Lance Cpl. Joshua Williams, an administrative specialist, gives blood at Yale Hall on March 24, 2014. Headquarters and Service Bn. hosted the event to collect blood that could be in Afghanistan to help fellow service members within a week.

Photo by Lance Cpl. Samuel Ellis

97 units of blood to help fellow service members

24 Mar 2014 | Lance Cpl. Samuel Ellis Marine Corps Base Quantico

97 units of blood to help fellow service members --

A line of people trailed out of the battalion classroom at Yale Hall on March 24, 2014, while inside the classroom, plastic tubes trailed from the arms of donors as blood collected in bags.

From 9 a.m. until after 1 p.m., volunteers participated in what Capt. Ross Garnett, battalion S-4 officer, said was the first blood drive ever hosted by Headquarters and Service Bn. 97 units of blood were collected.

Garnett and Gunnery Sgt. William Foster, Headquarters and Service Bn. S-4 chief, spearheaded the partnership with Armed Services Blood Program who brought corpsman from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Md., to gather blood that is used solely to help service members.

“I’ve never done this before,” said Lance Cpl. Joshua Williams, administrative specialist and blood donor. “But, I was told that this would be in Afghanistan by Friday.”

According to Garnett and Foster, the professional manner in which the blood drive was run was part of the success of the event.

“The crew we had from Bethesda was really good,” said Garnett. “[They] operated very smoothly with the volume that we threw at them.”

Garnett and Foster said that one of the best motivations for partnering with the ASBP was the fact that there was a military connection.

“This is for a good cause,” said Garnett. “We are donating to support our fellow service members because this all goes into the DOD blood bank system. I think that helped in terms of our turnout.”

With more than 100 people signing up and almost 100 units of blood taken, the largest battalion in the Marine Corps made a substantial impact for the blood bank.

“[It’s all about] giving back,” said Gunnery Sgt. William Foster, Headquarters and Service Bn. S-4 chief. “It’s a small donation that provides so much. Each unit of blood can be broken down to help three people.”

Garnett and Foster said the next blood drive is already in the planning stages and will be scheduled sometime in the summer.

Correspondent: samuel.l.ellis@usmc.mil