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On the morning of the 4th November 1943 the ground echelon had its first glimpse of the field. A skeleton RAF maintenance force occupied the field when we arrived and final construction had not yet been reached.

The Station Sick Quarters had been prepared for the entrance of the Bomb Group by a cadre of one medical officer and five enlisted men. These men were on temporary detachment from Polebrook. They were soon after assigned to the 379th Service Squadron which later became the 79th Station Complement Squadron.

The idea of a Station Sick Quarters was an entirely new one. All our training in the States had prepared the Group for a field type set up with the squadron as a unit. It was now clear that the simplest and most efficient method was to function as a Group and to use the Station Sick Quarters with its twenty-nine beds as a miniature station hospital. In order to administer the medical unit, as a detachment, permission was obtained from the Group and Squadron commanders to consolidate. Station Sick Quarters Memorandums were published as a basis for administration.

The Station Sick Quarters consisted of three large Nissen Huts connected by hallways. In addition there was another hut for the Decontamination Annex connected by yet another long hallway. These were finished well but lacked central heating.
There were two large wards, each of twelve bed capacity and an officers ward of four beds. In addition there was a private room to be used primarily for cases requiring sedation therapy.
The administrative end consisted of a large waiting room, treatment room, pharmacy and laboratory, sick and wounded office, office of the sergeant major, two dental offices and office of the surgeon.