Alumni Profile: Air Force Nurse

When duty calls, Melissa J. Seacat, B.S. Nursing ‘03, answers.

In her day job, Seacat works at the Robley Rex VA Medical Center in Louisville as a Nurse Manager in the Intensive Care Unit. She also volunteers as a member of the Indiana University Southeast Alumni Association Board of Advisors.

In her role on the board, she strives to promote the campus, develop relationships with students and alumni, and engage the community by creating awareness of the value that IU Southeast brings the Indiana and Kentucky region.

But, when duty calls, Seacat serves as a Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves with the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron as a flight nurse.

Since Oct. 1, 2017, she has been on active duty at Ramstein Air Base in Ramstein-Miesenbach, Germany. While on active duty, Seacat has assisted with providing intensive care to injured service men and women in countries like Qatar, Iraq, France, Switzerland, Belgium, and Austria.

“Once someone is injured we get the call to go pick them up,” Seacat said. “Our job is to stabilize them and bring them back. Depending on the severity of the injuries we can take them directly back to the States for care.”

Because Seacat was going to spend the holidays overseas, her fellow board members sent her an IU Southeast care package to let her know how much she is missed and how much her service is appreciated. It contained some IU gear and a few things from home. Seacat plans to return home sometime in February and will spend some time at Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio before she returns home to Borden.

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