Hero's Highway receives New Dawn upgrade Published Sept. 9, 2010 By Tech. Sgt. Stacy Fowler 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- At midnight on the cusp between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, 2010, Operation Iraqi Freedom ended and New Dawn began. Combat operations transitioned to an advisory and training role, and another page of history was completed. At 7 a.m. on Sept. 1, members of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group Color Guard at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, carefully took down the large American Flag at "Hero's Highway," where tens of thousands of patients have gone on their way to medical care since 2006. More than 30,000 patients have passed under the flag since 2006. But hopefully, said Col. John Mitchell, 332 EMDG commander, the new operational mission will bring more focus to the passing of knowledge through Hero's Highway, rather than flesh and blood. As the 20-by-30-foot flag was carefully folded into a much-larger version of the customary triangle, members of the 332 EMDG took a moment to think about what that flag had witnessed in the past - and what it could witness in the future. "This is the perfect time to change the flag as our focus also changes," said Colonel Mitchell. "We have taken down the flag associated with combat operations and the way things were. We are now focusing on 'training the trainers,' as we train and turn over control to the Iraqi army and air force in preparation for the end of the drawdown by Dec. 31, 2011. We have definitely come a long way in the past few years." Before 2006, the hospital did not have the flag, or Hero's Highway. These sprang from necessity and a drive to comfort those who came here. "Back in November 2004, during an operation called Phantom Fury near the city of Fallujah, patients were arriving faster than they could be processed in the emergency room," said Colonel Mitchell. "We had patients waiting outside in the elements, and it began to rain on the second day. After several attempts to cover the patients, medical teams erected a tent cover on a frame. In June 2006, Hero's Highway received its name, and in November 2006 medical personnel put up an American flag on the bare tent ceiling to remind patients of what they were fighting for, said Colonel Mitchell. And so began the legacy of the Hero's Highway with its American flag. The flag taken down during this first day of OND is actually the fifth Hero's Highway flag - and each has served as a visual assurance for wounded U.S., Iraqi and coalition servicemembers.