North Texas Medic Volunteering for Combat in Ukraine

The White House on Friday announced an additional $150 million in security assistance to Ukraine. The additional aid will include artillery rounds, radars and other equipment.

A North Texas trained medic volunteering in Ukraine says all of it is needed.

Anja Osmon of Sherman spoke with NBC 5 on Friday from a location west of the capital of Kyiv.

“We still need help, we still need weapons, still need ammo and still need people to work said weapons,” Osmon said. “From drone operators to infantry to medics – there’s openings in just about every role that there is.”

Osmon is one of an untold number of Americans with military experience who volunteered to serve in a combat role in Ukraine.

Osmon, 30, is training as part of the International Legion of Defense of Ukraine, the all-volunteer group of citizens from a variety of western countries fighting alongside Ukrainians.

“They just give me a weapon, point in the right direction, and off I go,” Osmon said.

The recent death of the first American killed while fighting in Ukraine placed renewed attention on U.S. citizens who have volunteered.

Osmon, an Army medic, trained at Fort Hood and spent seven years in the Army and has seen combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  She volunteered for combat in Iraq in 2015, against ISIS fighters.

“Being a fighter is what I do, I don’t know how to not be a fighter,” Osmon said.

She traveled alone, flying to Poland and crossing into Ukraine on March 20.

Right now, Osmon says she’s spending a lot of time training in the woods with weaponry and her small group of English-speaking volunteers is hoping to catch on with a Ukrainian combat unit soon.

In the meantime, she is capturing photos she says reflect not only the damage inflicted by Russian shelling but also the resolve of Ukrainian citizens living under constant threat.

“The Ukrainians still continue to go to work even with the air raids going on, they’re incredibly brave people to do so,” Osmon said.