Iraqi Article

[kapkomet]

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UPDATED: July 21, 2005

 

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Soldiers, Airmen care for Iraqi patients

 

BY: Senior Airman Chawntain Sloan, Multi-National Corps - Iraq Public Affairs

07/21/2005

 

 

 

BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq -- Only a few hours earlier, surgeons were avidly working to save his life and repair the damage that a bullet caused when it entered his abdomen and ricocheted throughout his body.

 

Now, the 11-year-old Iraqi boy sleeps peacefully with his favorite stuffed animal clutched in his hand. His father sits in a chair next to his bed, staring at the boy with a fixed gaze, grateful for the miracle and anxious for his son to wake up.

 

“There are no words,” said Hussein, the boy’s father, with a smile and a sigh of relief. “Thank you. You saved my son.”

 

But for the staff of U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army and Australian Defence Force professionals at the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, those are the only words that matter.

 

The medics, technicians, nurses and doctors assigned to the combat support hospital provide expert care to anyone who walks or is wheeled through their hospital doors.

 

Although the hospital was primarily established to treat Coalition troops, Department of Defense employees and contract civilians, the bulk of the patients that fill the wards on a daily basis are Iraqis.

 

“The capabilities of the medical facility in Baghdad and the local hospital in Balad are no where near ours. The Iraqi medical system is just really behind,” said Lt. Col. Laurie Hall, the theater hospital’s chief nurse.

 

With three operating rooms, three wards, two intensive care units, a fully-equipped emergency room, and substantial pharmacy, lab and x-ray capabilities, it’s no secret that the hospital boasts of some best medical staff and services.

 

“We perform most of the same major procedures that a stateside hospital does – general, orthopedic, vascular, neurological, urological, maxillofacial and eye surgeries -- but we are not designed for long-term care,” said Colonel Hall, who is assigned to the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group and deployed from 59th Training Squadron at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

 

While many of the patients treated at the hospital are innocent civilians caught in the crossfire or Iraqi military fighting for their freedom, some are the very insurgents who initiated the attack. But no matter whom the patients are or where they are from, the staff’s goal is to make sure their patients leave in better shape than they arrived in.

 

Colonel Hall recalled a recent case of an insurgent who was brought to the hospital after an improvised explosive device detonated during an attempt to set a trap for a convoy.

 

“No one else was hurt but him, and the very people he was trying to kill -- the Soldiers from the convoy -- are the ones who initiated the first aid and gave their own blood to save his life,” said Colonel Hall.

 

She said the surgeons were “amazingly able to piece him back together, but he has a long, painful road of recovery ahead.”

 

However, it is important for the hospital staff to remember that prisoners are not ordinary patients. All prisoners must be kept under guard and blindfolded to protect the hospital staff and other patients.

 

“It doesn’t matter that you just saved their life, they don’t care,” she said. “It is a really hard concept to grasp as a nurse because it’s not the way we are trained. It’s really hard not to let your guard down, but you have to remember, if you gave them half the chance, they would kill you.”

 

Unfortunately, as is the case with some critically injured patients, the staff’s best efforts aren’t always enough to save a patient’s life. And for the medics, technicians, nurses and doctors who fought for that patient, the news is often devastating.

 

“There was one 24-year-old Pakistani man who was brought to us from another location.  He was terribly sick when we got him and though we tried our very best, he died. The nurse who had worked so hard on him just lost it. She burst into tears right there,” said Colonel Hall. “You may be a nurse, but you’re a human first. You can’t help but feel. If you don’t feel, then there is something wrong.”

 

But the medical staff doesn’t let the tragic losses prevent them from celebrating their successes.

 

A shaved head and a sizeable scar are one Iraqi girl’s only clue that surgeons worked tirelessly to save her life and remove a rock that a near-fatal car accident left lodged in her brain.

 

After about two weeks of recuperating, the girl, who is not more than 10 years old, is in good health and ready to go home -- a testament that their efforts weren’t in vain.

 

“I’m amazed she even survived,” Colonel Hall said as she lightly stroked girl’s foot. “The surgeons did an amazing job.”

 

It’s the quality of work that the medical professionals provide every day that makes the team and the quality of care exceptional. And they do it not because it’s their duty, but because they care.

 

“You can’t help but care about these people, and you want to do everything you can to make them better,” said Colonel Hall.

 

(Author’s note: The names of the Iraqi children and the last name of the father were withheld for security reasons.)

 

Why does this matter? We save these people - no matter what they do. This is the kind of stuff that NEEDS reported.

 

Why else does this article matter? I'll share in a bit after some feedback.

[mreye]

Delete this thread now. We can't have this stuff out in the open!

 

Nice story, though. It just reiterates what I already believed/knew - We're doing good things.

[southsider2k5]

Nice article.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Why does this matter?  We save these people - no matter what they do.  This is the kind of stuff that NEEDS reported.

 

Why else does this article matter?  I'll share in a bit after some feedback.

 

 

Wait a minute. I thought the US military was a gang of bloodthirsty baby-killers. This must have been made up. IT CANT BE TRUE!!!!

[mreye]

Wait a minute.  I thought the US military was a gang of bloodthirsty baby-killers.  This must have been made up.  IT CANT BE TRUE!!!!

Karl Rove wrote the article. Didn't you know that, Nuke?

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

Karl Rove wrote the article. Didn't you know that, Nuke?

 

 

The sad part is that you'll never see an article like that in the bloodthirsty mainstream press. If you want good news you're forced to go looking for military press releases.

[Balta1701]

The sad part is that you'll never see an article like that in the bloodthirsty mainstream press.  If you want good news you're forced to go looking for military press releases.

So, let me ask you this in reply:

 

Which do you think is a bigger story: people manning hospitals or a car bomb going off killing 50 people?

 

Which do you think is a bigger story: people manning hospitals or the abduction of 2 Algerian diplomats?

 

Which do you think is a bigger story: people manning hospitals or the representatives of 1/4 of the people of Iraq pulling out of the constitution drafting committee because their membership keeps getting killed?

 

Yes, there is a place and time to tell these sorts of cute stories about how we are helping the Iraqis. Some of them should be told. But they don't tell the story of what is going on in the country. They are anecdotes.

[YASNY]

So, let me ask you this in reply:

 

Which do you think is a bigger story:  people manning hospitals or a car bomb going off killing 50 people?

 

Which do you think is a bigger story:  people manning hospitals or the abduction of 2 Algerian diplomats?

 

Which do you think is a bigger story:  people manning hospitals or the representatives of 1/4 of the people of Iraq pulling out of the constitution drafting committee because their membership keeps getting killed?

 

Yes, there is a place and time to tell these sorts of cute stories about how we are helping the Iraqis.  Some of them should be told.  But they don't tell the story of what is going on in the country.  They are anecdotes.

 

You talk to military personell that have returned from Iraq, and they'll tell you this type of story is what's happening over there and the media is only telling one side of the story.

[NUKE_CLEVELAND]

You talk to military personell that have returned from Iraq, and they'll tell you this type of story is what's happening over there and the media is only telling one side of the story.

 

 

As one of those guys who has returned from over there I can honestly say that you are spot on.

 

 

[kapkomet]

Yes, there is a place and time to tell these sorts of cute stories about how we are helping the Iraqis.  Some of them should be told.  But they don't tell the story of what is going on in the country.  They are anecdotes.

Oh, so these stories don't matter? They're ANECDOTES?

 

Wow. It tells me about how you people think of things and where your priorities are.

 

The "good stories" are anecdotes, the savagery is more significant.

 

That just burns me about the thought processes of some in this country.

[Balta1701]

Oh, so these stories don't matter?  They're ANECDOTES?

 

Wow.  It tells me about how you people think of things and where your priorities are.

 

The "good stories" are anecdotes, the savagery is more significant.

 

That just burns me about the thought processes of some in this country.

No, it's not that the Good stories are anecdotes, it's that the incredibly small stories are anecdotes. This is a story about 1 hospital in 1 place in Iraq that will at most convince a couple hundred people not to hate us. Yeah, it's a useful story, but it's not a big story. This 1 place is not going to change the future of Iraq. A thousand of those places...maybe they could. But not 1 of them. Not even a dozen.

 

What would be a great story that I would think of as a non-anecdote? The completion of the Iraqi constitution on time. The election certainly was. A dramatic increase in the generation of electricity. Saddam finally going to trial. Or getting a significant amount of Iraqi forces trained and actually seeing them performing well. Those are things that can genuinely help improve the future of the country for everyone.

[southsider2k5]

No, it's not that the Good stories are anecdotes, it's that the incredibly small stories are anecdotes.  This is a story about 1 hospital in 1 place in Iraq that will at most convince a couple hundred people not to hate us.  Yeah, it's a useful story, but it's not a big story.  This 1 place is not going to change the future of Iraq.  A thousand of those places...maybe they could.  But not 1 of them.  Not even a dozen.

 

What would be a great story that I would think of as a non-anecdote?  The completion of the Iraqi constitution on time.  The election certainly was.  A dramatic increase in the generation of electricity.  Saddam finally going to trial.  Or getting a significant amount of Iraqi forces trained and actually seeing them performing well.  Those are things that can genuinely help improve the future of the country for everyone.

 

And the reason that one of these stories has no effect on anyone but the people immediately involved? Because no one talks about these stories.

[kapkomet]

No, it's not that the Good stories are anecdotes, it's that the incredibly small stories are anecdotes.  This is a story about 1 hospital in 1 place in Iraq that will at most convince a couple hundred people not to hate us.  Yeah, it's a useful story, but it's not a big story.  This 1 place is not going to change the future of Iraq.  A thousand of those places...maybe they could.  But not 1 of them.  Not even a dozen.

 

What would be a great story that I would think of as a non-anecdote?  The completion of the Iraqi constitution on time.  The election certainly was.  A dramatic increase in the generation of electricity.  Saddam finally going to trial.  Or getting a significant amount of Iraqi forces trained and actually seeing them performing well.  Those are things that can genuinely help improve the future of the country for everyone.

I see your point, but it's sad when "anecdotes" are an afterthought.

 

So, by the way, Laurie Hall is my cousin. And she's over there to help things toward getting the Constitution, the infastructure, etc. in place so we can come home no worse for the wear.

 

Edited July 22, 2005 by kapkomet