The Bravo Company of the 35th Engineer Battalion is an engineer one-station training unit. But much like the U.S. Air Force Detachment, in 2012 this company turned into a fine collection of donors. The Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center collected 166 units of blood from the company.

8. Charlie Company, 84th Chemical Battalion
In 2012, the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center collected 170 units of blood from the soldiers of this advanced individual training unit.

7. Delta Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment
Soldiers from this basic training unit just barely beat out the Charlie Company of the 84th Chemical Battalion—donating 171 units of blood to the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center in 2012.

6. Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment
This was another close one. The Alpha Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment find themselves in the No. 6 spot with 173 units of donated blood for the year.

5. Bravo Company, 58th Transportation Battalion
This vehicle instruction advanced individual training unit lands in the No. 5 spot for their 176 units of donated blood in 2012.

4. Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment
The No. 4 spot on the list goes to the Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment for their 198 units of donated blood to the Fort Leonard Wood Blood Donor Center. “I give credit to all our soldiers who gave blood to such a good cause,” said Capt. Issac Levy, company commander. “We enjoy supporting the Armed Services Blood Program now and will continue to do so in the future.”

3. Echo Company, 701st Military Police Battalion
This is the first unit on our list to surpass 200 donations in 2012. This military police advanced individual training unit donated 219 units of blood to the Armed Services Blood Program, giving them the No. 3 spot in the Top 10 Donors of 2012.

2. Charlie Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Infantry Regiment and Alpha Company, 35th Engineer Battalion
There was a tie for the second place spot on our list, with each company donating 222 units of blood.

1. Bravo Company, 554th Engineer Battalion
Rounding out our Top 10 Donors of 2012 is the Bravo Company of the 554th Engineer Battalion who donated 227 units of blood in 2012. “Any time we can help someone in need, we should do it,” said Capt. Paul Brownhill, company commander. “When you’re in the position to need blood, you’ll be happy someone donated to save you. That’s why you need to donate to help others who are in that situation today.”

The Armed Services Blood Program is a tri-service program with more than 20 blood donor centers worldwide, supplying blood and blood products to more than 1.3 million service members, veterans and their families each year.

“No one ever expects to need blood, but they want it to be there if they ever do,” said Ambrose. “It’s our job to get that blood and we can’t do that without people volunteering to donate. The consequences can be fatal if blood isn’t available for people who need it, so we really ask for as many people as possible to donate.”

That’s where donors like the ones on our Top 10 Donors of 2012 list come into play. “When you donate blood to the Armed Services Blood Program, you’re saving service members’ lives,” said Ambrose. “Our heartfelt thanks go out to everyone who donated with us last year and we look forward to seeing them again (in 2013).”

To find out more about the Armed Services Blood Program or to schedule an appointment, please visit us online: www.militaryblood.dod.mil. To interact directly with some of our staff, see more photos or to get the latest news, visit us here: www.facebook.com/militaryblood, www.flickr.com/militaryblood and www.twitter.com/militaryblood.