Veteran’s new mission: Shipping ambulance to Ukraine

Retired U.S. Army Combat Medic Caitlin Schlesner, a Green Township resident, isn’t the do-nothing type.

She also isn’t one to shy away from hard work in challenging circumstances, as evidenced by her military service, which included a deployment to Iraq, and her volunteer work at Ground Zero after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Her time amid the ruins of the World Trade Center in Manhattan not only inspired her during her military career but also in her current mission: Providing training and aid in war-torn Ukraine.

“When I saw what was happening in Ukraine, it spoke to my heart, just like 9/11 did. I couldn’t sit back and do nothing,” said Schlesner, who retired from the Army in 2013.

Since Russia launched the war in Ukraine in late February 2022, she has been traveling back and forth from New Jersey to Eastern Europe, bringing much-needed first aid supplies and teaching combat medicine techniques.

This spring, she was given the opportunity to obtain the single largest medical item she could imagine: A decommissioned ambulance from a rescue squad in Windsor Locks, Conn.

“I jumped at the chance,” Schlesner said. “So my husband and I got some plates and insurance and drove it home. Except once the excitement wore off, I realized we had to figure out a way to get it to Ukraine.”

With the cost of shipping estimated from $6,000 to $15,000, Schlesner began a GoFundMe campaign.

“But they shut me down,” she said. “They (GoFundMe) said my cause promoted war and violence. That’s the exact opposite of what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to help people.”

Team of volunteers

She then connected with a fellow veteran, the philanthropist entertainer Mark Lindquist. He has a fund in place to supply aid to Ukraine and he put together a team of volunteers, primarily veterans like himself and Schlesner, who travel to and from the hostile zones to deliver supplies and training.

While Lindquist’s philanthropic efforts are Herculean, the legalities of his nonprofit don’t allow him to directly ship the ambulance for Schlesner. Still, she’s grateful for his support.

“Mark is wonderful,” she said, “It’s such a big country, and all the volunteers there have really formed a network. It reminds me of the camaraderie I had in the Army.

“Volunteers from around America and the world are the ones making a difference over there. It’s impressive. While the Red Cross is great, they’re focused more on disaster aid, so it’s the retired military medics and other veterans like me who can help with first aid supplies and training.”

Networking aside, Schlesner still faces the conundrum of financing the ambulance’s trip to Ukraine. She is paying for her airline travel but cannot afford to ship the ambulance.

“And these people really need it,” she said. “I’ve been staged over there with their army, staged with their fire departments, just been all through the country now, and this ambulance will be a blessing. I want to stuff it full of supplies and get it across the ocean as soon as I can.”

Tense at best

Asked about life in Ukraine, Schlesner says it’s tense at best.

Her military training has served her well during her trips near the front.

“I’ve seen families on playgrounds with (mortar) craters next to them. That was in Bakhmut. We spent a night in Kramatorsk, where a missile strike hit the building after we left in the morning.

“It’s a real war, and people are just trying to survive it. My training means I can handle these situations, but there are people caught up in this who just want to live their lives.”

Schlesner is accepting monetary donations for her effort to ship the ambulance as well as donations of these medical supplies:

• CAT tourniquets.

• Gauze.

• Bandages.

• Medical tape.

• Chest seal.

• Trauma kits.

• Quick clot.

• Ointment.

• Medical bags.

To arrange to make donations, send email to Schlesner at cwschlesner@gmail.com. She will return all messages as quickly as possible, although she said internet connections can be slow and spotty when she is in Ukraine.

“I know some people don’t agree with what I’m doing,” she said. “And I’m extremely grateful to all those who’ve donated supplies so far. But I don’t feel like my work is political. People are hurt and dying, and I have the ability to teach and help relieve that.

“We all have the power to do something, and I couldn’t hang back and watch while there was anything I could do to help.”