Maxwell nurse has three reasons to celebrate Mother’s Day Published May 26, 2009 By Joy Ovington Dispatch staff writer MAXWELL AIR FORCE BASE, Ala. -- Maj. Lynn A. Ammon, family nurse practitioner at the 42nd Medical Group, had three reasons to celebrate on Mother's Day. With the special occasion, it was also part of National Nurse's Week and she was now back with her family after a recent, six-month deployment to Afghanistan. As a mother of two, the Purdue University graduate said she has lots of stories to tell her children as they grow, from her 1989 start as an Air Force nurse to deploying to combat areas of operations. Arriving at an Afghan "forward operating base" in June of 2008, Major Ammon was called "Doc" as she became the primary medical provider for an Army unit. Major Ammon knew it would be a challenging deployment as she was required to qualify on both the M-4 carbine and the M-9 semi-automatic pistol as well as become familiar with the M-240, 50-caliber machine gun and the M-249 light machine gun. She was trained to "win the hearts and minds" while deployed, and said she never missed an opportunity even though there were some cultural differences. "By being a female in a professional leadership position, I had to demonstrate females were up to the job," she said. Major Ammon said some of the older Afghans could not readily grasp the idea of her leaving her husband and children back in the U.S. to work in a doctor's role in another county. One of the best things she said about her deployment is being able to add significantly to the medical care available from the Afghans. As a result, she found changed opinions about women as she would have the traditional "chai tea" with the Afghan medical leaders. Looking to retirement in September, Major Ammon can remember how she was first attracted to the unique opportunities in the Air Force. She started in the nurse internship program at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, where she trained for six months doing rounds in orthopedic neurology, pediatric, surgical and medical floors. While at Wright-Patt, she deployed to England. After a series of assignments, Major Ammon became a family nurse practitioner through the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences. Major Ammon said that it was at this time when her "passion for wellness and prevention" began to flourish. She went to MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., for three years for her first tour as a nurse practitioner. By mid-2002, Major Ammon and her family were at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany "where all the troops from Iraq and Afghanistan are taken" when in need of medical services. "I was there before Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom started, so I got to see the tempo of the whole facility rev up," she said. Major Ammon has been at Maxwell for the last four years.