Our daughter, Samantha Wilder 21yoa joined the U.S. Air Force after graduating from Forest High School in Ocala, Florida in 2004. She was a member of the JROTC for four years and felt the Air Force offered her a way to serve our country as well as continue her education. She is an EMT assigned to the 96th Medical Group at Eglin Air Force Base in Ft. Walton Beach Florida. Sam was deployed to Kirkuk, Iraq, as part of the 506th Expeditionary Medical Squadron the day after Mother's Day as part of an Air Force EMEDS or Expeditionary Medial Support.

EMEDS is a concept by which the Air Force Medical Service provides emergency health care to US forces in a deployed environment. They provide our solders level 2 emergency medical care, while level 1 comes from the medics in the field. Their goal is to save lives. Reminiscent of the M*A*S*H* units of the past, these EMEDS are helping save our solders wounded in the war on terrorism.

We are proud of our daughter and those serving with her as well as all our solders that are fighting to keep us a free society. Thanks for the opportunity to share what our daughter is doing.

-- Tom & Kathy Wilder of Ocala, Florida