This being my second deployment, I have relived many of the tragedies, hurts, and annoyances that had faded from my memory after my first time here. The joy I have now is the anticipation of seeing my wife, son, family and friends. What I carry home from the hospital is the honor of having the privilege of taking care of very brave armed service members and innocent Iraqi children. I also carry some of the most horrible images of war one could imagine, which may hide in the corners of my mind, but will probably never leave.

There is a beautiful verse in Peter that applies to all trials and difficult situations and it has encouraged me through many dark times.

“After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” 1 Peter 5:10

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

The first event that I want to describe occurred last night before we started watching Spiderman 3 at the base theater. Before each picture that is shown a giant “Please Rise” comes up on the screen. Everyone in the theater dutifully rise for the National Anthem. The military is a pretty patriotic group and so the National Anthem plays as we all stand at attention as this is the standard. I have noticed at ballparks and other venues where the National Anthem is played, that often hats are not removed; many people will continue to talk through the song, but not here. About half way through the National Anthem, the film broke and the sound and background went off. The fully packed theater stood in silence, at attention, no one moved. One could have heard a pin drop as we all were waiting for the completion of the song we hold so dear. A few moments later and the National Anthem and the background film started again from the beginning and stopped in the same place. There was about a five second pause and then a solitary voice was heard and then hundreds joined in as the theater finished the Star Spangled Banner accapella. When we finished singing thunderous applause rose from the theater. It was in stark contrast to what usually happens as we usually stand at attention in silence and then sit down without a word. This night was special and all the people in the theater knew it.

The next event occurred a couple of weeks ago while we were loading a plane full of injured servicemen on their way to Germany. The plane was a C-17 which is a new huge cargo plane. It is well lit and is an absolute joy to work and fly on. It is especially nice to transport patients on. The only drawback about this plane is that it only carries enough litter stanchions to hold 9 litter patients. To allow us to carry more than 9 patients the plane carries a very large green box when it is tasked to do an aerovac mission, that holds additional litter stanchions. This box is about a 9 foot cube and has a big red cross painted on the end that points to the rear of the aircraft and is positioned all the way in the rear of the aircraft. On this day there was a three by five foot flag proudly displayed over the red cross. People are familiar with military members saluting the flag as it passes them in formation or stand when it passes in a parade. There is great reverence given to this symbol of our nation and freedom just like the singing or playing of the National Anthem.

We were about half way done loading the plane and I was helping carry an Army Sergeant Major, the highest ranking enlisted service member in the Army, onto the plane. We carry people onto the plane feet first and most just lie back close their eyes and hope we don’t drop them. In my personal experience of eight months of doing this I haven’t heard that we have dropped one yet. Four people usually carry a litter unless it is very heavy and then there will be six. Today myself and three others were carrying this soldier on and we had to pass by the giant green box with the flag facing him. His eyes were not closed and as we passed the flag and in what seemed to be an entirely natural gesture this injured soldier saluted the flag as he passed while lying on the litter. It is the only time I had ever seen it done and it brought tears to my eyes. As we loaded the Sergeant Major on the stanchion, I reached down and patted this soldier and thanked him for his salute. This man even though injured never lost his military bearing. What an example. I would guess that he was saddened by having to leave the fight, most soldiers like him are; but, I bet he was glad he was saluting it rather than being draped by it.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

The other night we had the Wing Commander Commander's Call for officers. This was to recognize our achievements during this rotation. As we were in our seats waiting for the room to be called to attention, my friend who is an orthopedic surgeon sat down beside me and explained that it was a bad day today as some of our men had died in an IED explosion. As we were discussing all of the medical issues, the room was called to attention. General Rand started his comments with the history of the 332 Air Expeditionary Wing. Those who serve in the 332 are known as Tuskegee Airman because it started as the Wing for the now famous black pilots. He went on to explain the recent honor the few remaining pilots received from President Bush. In recognition for their heroic efforts during WWII they were given the Congressional Gold Medal. After finishing his remarks Bush saluted the airmen, saying he wanted to offer the gesture to "help atone for all the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities" they endured. Bush then went on to say that we as a country were indebted to these men. One of the pilots responded that with this award the debt was paid in full. The General took quite some time explaining all that these pilots had accomplished and how "they had to fight for the right to fight". I feel indebted to these men for the doors they forced open for my son. General Rand then spent time speaking of the many achievements that were accomplished during our almost four months here. He thanked us for all we had done.

Next he paused and his voice quivered a bit. He then asked how many of us had spouses. About half of the room raised their hands and I could feel tears welling up. He explained that he felt that it is harder on the spouse than for the one deployed. They are the ones who have to keep the house and the children together while we are gone. They wait by the phones, struggle with the children, and have to manage everything. He wondered how hard it must be to watch CNN when your loved one is in harms way. He then said, "Please tell your spouses, I thank them for all they have sacrificed for you to serve here." He then asked how many have children and a few less people raised their hands. The General said, "Please thank your sons and daughters, for all they have done without by having you here." Deployments are hard on children and my family has not escaped the pain. Imagine a child lacking the security of whether a parent will ever come home. They live with a parent who struggles to keep it all together and watches them as they cry from sadness, fear or frustration. He then asked how many still had parents living and most raised their hands. My mom is overjoyed when I call and sends me cards and care packages frequently. I am quite confident that she has prayed more for me than I have prayed for her or myself. He said, "I think it is hardest on the mothers to have their sons and daughters at war. Please thank your parents for me." He then asked how many were grandparents and a few raised their hands. What he stated next rang true for all of us in the large tent. He stated what we are doing today has a direct impact on the life of the grandchildren represented in the room. Joseph Lieberman wrote a very articulate OpEd piece recently discussing that Al-Queda has left us with on one choice and that is to stay and stabilize the region from the terrorists. I would encourage everyone to read the short article. It can be found in the April 27 edition of The Washington Post.

The General explained that only 20% of the Air Force has been deployed to Iraq and thanked us again and reminded us of the honor of being a Tuskegee Airman. Over the past two years I have spent 8 months in Iraq. I thank all of my family for being such a wonderful support and on behalf of General Robin Rand, thank you. You have served me valiantly.

It is a true honor and with great pride that I can call myself a Tuskegee Airman.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

I remember when I was a boy of about nine years my dad had a friend who was a black belt in Karate. The story goes that he could catch a mosquito between his first and second toe. I don’t think this was true, but I believed it. I was amazed by this and I shared this story with my grandmother. She was not impressed and wanted me to be more impressed with my own father and how he had handled losing most of his left arm. I thought she was way off. My dad had just lost something; his friend Mike could do something very that was very cool!!

That interaction has stayed with me for over 30 years. While I continued my walking the half mile to the place where the wounded wait for the next flight (CASF) I thought about how the type of people I admire has changed with time. When I was a boy, before I became a Christian, I admired people who could catch mosquitoes in unique ways. I would also admire great athletes, television stars, or people who could easily get girls to like them. That was never my gift. When I became a Christian, I began to change who I admired. Now it was the Pastor of a very large church who had written books, the Christian music star etc. From the Bible I knew they were just like me but I wanted to meet them, have them know me, and have them sign something for me. As I got a chance to spend a little more time with some of the “big name” pastors of California, I became convinced that they were much more like me than they were like God. This is to take nothing away from them or to elevate myself but just an awareness of the mightiness of God. Now there are some people who hardly anyone in the world may notice who I admire greatly and there are those that are well known that I do not admire at all. What has changed? As I thought of how I would put into words my feeling toward the admiration of Man this is what I came up with: I admire people based on how much they allow God to accomplish things through them. These people are not walking advertisements for themselves. They do not talk about “their” ministry they call it God’s. They do not talk of “their” accomplishments they use every opportunity to bring glory to God for what He has done. They are walking billboards to the strength and power of a life totally dedicated to and truly transformed by God.

It is easy to see how we are becoming a society that worships men and women, be they Pastors, scientists, athletes, musicians or movie stars. John Wesley said, "Give me twelve men who love Jesus with all their hearts and who do not fear men or devils, and I care not one whit whether they be clergy or laity. With these men I will change the world."

I will probably never be a national hero, a rock star, or a NBA Hall of Famer, but I could be one of those men John Wesley described. The question I must ask myself is; am I willing?

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

The “them” that I underlined is referring to Babylon, which happens to be in Iraq. Medes is considered to be ancient Iran. I am not sure that this verse is specifically dealing the current time but it sure rings true. Now to be fair to the verse ancient Iran and Iraq have waged many wars against each other. One should also remember that the majority of the current borders were only recently drawn during the early 1900’s so what we think of Iraq and Iran may be much different than it was when Isaiah wrote such powerful words. Regardless it is a verse that is true today.

When I was in Yemen a couple of months ago there was a civil war going on. The war was in the North. My Yemeni interpreter was a devout Muslim and quick to say that he disagreed with Bush on just about everything except one thing. I asked him what the civil war was about. He was exasperated as he explained that it was a conflict caused by Iran who wanted to bring about a Shiite stronghold in the North. He went on to state that the Iranian agents had already forced all of the Jews leave who were peacefully living there as they had been for thousands of years. The Yemeni merchants consider the Jews to be the most skilled craftsman and silversmiths and make what are considered to be the best swords that are proudly worn on the belts of the Yemeni men. The one thing he agreed with Bush about was this: The US must not leave until Iraq is stable or Iran will try to take over all of Arabia.

The good news is that in the midst of all of the conflict all around the world the Creator of the universe is still on the throne and is ultimately in charge. What is happening here is no surprise to Him. “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible or invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him.” Colossians 1:16 For some this verse may be confusing and may not seem like good news at all. The key is knowing the end of the story. We have been given the end of the story. It is found in Revelation chapters 19, 20, and 21. Read the book.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

On Easter, there was incredible act of bravery that few will hear of. There was a gun battle that was going on and an 18 y/o member of the infantry was shot in the shoulder. He was wounded and pinned down. His lieutenant saw that was one his men was trapped and injured. The natural reaction for most would be to run and protect yourself, being thankful that you were not injured. However, there is a much honored concept in the military and that is, “We leave no man behind.” It is not always possible; but, it is not just a lofty ideal. It is considered to be part of one’s duty. The lieutenant knew his duty. This man was one of his and as an officer; it was his responsibility to keep his men safe. It is also the officer’s duty to call the family if one of their men is injured or killed. This lieutenant ran to his injured soldier to help get him to the medevac helicopter which was already on the way. As he ran to his man, he was shot many times. Now the lieutenant was much more injured than the soldier under his charge. Now it was the soldier’s duty to get the lieutenant help. The medevac helicopter landed and with help from many others they were able to get the lieutenant and his soldier on the helicopter. On the short ride to our hospital the lieutenant’s heart stopped on the helicopter. When it landed the medic was actively doing CPR. The rest of the story comes from a nurse I work with as she was a witness. The first litter had the dying lieutenant with the medic on the litter doing CPR. The second litter off the helicopter had the soldier who had been shot in the shoulder, blood flowing from his shoulder. They both had done their duty. The lieutenant died. The nurse cried with the chaplain as they watched this event transpire.

This event is filled with tragedy, bravery, honor, and dedication to duty. As I think about the actions of the lieutenant I am reminded about the difference between our calling and our duty. I see our calling as the purpose of our life and the duties we have are those activities that allow us to accomplish our purpose. The idea of a purpose to a life is why I think “The purpose driven life” was such a popular book. People like to feel there is some purpose to their life. The lieutenant was called to serve his country, which was his purpose. He died while performing the duty of his calling. The purpose of a soldier is not to die; however, he may die while performing his duties.

I believe we all have a calling or a purpose. It is the path that God calls us to walk. Our unique “calling” has wonderful attributes of servant-hood, sacrifice, charity, and generosity. Our duty is what is required to carry out our calling. I often see people who have mistakenly thought that their day to day duties were their calling. I believe God desires much more from us. The people who consider their duties their calling are often frustrated. I think of the stay at home mom, the father who works very hard to support his family and does little else with his extra time besides bowling and watching sports on TV, the retired couple, or the young college student all who may feel unfulfilled. The matron, who cares for our orphans in Zambia, has a calling to care for orphans. The changing of the diapers, washing the endless clothes or feeding the infants is not a very glamorous duty and what keeps it from becoming an arduous task is that it is associated with a calling of service. I frequently hear of families that say that their calling is to their family and use this as an excuse why they cannot serve more. I would say that our responsibility to our families is an expected duty given to us from God. There are many who raise their families in addition to also serving on the mission field, feed homeless, or find some other way to serve, sacrifice, give, or comfort those in need. I know of a couple from medical school. He is a family practice doctor and she is a stay at home mom with four children. Shortly after finishing his residency they took their family to Kazakstan. They have a clinic for the poor, lead Muslim doctors to Christ and the wife has a great ministry to the local women. They are currently being threatened for their bold faith but remain strong and committed to their call. Often the fear of duty keeps people from their call and God is a gentleman. He does not force people to follow Him, love Him, or serve Him.
I am encouraged by how many families make sending encouraging notes to soldiers a part of their family activities. In the US it is easy for us to get caught up in lessons, sports, and activities with our children, but how many of those activities will bear any eternal fruit in the orchard God has given us to sow and reap from. I have become very sensitized to how meaningless many of our activities are that take up so much of our time. How much of what we do will last past the judgment seat of Christ, into eternity. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 and “Each one’s work will become obvious, for the day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire; the fire will test the quality of each one’s work. If anyone’s work that he has built survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, it will be lost, but he will be saved; yet it will be like an escape through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:13-15
I wonder how much time in Christian homes was spent this Easter on coloring eggs, making baskets, hiding and finding eggs, getting pictures with the Easter bunny. I wonder in the same homes how much time was spent talking about the true meaning of Easter besides that which was discussed in church. Jesus has called us to be servants and what is meant by that is this; we are to be servants to others not to ourselves.

What is your calling? If your call is clear, the obstacles of your duties are to be expected and overcome by God’s grace. He uses these to refine us. We are put in positions of trust where we have no where to turn except God. That is where He wants us. He wants our problems to be bigger than what we can solve so we can grow in our faith and find Him faithful. “For God has not given us a spirit of fearfulness, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Daily I am reminded how precious and fleeting life can be as I see how weak skin, flesh and bones are compared to the power of gun powder. Everyday, not knowing the length of my days, I must ask my self, “Am I following my calling or just doing my duty?”

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

Before I left on my first tour of Iraq, I gave my wife, my mother, and my in-laws a Service Star Banner. What follows describes the Service Star Banner and is from: www.bluestarmothers.org

Display of the Service Star Banner first came about during World War I. During WWI and WWII most flags were hand made by mothers across the nation. One of the most famous flags was that of the five Sullivan brothers who all perished on the U.S.S. Juneau.

Each blue star on the flag represents a service member in active duty. A gold star is displayed if a service member is killed in action or dies in service. If several stars are displayed in one family the gold star takes the honor of being placed at the top.

Display of a Service Star Banner is done during times of war.

When my wife found out I was returning to Iraq one of her first comments was: “I will get out the star and put it back in the window.”

The star is a great reminder of the how many are effected when a service members goes off to war. To me the star is a declaration which should be acknowledged and acted upon. The support I get as a member of the armed forces is amazing. Even with all of the negative media attention, great Americans everywhere are deluging us with food, treats, clothes, toiletries, coffee and letters of encouraging thoughts and prayers. During Veterans Day and Memorial Day we are usually asked to stand for recognition. We are often acknowledged at sporting events. All of these are a great honor and very much appreciated to counteract all that is said on CNN or in most newspapers.

But what does the star mean to me. It means that my wife is a temporary widow, my son is a temporary orphan, and my parents have temporarily lost a son. Accordingly, I would ask that in following with what God has stated through out the scriptures and most clearly in James 1:27 ”Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep one unstained by the world.”

So the next time you drive by a car or a house and you see a blue star surrounded by a red border, consider what you can do to look after these orphans and widows. If you see a gold star waving from a proudly displayed Service Banner mourn with them.

In a letter to the Philippians, Paul writes, “For me, living is Christ and dying is gain. Now if I live on in the flesh, this means fruitful work for me; and I don’t know which one I should choose. I am pressured by both.” Phil 1:21-23a I put all of my trust in the Lord and would be honored if a banner with a gold star waved gently from our flag pole by our front door, yet pray that my star remains blue.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

Yesterday was Easter and a very emotional day for me at the Worship service. There are a few reasons that I think I was more emotional than usual. The first is the number of injured children I am seeing. The second is because of a very poignant story I heard about an 18 y/o soldier and the Lieutenant that tried to save him. Lastly, it is Easter and I am away from my family, not sure if I will ever see them again in this life.

Back to my thoughts about the Children of War, one of the reasons I have been deployed to the base I am at, is because of the increasing number of children we are we caring for who have been injured. I thought specifically about what is happening to them as I was reading in Proverbs, the seven things that God hates. Proverbs 6:17b states that one of the things that God hates is, “hands that shed innocent blood”. Side by side in the ICU are two children who were severely injured in an improvised explosive device combined with chlorine gas in Ramadi the other day. We have a one year old boy who had some glass pieces penetrate the back of his neck, but his main problem is the damage caused to his lungs from breathing chlorine gas. He has been on a ventilator for three days while we wait to see if his lungs recover. We are hopeful. The other child is a 13 y/o girl. As they were examining her in the ER the surgeon told me of how beautifully her toe nails were painted and she was found to be holding a flower when she was taken to the OR. She was taken to the OR to repair the left side of her face that was just about blown off. When I first saw her in the ICU her face was still covered with some blood and there was a patch of skin sown to cover where her left eye used to be. When you looked at her right side you could tell she was a beautiful girl, carrying a flower she had picked from a field. Now she will be forever disfigured. There is absolutely no doubt that these children’s bodies flow with innocent blood and the very fact that their blood was shed represents something God hates. I am wondering where Al Jazeera or CNN or BBC is to report this act of terror against children, or how they are being lovingly cared for by the “infidels”. Unfortunately, I am sharing about just two of a constant stream of children I see as a result of the terrorist attacks that continue to destabilize Iraq. That is one of the differences I see from the last time I was here. The number of injured US military is about the same, but the number of Iraqi civilians especially children has gone up dramatically. Where is the moral outrage? These attacks against the children at schools and markets were not aimed at the US military and if we leave the chances are they will only get worse. I asked my Muslim translator one day how believers of Islam can justify such attacks. He is very educated man and a devout Muslim. He explained to me why these types of attacks against Muslim children are not approved of by the Quran. I then asked him about what is the percentage of Muslims in the Middle East that feel the same way you do and he answered, “About two percent.”

As I stood and looked at these two children in the ICU I wondered what effect this will have on me when I return home. I am often asked how I deal with the difficulty of caring for severely ill children. I am able to process the tragedy of children born with heart defects, although there are still days I cry, much like Jesus did when He joined in mourning for Lazarus, even though he knew was going the raise him from the dead. John Chapter 11. I am also encouraged by the story of when Jesus is asked why a child was born blind and was it due to sin in the lives of the parents or the man. Jesus’ responds, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned; this came about so that God’s works might be displayed in him.” John 9:3 It is much more difficult to handle all of the carnage I am seeing. I think the ultimate answer is the same with the exception that man can do little to change the number of children with heart defects. However, man is directly responsible and will be held accountable for the innocent blood of these children.

What do I consider the ultimate answer? My ultimate answer I give for how I handle the suffering of children comes from five very important principles from my faith: 1) God is omniscient, omnipotent, and loving, 2) God knows the number of our days before our life begins “Your eyes saw me when I was formless; all my days were written in Your book and planned before a single one of them began.” Psalm 139:16, 3) Children who die go to heaven regardless of their parents faith or whether they have been baptized, 4) God is allowing things to continue that He hates, for a period of time, because of the fallen nature of man, and 5) Man’s intellect is too feeble to understand the permissive will of God. “Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5 Because of #5 I place all of my trust in #1.

The uniting scripture I can rest on is this “But when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known. Now these three remain: Faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13: 10-13

You see, as a physician, I feel God allows me to take part in His plan but not to change the ultimate plan He has for His Glory. I do not believe that I save anyone’s life with my medical care. That is the business of God. I see my role as a Christian physician to direct parents and patients to give all healing credit to the Great Physician. As C. Everett Koop so elegantly stated, “I can sew two pieces of skin together but it is God who sends the fibroblasts to heal the incision.”

Easter is truly the high-holiday for Christians. Without the Easter story, Christianity is just a nice story about a man who died. With Easter we see the Creator giving his life as a sacrifice for those He created and His perfect life as a human allowed Him to conquer death for all of us and gives us hope. My faith gives me hope to trust in the love that ultimately saves me…….and the children who die in war.

Solis Deo Gloria

4/4
0100: Land and keep engines running while maintenance checks out an engine that is
running a little out of specifications
0110: The engines are shut down and I go back to life support to turn in my night vision
goggles. Go to the bathroom and try to call my wife and let her know I am back
on the ground. Can’t get through
0120: Start walking back to my trailer, about a mile and a half
0140: Arrive at my trailer and drop my stuff go to the call center and talk to the lovely
wife
0200: Read my bible
0230: Defense system fires, I was awake but if I weren’t I would have been awakened
by the sound. Turn off the lights, it fires again, go to sleep
0710: Alarm clocks wakes me from deep slumber. I shower and get dressed.
0745: Head to the hospital for intensive care unit rounds in the radiology tent. Go to
ICU 2 where we have the children. Four children are on ventilators, another is a
baby with serious infections due to an immunodeficiency. A variety of children
are on the ward
0845: Finish rounds head back to the clinic to check email. Discuss politics and religion
1045: Head to the call center to call my mom and wish her a happy birthday, I couldn’t
get through earlier and I only have 15 minutes to catch her while it is still the 3rd
on the west coast
1130: Go to lunch
1200: Return to my trailer to take a nap before my night shift in the contingency
aeromedical staging facility CASF where we prepare patients for air evacuation.
1310: Lay down
1610: Alarm clock wakes me from a deep nap.
1620: Go to fitness center run 4 miles, 170 sit ups and 170 push ups
1730: Take a shower and change into my flight suit.
1755: Head to the clinic for a commanders call
1820: Go to dinner
1845: Head back to my trailer pickup a few things for my night and walk to the CASF
1900: Arrive at the CASF, check email and call the lovely wife and start laundry. It isn’t
very glamorous war stuff, but the reality is that you need to get your laundry done
or you start to lose friends.
1945: Start medically clearing patients for aero-medical evacuation.
2030: Go back to the operations building to drop off a piece of survival “gear” that I
forgot to give back after the flight.
2100: Go to hospital to clear a patient who was in a car accident. I check in on the kids
in the ICU plus another one in the ward
2230: Go back to the CASF and clear patients who just came in from bases scattered
around Iraq. Most are non battle injuries. Fold laundry
2300: Go back to hospital to clear more patients who just came in by helicopter

4/5
2400: Go back to the CASF and answer some more emails and work on this before I
forget all of the places I have been. The plane will arrive in about 2 hours and
scheduled to depart around 0450. No chance of sleep until we have loaded
the patients
0040: Discuss plan to load the patients with the entire CASF staff
0140: Back to the hospital to check on a patient who is supposed to go out on a plane
tonight but there is a concern that he is getting worse and might need to travel with
our Critical Care Air Transport Team CCATT
0200: Pt looked good and was resting comfortably. Back to the CASF, the plane, a C-17
will land in about 40 minutes and then once they remove the cargo we will load
patients. While the cargo is being unloaded, the nurse will give report and I will
be available in case the air-evac nurse has any questions.
0340: Arrived back at CASF
0345: Go to the hospital to clear patients who just arrived by helicopter. Three patients:
one young man with a gunshot wound to the leg and two others with non-battle
injuries
0410: Return to CASF, time to try to get some sleep, before the 0650 alarm clock
invitation to wake up.
0650: One of my fellow flight docs is my alarm clock as he appears to relieve me. I am
willing to admit, that I am still a little tired.
0700: Off to the hospital to round on the children before I get any more sleep
0800: In the radiology tent again to look at the studies that have been performed in the
last 24 hours on the patients in the ICU
0815: Go to ICU 2 to round on the children. There are five children here today. Three
are on ventilators, one was just taken off the ventilator and one is the two month
old with the immunodeficiency. I will write more about the children soon.
0905: Return to the CASF to grab my stuff.
0935: Walk home to my trailer
0945: Get to my trailer and prepare to take a nap
1015: Turn off the lights and go to bed, “Now Lord lay me down to sleep……….”
1200: Still asleep, (I wake up at 1320)

My life is probably better than most of the docs here. The surgeons sleep much less than I do. In 48 hours I got around 12 hours and 5 minutes of sleep over four different sleeping periods. Within those periods there are planes, controlled detonations and alarms that often interfere with restful sleep. This is pretty typical.

I have the honor of following my calling as a Christian physician here; however, a lot of what I do day to day is just a duty to fulfill my calling.

More thoughts on calling vs duty coming soon

Solis Deo Gloria

I wanted to describe a place and situation and see what comes to mind. The place I am thinking about is surrounded by a fence with razor wire on top. The guards around the fence are armed and can shoot anyone who attempts to go through the fence. Those who are on the inside are not allowed to leave unless the authorities say it is OK. They are housed at no cost to themselves. They receive plenty of food. They are told what to wear and when they can wear it. They are also told how and when they can exercise. They are allowed certain magazines and programs but are not allowed to have alcohol and drugs, although some bring it in illegally. They are told that they are there for a certain time and can expect to be released at the end of their time, but sometimes due to circumstances, they are kept for longer periods. There are dangers to being in this place and many of the occupants are capable of killing. What does this sound like? Some might think what I am describing is a prison. It is actually a military base in a deployed location. The main difference is that the occupants of the military base have volunteered to be considered for such duty. In the case of the national guard and reservists, many have left jobs back home and come, setting aside many freedoms to serve their country.

I thought of the analogy to prison as I was considering the remarkable stories of the apostles in prison shortly after Christ’s resurrection. The apostle Peter was in prison twice and he was miraculously freed. The stories of his imprisonment and subsequent freedom are told in Acts Chapters 5 and 12. Angels came and opened the doors and Peter left. To me a more remarkable story is the story of Paul. His prison experience is described in Acts 16.
“After they had inflicted many blows on them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to keep them securely guarded. Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out in a loud voice, ‘Don’t harm yourself, because all of us are here!’ Then the jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. Then he escorted them out and said, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved-you and your household.’ Then they spoke the message of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house. He took them the same hour and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized. He brought them up to his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had believed God with his entire household. When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent police to say, ‘Release those men!’” Acts 16:23-35

I find it very encouraging that Paul was given the opportunity to leave but remained because he knew he still had work to do. I wonder if I were kidnapped by the insurgents, and by a miraculous event was given the chance for freedom would I stay behind so the very testimony of my remaining would allow someone come to new faith in Christ. That is what Paul did. Paul remained so he could serve this man. What he served him was the Bread of Life.

I think about the military members especially the guardsmen and reservists who do not have to come but do so out of a willingness to serve. At any time they could resign, but chose to stay. They have entered the confinement of a deployed base in harms way and have purposely given up certain freedoms to risk their lives so others may see freedom and for those of us who have freedom to may remain free.

Further in Acts we read of what leads Paul on, “And now I am on my way to Jerusalem, bound in my spirit, not knowing what I will encounter there, except that in town after town the Holy Spirit testifies to me that chains and afflictions are waiting for me. But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. Acts 20:22-24

How many of us are like Paul and are willing to set aside our personal freedom, so others may have eternal life?

Solis Deo Gloria

More thought to come

A couple of days ago, I was walking into the hospital just as a helicopter was arriving with an injured soldier. When they take the injured off the helicopter they place them on a rolling stretcher. The man was being rolled through Hero’s Highway as he passed by me. He was wrapped in a Mylar blanket which helps keep the injured warm. There was a splint around his lower leg which was wrapped in an ace bandage and just his toes and top part of his foot was visible. His foot was blue due to a tourniquet that had been placed to stop the bleeding from a wound further up his leg. Every second or so, blood would drop from the splint and left a trail of blood splattered on the ground every 6 feet as the stretcher rolled into the ER where the orthopedic surgeons were waiting. He would then be prepped for surgery and taken to the OR and the damaged leg repaired. From the foot’s standpoint, it only knew it was in pain and was not getting enough of what it needed or wanted. The foot, if it could think independently would probably be shouting, “How about some blood down here?” “Don’t you see my foot is blue?” “I am in pain. I am throbbing. I feel my skin is about to burst. Can I get some relief?” If the foot were given immediate relief and the tourniquet was released, the foot would be happy for a short while. Then as the body continued to lose blood, it would become cold and blue once more and then would die as would the rest of the body to which it is attached. As I watched this soldier roll past me I thought, “There is a lesson in what I am seeing.” It was 1am the other morning when I realized the lesson from the “the blue foot”.

The blue foot couldn’t see the bleeding from its vantage point. It didn’t know that the body was at risk of bleeding to death. It didn’t realize that the tourniquet that was causing all of its complaints was actually saving the foot in the long run. The foot did not have the perspective that the medic did when the tourniquet was placed. The medic didn’t ask the permission of the foot, just did what was best for the body, knowing that saving the body was the only chance to save the leg and the foot.

The collective church is referred to as the “body of Christ”. As I thought about the foot being indignant as to how it was being treated and neglected, my mind went immediately to my prayers as a “foot”. There have been times when I have cried out in pain, whether physical, spiritual or emotional, and have wondered, why my requests were being neglected. As I look back, when I have cried out because of how unfairly I felt I was being treated, was my life really being saved, was there a tourniquet on another part of the “body of Christ” that caused me pain but would ultimately make me better? The blue foot has reminded me of a very important lesson that I seem to need to learn over and over again. God sometimes puts a tourniquet on a leg. He knows the injury and sees the bleeding that I don’t see as the foot. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. This is the LORD’s declaration.” Isaiah 55:8 “There is a way that seems right to a man [or foot], but in the end it is the way of death. Proverbs 16:25.

When you are a foot and the Medic is putting a tourniquet on the leg, listen to the Medic and you will hear “Be still and know that I am God” Psalm 46:10

Solis Deo Gloria
More thoughts to come

I just recently watched the movie 300. I do not recommend it because of its gore and demonstration of the sexual perversion of the King of Persia, Xerxes, but it was a great story of honor, bravery, integrity and self-sacrifice. There are other movies that have similar character values highlighted and are widely popular e.g., The Patriot, Blackhawk Down, Saving Private Ryan, We Were Soldiers, Gladiator, Braveheart and The Passion to name just a few. What these movies all have in common is men fighting wars against tyranny with the main character demonstrating the previously mentioned highly regarded character traits. These movies are all very violent and show men at their worst and at their best, which is required. To show the men of ultimate honor they must be counter posed with how badly men can act. Wars and killings are usually a common theme.

I thought about the idea of the honor of men being highlighted at their most trying moments as I was reading the account of the first Christian martyr, Stephen, in the book of Acts. There is a poignant passage as he was at the end of his trial and was about to be stoned. “But, Stephen, filled by the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven. He saw God’s glory, with Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, ‘Look I see the heavens opened and the Son of God standing at the right hand of God!’” Acts 7:55-56 Skip a few verses and you here Stephen’s last words. “They were stoning Stephen as he called out: ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin!’ And saying this, he fell asleep.” Acts 7:59-60

It is interesting that Stephen death and final words were very similar to those of the Lord Jesus to whom he was going. They both died a very painful death. Two of the very last statements of Jesus are: “Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” Luke 23:34 and “Father, into your hands I entrust My spirit.” Acts 23:46

As I look at the main characters of the men represented in the Biblical accounts as well as the movies there is a common theme.

300: King Leonidas and his 299 men fought against a million men and remained brave and steadfast in their commitment to defend freedom even if it meant their death

Gladiator: Maximus was betrayed and his wife and son killed. He died by treachery as he fought for the freedom of Rome from the tyranny of the Caesar

Blackhawk Down; Two Snipers remain on the ground voluntarily while people are being evacuated and voluntarily give their life so others can live. The two snipers ultimately die. Interestingly, “So others may live.” is the motto of the Combat Search and Rescue Squadron

Braveheart: Wallace fought against the tyranny of British Empire for freedom for Scotland and died crying out “Freedom”

The Patriot: Benjamin Martin who loses two sons as He fights for the freedom of the colonies

We Were Soldiers: LTC Hal Moore demonstrates the utmost bravery as he and his men fight against incredible odds to secure a mountain, in a conflict to keep free the South Vietnamese

Saving Private Ryan: The Captain Miller gives his life and the lives of many of his men so one man could return home.

Stephen: He dies for his uncompromising beliefs in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. As he is dying demonstrates no malice towards his killers, but rather asks for their forgiveness.

The Passion: Jesus represents the ultimate example of the best of men. He temporarily leaves heaven to come give His life through a brutal death so those who believe in Him can be with Him for all eternity. As He is being tortured, He has the opportunity to call for help, but He doesn’t say a word, even as He is mocked. If He had been rescued we would not have a Savior.

The stories of the men and movies that depict their acts are very inspiring to me and many others. I am daily talking to men who have risked their lives for the freedom of others and many have lost friends while fighting against tyranny and terror.

As much as I admire these qualities, they come with a price. To show great integrity, there must be great temptation to be dishonest. To demonstrate bravery, there must be a high likelihood of death and fear that would paralyze most. To be considered self-sacrificial you must be willing to give up what is rightly yours even if it means you go without or even die. To have honor that separates you from others you must have faced the most severe difficulties and remained true to ideals of honesty, selflessness, forgiveness, mercy and a willingness to give your life for others.

The other aspect that should not be overlooked is perspective. Stephen who knew what He was dying for. He was dying for pronouncing the truth about freedom through Christ. When men know they are fighting for freedom from tyranny, their character is elevated by the very nobility of their charge. There is no meaning to the height of character without the balance of the depth of treachery that it must overcome. When I dissect it to its most basic element, it seems that using Jesus as the example, freedom is what is most important, “Jesus told them, ’I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’” John 14:6 He also said, “If you continue in My word, you really are My disciples. You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:32 He has set us free from the wages of sin [“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23] by sacrificing himself, being put to shame, dying an agonizing death and remaining silent while he was punished for our crimes. He voluntarily “took the bullet” for us.

The Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen in Iraq and Afghanistan are risking their lives for the freedom of others. I would hope the fallen are remembered as demonstrating what is best in men and die with the knowledge that they will be regarded as men worthy of great epic stories.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

We have a variety of Alarms here at the base which tells us what to do when we are being attacked or have been attacked. When we are in Green, everything is good. We are not being attacked currently and if we have been recently attacked we are now safe to continue about our normal routine. Alarm Yellow is after an attack when we have to make sure the base is safe and that there are not any unexploded ordinances UXOs. We must remain under cover at this time unless you are on a team that searches for UXOs. Once “All Clear” is called we are then back to Green. Alarm Red is sounded when we are under attack. During this time we are to take cover and remain under cover until Alarm Yellow is sounded. The Alarm Red siren is a little disconcerting; however, what really gets your attention is when over the loud speakers you hear: “INCOMING, INCOMING, INCOMING” This means that the attack is in your immediate vicinity. What we have to do in this situation is drop to the ground and cover our eyes, ears, and head as best as we can. At this point you wait for the proverbial other shoe to drop. These episodes generate a lot of thoughts, as you can imagine, but the one that came to my mind the other day is that there is a word that is used sometimes in the US that can generate the exact same reaction from people. People will become frightened, flee the area, or just cover their eyes and ears until the threat is gone. What word could strike such fear in people? What could possibly send people fleeing when they live in the safety of the US? The word has two syllables. It is a simple name. It just happens to be the “Name above all names” Ephesians 1:21 It is the name that at the end of time every knee will bow to and every tongue confess that He is Lord. Philippians 2:10-11 It is the only name that has the promise of salvation. “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12 The very scary word is: Jesus. We are usually not scared of those sent to save us from destruction. When we are in a burning house a fireman is welcome, when our house is being robbed a policeman is a welcomed. When people in the old west were frightened their spirits were buoyed by knowing the US Cavalry was coming. This passage describes the man who carries this name: Wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” Isaiah 9:6b Those attributes do not sound very scary.

There are members of my own family that consider any discussion of Jesus tantamount to hearing “INCOMING, INCOMING, INCOMING” Jesus knew this and talked about it when he described what belief in Him could do to a family. “Do you think I came to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! From now on, five in one household will be divided: three against two, and two against three. They will be divided father against son, son against father, mother against daughter, daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.” Luke 12:51-53 He also knew that belief in Him would lead to others hating you. “….You will be hated by everyone because of My name.” Matthew 10:21b Jesus said to expect it if you were a follower of Him A lot of people can talk about spirituality or God today but few will allow Jesus to enter their conversation except in vain. Even Christians find themselves walking carefully when they are referring to their Savior. They can call him God for He is, but to call him Jesus acknowledges who their Savior is.

On a military base, especially in Iraq, there are a lot of very harsh words used. Curse words are used frequently and in a number of very creative ways: nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, commas, objects, indirect objects, etc. Most people will hear these words that not too long ago would have quieted a room, and continue with their work without giving the incredibly foul language a second thought. However, I say Jesus at the same level but in a reverent way and the room will become silent and you can feel the tension rise.

If as you read this you start to feel tension rise, what has happened is that the Mighty God is now speaking over the loud speaker of your heart and instead of the frightful “INCOMING” that I hear on this air base in Iraq, The Prince of Peace is asking a question “AM I COMING IN?” “Listen! I stand at the door [of your heart] and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and have dinner with him and he with Me. The victor: I will give him the right to sit with Me on My throne, just as I also won victory and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:20-21

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

I was clearing a patient for aero-evacuation the other day and witnessed a very touching scene. A soldier who had been hit by an improvised explosive device IED, was lying in bed, his face severely broken and bruised, ear drum ruptured, his eyes barely able to be opened, but tears rolled down his face as the chaplain held his hand and encouraged him. The chaplain held his hand for over 5 minutes as he ministered to this troubled soldier. I am not sure what the discussion was, but the main reason that soldiers cry after they have been injured is because they will not be able to return to their unit and they will leave their buddies behind. The other reason I have seen soldiers cry after injuries, is the question, “Why me?”.

In a trauma hospital where one sees the injured day after day, it is common to hear people ask, “What is the purpose of all of this?”. When people see apparent injustices, a common statement is “When I get to heaven, I have a lot of questions for God.” It is interesting that Jesus specifically addresses that very statement. Jesus encourages us with this, “I assure you: you will weep and wail, but the world will rejoice. You will become sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn to joy. When a woman is in labor she has pain because her time has come. But when she has given birth to a child, she no longer remembers the suffering because of the joy that a person has been born into the world. So you also have sorrow now. But I will see you again. Your hearts will rejoice, and no one will rob you of your joy. In that day you will not ask Me anything.” John 16:20-23 Jesus uses the birth analogy elsewhere when he is describing the earth before the “Great Tribulation” “All of these events are the beginning of the birth pains.” Matthew 24:8. I think the reason people want to ask God questions is that they doubt whether He is truly loving. It is common to hear people say, “If God is such a loving God, then why is there all of this suffering” Jesus’ response is simple. When you finally see Him, you will not have any questions. It will be absolutely clear that He is all knowing, all powerful, and all loving.

The other reason people often do not trust Jesus is because they feel that He has not answered their prayers. You can imagine how many prayers are being said by soldiers when they are in harms way. The feeling is: When they needed Him most, He was not there. Just a few verses later in John 16 you see Jesus explaining why prayers are not always answered the way we want them. He states, “Until now you have asked nothing in My name. Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be complete.” John 16: 24 The condition is that your prayers will be answered by God in order for your joy to be made complete. God is drawing us to Him or refining us once we are already following Him. He is not concerned with answering prayers for our partial joy or fleeting joy. He is concerned with our joy being complete. When those who have believed in Him and see Him after all of our sorrows in this temporal life, our joy will be truly complete, and there will be no questions just worship.

I am very thankful for people who will hold the hands of those who are hurting and comfort those who cry. Until we see Jesus face to face “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” Rev 21:4

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

I have been thinking about three words lately and those are: courage, bravery, and heroism. It seems like they are often used interchangeably, but as I went to the dictionary for a precise definition I received an education. As I thought about these words, I thought courage was a willingness to be brave and bravery was when you really had to come through when things were scary or going very badly. Here are the actual definitions:

Courage: The ability to face danger, difficulty, uncertainty, or pain without being overcome by fear or being deflected from a chosen course of action.

Bravery: Extreme courage in the face of danger or difficulty

Hero: Remarkably brave person

I learned that the words are a hierarchy, which makes their use not interchangeable at all rather degrees that must be assessed by someone. There is a hierarchy in the military as well. There are those who do not deploy; those who deploy to safe areas that could be in danger; there are those who deploy in areas of danger and get bombed; there are those who walk the streets of the bad areas protecting the innocents; and then, there are those who go out looking for bad guys. For civilians, those in the military are often called our nations heroes. For us in the military many of us do not feel like heroes. We have not done anything “remarkably brave”. Those who have to deploy and still carry out their jobs while bombs, mortars or rockets are falling would fit the criteria of having “courage”. I think this is where I would fit in. I recently received an email from my older brother. He said, “….glad to hear that you're not going up in the copters too much, one combat medal is enough don't you think”. The combat medal he is referring to is a medal I received for aerial flight during combat. It is a medal that requires acts of courage from the recipient. Flying in helicopters or airplanes that could be shot at, is considered courageous, so that is why I received it once I had done this at least 20 times. My reply to him will require some explanation. My reply was, “Yeah one combat medal is enough. Bravery and heroism are over rated as a volunteer. It is another thing if it thrust upon you.” I wrote this before I knew the exact definitions, but I think even then that I knew there was a difference between being courageous and being brave or a hero. I can elect to be courageous and go into harms way. I can continue caring for a person during an alarm red, when mortars and rockets are coming into the base. I can volunteer for that level of courage. I think bravery and heroism, is a much more difficult decision and has fewer volunteers. Courage of the level I have written about seems tolerable for me. To some it might not be, for others the activities I am involved in my not seem courageous at all. However, to take what I am doing and raise that to the level of extreme courage, that is a level most do not want to be involved in, much less raise your hand and step forward. These are often the tough decisions commanders make when they have to choose which men are going out on dangerous assignments. When God was picking warriors, he had people who were afraid go home. We have the same system, in a sense, in our all volunteer military. Those who are too afraid do not have to join.

One can see that if brave is extremely courageous and a hero is a remarkably brave person, then a hero has extremely remarkable courage.

I thought of one such person today. This is a man who knew he had an assignment to do but even to the last moment was seeing if he could get out of it. He had volunteered but as the time got closer to becoming a hero, the task loomed larger and the realness of the act he was going to perform was becoming truly daunting. The man became so stressed over the act he was going to be asked to undertake that he started sweating drops of blood, which can happen under episodes of extreme stress. The place this event occurred was in the Garden of Gethsemane; the man who had to make a choice was Jesus Christ; the task he had before him: take all of the punishment for my sins. He could choose not to do it. He could choose to have thousands of angels come and take him away. He prayed to his Father, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.” Matthew 26:39. Earlier, I wrote about a hero being a person who is willing to die for another. People often ask me why I love Jesus so much. Have you ever seen how a person feels about the one who gave their life so the survivor could live? Jesus died for me so that I could live for eternity. He had a choice, take all of the ridicule, pain and suffering of a horrible death of crucifixion for me or go back to heaven knowing I would never be there. It is humbling to know that He loves me more than I ever love him. He is my true hero. On the cross He demonstrated extremely remarkable courage and one more thing….Love.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

I was reading the Stars and Stripes the other day and saw an article that said a recent poll showed that only 28% of American’s thought we would win the war in Iraq. I found this very interesting considering I had watched “The Green Berets” the other day and was amazed by some of the similarities of the issues facing the Green Berets and what we are facing today during the global war on terror (GWOT). It was also interesting to think of what movies Hollywood was producing during the Viet Nam war compared to now.

First, I thought I should address the issue of when people say, “winning the war in Iraq”, what they really should say is winning the global war on terror. The war in Iraq has been won. The Iraqi government and the US government are not at war. We are in Iraq at the request of the elected government. We are no longer at war with Iraq. We are still at war with terrorists who are largely targeting fellow Muslims in Iraq. That is to say the war we are fighting in Iraq is the global war on terror. This should be shouted from the roof tops because what we are seeing and hearing from the world media is the framing of the discussion to appear that we have already lost and the coalition should pack up and leave.

During the first part of “The Green Berets”, there are a couple of Sergeants who are talking with the media and showing how incredibly smart and well trained the Green Berets are for the conflict in Viet Nam. The program is very impressive, but at the end, a reporter says, “My paper does not support the war. Tell me why we should still be fighting in Viet Nam?” The sergeants went on to explain all of the tragedies that were being carried out on the innocent civilians in Viet Nam and how we needed to be there to protect the innocent. The sergeant then asked the reporter if he had ever been to Viet Nam. The reporter answered with a sheepish, “No”. This movie was made in 1968 and President Lyndon Johnson was asked and allowed Hollywood to shoot many of the scenes with military equipment. This was during the height of the war and almost the exact same questions were being asked of the military by the media that are being asked today. The answers could almost be identical: 1) From the military, if asked why we are here: Answer: There are many civilians being killed. 2) From the media and talking heads in Washington: We could ask them, Have you been there, on the ground, outside the wire? Answer: Most would have to answer no.

I have come to believe that it is not the Commander in Chief that gets us into a “quagmire”, but rather the media who start to call it a quagmire and continue calling it a quagmire until the people believe them, through this type of not reporting the facts but rather analysis by the press they weaken the publics resolve and ultimately decrease the worth of the sacrifice made by the soldiers. Being a hero or getting a purple heart in a war that is considered a losing cause diminishes the perception of the honor of the act no matter how people may say otherwise. The soldiers of Viet Nam fought just as hard if not harder than those of WWII, but they do not get the title of “the greatest generation”.

Let me give you some numbers from previous battles. I will provide the link in case people want to study these numbers. www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_toll WWI 8,500,000 military deaths; WWII 24,456,700 military deaths (418,000 US); Korea 36,516 US deaths, Viet Nam 58,209 US deaths; GWOT around 2,600 US deaths from combat. Can you imagine if the US media reported the Battle of the Bulge or The Battle for Iwo Jima like it reports battles today? What about D-DAY? Surely if Roosevelt and Truman had the current media or even the media from the Viet Nam days there would have been calls for their impeachment. If it weren’t for the steadfast resolve of the US, the national language of France and Britain would be German and Japan would own all of Hawaii, not just a part of the island. One can see how few we have lost in Iraq, after years of fighting terrorists in difficult street battles and booby-trapped roads. Imagine what today’s press would have called D-Day.

As expected in “The Green Berets” when the reporter went to Viet Nam and saw what the soldiers were doing his mind slowly began to open and see the war from a different side.

As I look back at what I have written so far, I see a stark contrast from what I wrote during my last tour. During my last tour I spent a lot of time talking about the bravery and sacrifice of military members, most of what is on my mind now and what I write about is trying to help people to see that the cause we are engaged in here is just and honorable. I hope that this will be my last “thought” on why what the military is doing here is working, not a quagmire, and worthy of honor for the troops involved. I hope to return to writing about the heroism, bravery and sacrifice of the incredible men and women of the armed forces that I have the privilege of caring for.

The American public was patient during WWII, when 1,000,000 were injured and half that died. When 9,000,000 had died by 1916 and it seemed that the WWI would be lost or seemed at least impossible to win, no one gave up because the stakes were too high. The stakes are even higher today as it seems like madmen are procreating at an alarming rate. We must not lose our resolve. The war we are fighting is global.

It looked grim when Jesus was crucified. His disciples lost there resolve and fled. Then 50 days later the Spirit of God descended and the world was changed forever. The press is saying that evil has won in Iraq and it is useless to continue fighting, they have reported negative stories until the public has lost their resolve and are encouraging us to flee. I am willing stay as long as I must and continue to trust that in the end good will conquer evil and the Almighty who sees all, is ultimately in control of all, is still on His Throne.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

As I was walking along today, I thought about a principle I learned in my surgery rotation as a medical student. For people who have signs and symptoms consistent with an acute appendicitis the appropriate next step is to take them to surgery for an appendectomy. It was taught and expected that there will be a certain number of people who go to surgery who end up not having an appendicitis. In fact, the expectation was that a surgeon should have around 5% of the cases taken for an appendectomy to be normal, or else his index of suspicion was not high enough. The principle is that it is better to take out a normal appendix, than to wait until an inflamed one ruptures and increases the risk of infection and death.

This same principle applies to national security. I have heard many complain that no weapons of mass destruction have been found in Iraq so we are not justified to be here and for that reason we should pull out and that Bush should be impeached for lying to the Congress and the American people. Let me set the record straight with completely de-classified information that anyone could find, if they looked hard enough (a challenge to reporters).

There have been over 500 weapons of mass destruction found in Iraq since we invaded, and this is just the unclassified information. The weapons contained at least two different types of chemicals, both nerve and blister agents. The criticism and explanation why this information does not get bigger press is that these were old weapons and not evidence of a new weapons program; however, that still does not negate the fact that Sadaam was in possession of WMDs and could have used them against Iraqis or others. The second piece of information is that a gas lab was found in northern Iraq, which had new materials for making blister and nerve agents. These materials would have been obtained during the time Sadaam was saying he did not have an active chemical weapons production program. The last piece of information is that there are people who are Syrian and are testifying publicly of three places in Syria where WMDs from Iraq were hidden and are still there to this day.

We all look at our surroundings through our own biases. I look at my surrounding through the eyes of Christian and a physician. The way I view these events in Iraq which have and continue to directly affected me, my family, friends, and co-workers is that when there is a real concern the US must take action to protect its citizens. On rare occasions, the US has over reached, which verifies that we have a high index of suspicion; however, we are usually late when the pus has already started leaking into a country. There are numerous countries around the world that we have not invaded, because they posed little or no risk to the US or our allies interests. Before invading Iraq, this country showed many signs and symptoms of a weapons program that could have had a devastating effect on the world. Like the surgeon, the US decided to act and operate. I do not have the entire operative report but what I have found is that during the first part of the operation, there was “old pus found in the belly”. If old pus is left in the belly of a human, it will fester and eventually come to light when the patient is much more sick and much harder to treat. The treatment for pus in the belly is drainage of the pus and to make sure there isn’t any more pus around. Additionally, one must look for where the pus was coming from and stop its production. We are still in the midst of the operation and we are still looking for more pus and different types of pus.

Where this illustration breaks down is, when a doctor is operating on a patient the concerned friends and family are in the waiting room thinking and praying for the patient and the doctor. I have been in operations where the families patiently waited most of the day for news of the results of the operation. In this conflict the neighbors are adding pus to the already sickened body and some of the so called friends and families of the doctor are ridiculing the result before the operation is complete having grown wearing of waiting.

My recommendation as a physician is to trust those who are in the operating room and see first hand how the operation is preceding rather than those who are in the waiting room and want to go home regardless of whether the patients lives or dies.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come

Every so often, we will have explosions on the base. When I was last here we had 152 in 120 days. They are usually mortars or rockets. Fortunately they rarely cause any harm to us because the base is so large. They do cause a fare amount of porta-potty damage. The other night there were quite a few explosion and it made me think of the National Anthem and the portion: ”And the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air”. The Star Spangled Banner, can be hummed by most, a few could recite the words and fewer yet can sing it well. However, what I have been thinking about is what the second verse has to say. Here it is:

O thus be it ever when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the wars desolation;
Blest the victory and peace, may the heaven-rescued land
Praise the Power that has made and preserved us a nation.
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto, “In God is our trust”;
And the star-spangled Banner in triumph shall wave
O’er the land of the free and the home of the brave

This is just a very small part of our very strong religious history. I am saddened by how often the strength of the conviction of our fore-fathers is minimized by revisionist history. The importance of the faith of a nation at war is clear from the second verse. The first tells us that the banner standing is an encouragement, the second tells us who deserves the credit.

Just like in the days of Francis Scott Key, Iraq has had its fare share of explosions, bombs and rockets. The other night on this base they “gave proof through the night that our flag[s] were still there”. Here, the Iraq and the US flag fly beside one another and the colors: red, white, and blue, do not run.

Solis Deo Gloria

More thoughts to come,

Over the span of 5 days, I was in Iraq; Kuwait City, Kuwait; Dubai, United Arab Emirates; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Djibouti, and finally arrived at Sana’a, Yemen. Traveling like this has allowed me to see many different cultures in a very short amount of time. I also had a chance to read many different newspapers and to watch news from a variety of sources including an English version of Al Jazerra.

One of the most easily recognized differences is the dress. Throughout my travels, I saw everything from the most conservative dress, the Burqa, to some of the most revealing outfits designed, being worn in the same public spaces. The differences appeared to blend into a fabric of multicultural dress and seemed to be at peace with each other. Just a comment about the conservative dress that many of the women wear in the middle east; I do not find it as offensive as much of what I see in Europe and the US. I do not think the modest female is such a bad thing when compared to other extreme, of people like many of the glamour girls who wear very short skirts and do not seem to care about underwear. The conservative dress can be criticized for preventing a woman from expressing herself, but in this culture that is not always something that is desired. I was performing an echocardiogram on a Yemeni girl of 12. She felt great shame for having a man see her even partially uncovered. One thing is for sure, there is less temptation for men, as opposed to much of the west where hardly anything is left to the imagination. But enough of the dress, I was much more interested in what I read in the Kuwaiti Newspaper. There was a long article on how Kuwait and Saudi Arabia were working with the Iranian government to discuss how to bring Iran into a modern approach to Islam and not to continue to follow a traditional old fashioned view, which included violence and suicide bombers.

My next stop was Dubai, the headline on their English Newspaper there was, “US plans to attack Iran by the spring.” Dubai is an interesting place because they are all about making money and consumerism. UAE have the best hotels, biggest Mall, largest indoor ski-slope, and have made islands shaped like the globe and a Palm Tree to increase waterfront property. Their airport is a living entity at all hours of the night and prides itself on having the most duty free shopping of any airport in the world. Kuwait, Bahrain, and UAE share many similarities, the two most striking are incredible wealth and a relative peace compared to their neighbors. Iraq has more oil, better land, and currently a huge military presence, but very little signs of wealth or peace. So what is the difference? I see two separate problems with Iraq right now. Sectarian violence that took off 1 year ago after the bombing of the third holiest Shiite shrine in Samarra likely by Sunni’s and maybe more importantly, Iran destabilizing the area by sending in militants and weapons. In the Middle East there seems to be a choice that is separating the governments: Material wealth vs radical Muslim beliefs. I am not a great fan of absurd material wealth, but it is definitely easier to travel through a nation that wants your money rather than your neck.

I bring this up in the context of the US Congress wanting us out of Iraq regardless what the security situation is like. It reminds me of other great conflicts where the people lost heart in the midst of a battle. It started with Israel not finishing the job God had given them to clear out the land before them after crossing the Jordan, instead to this day they still live with enemies surrounding them. Others include: World War I and Germany returning just a few years later to fight again; World War II and Russia, that Patton wanted to finish, but instead we had years of Cold War; Korean War, now with North Korea; Iran taking our Hostages and Carter’s ineffectiveness; and Desert Storm and not finishing Saddam at that time. There is a long history of paying a costly price for losing heart in the middle of a battle.

A big division is occurring in the world. With rare exception, the world does not want to follow the US they want the UN to lead. It is globalism vs nationalism. Bette Middler said the hardest thing about being successful is finding someone who is genuinely happy for you. The US is suffering from the same attitude around the world, like a little kid the world is saying “you aren’t the boss of me”. But who will be the moral leader if not the US. The UN has shown itself to be all talk and little action even when millions are dying in Sudan.

Recently there have been bombs in Pakistan, India, and Malaysia, we are not there, still suicide attacks continue everywhere. The time we are in is historic, ideologies are at war and it is not for the faint of heart. God told Joshua after he had already promised the land to the Israelites, “Be strong and courageous, for you will distribute the land I swore to your fathers to give them as an inheritance”. Joshua 1:6 Interestingly, God didn’t say it was going to be easy. He said that Joshua and Israel as a nation were going to need to be committed to the path God was sending them on. The President said to us as we started the global war on terror that it was going to be long and difficult. The US public is losing heart, and their strength and courage they displayed immediately after 9/11 is waning. If this strategy of Iran’s is successful, it will continue beyond the cradle, and I have no doubt violence and death will once again hit our homeland. Many don’t remember how horrible it was to hear every night on the news, how many days Iran had been holding the hostages at the US Embassy. Can we afford to allow Iran off the hook again, as it wages a secret war against the US disguised as an insurgency?

I am currently in a nation that has an official state religion, which is not very friendly to other beliefs. The clerics that are pushing much of the effo