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(First, let me preface this blog as I am legally bound to say that the opinions expressed in this blog are mine alone, and not representative of the U.S. military.)
I'm an Army nurse, and it has been my great honor and privilege to care for the wounded soldiers coming from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. My time in has been relatively brief, 3-1/2 years. But in just these few years, I have seen enough to know the cause these men are fighting for in Iraq and Afghanistan is a just cause and many of us would not be serving if we ourselves did not feel it to be so. Those who disagree... have since left the service... and probably headed north for Canada (just kidding. Most conscientous objectors have since left the service). I want to share with those interested to listen, my observations over this period of time I have spent in service to these great men...
I was blessed with the opportunity to start my nursing career under the mentorship of the nurses at the U.S. Army Institute for Surgical Research Burn Center at Brookes Army Medical Center in Fort Sam Houston, TX. There you will find the world's greatest burn nurses and doctors who work daily saving the lives of our American soldiers who have suffered what is truly the most devastating injury a human being can ever suffer - Burns.
During those few months, I had the opportunity to meet some great men... soldiers and national leaders. Us Army Nurses, we all have our stories to tell, and we all have at least one or two patients that live in our memories and in our hearts. There are many Army nurses with much longer and more experienced stories to tell than I, but this is my humble story. And I would like to tell you about one such encounter:
As a brand new nurse, I cared for a patient on the step-down Burn unit and he had been wounded in a terrible IED blast, possibly an EFP blast (EFP - explosively formed penetrator, the most deadly weapon our enemy has used against us on the battlefield and it's being supplied by Iran, and its essentially a projectile formed from a super-heated ball of molten metal that was able to penetrate through the vehicle armoring at the time like a hot knife through butter). The muslim radical terrorists were pairing these bombs up with tanks of gasoline or flammable fuel to create spectacular fire balls, which they would film and then mail off to news agencies like Al-Jazeera or CNN to wage their PR media war. Well, when I first met this soldier, I think he was maybe a few weeks out from the time of his injury. He had burns all over, I'd be lying if I gave you an estimate of the percentage of his body that was burned, I just knew he had burns all over of varying degrees... but it was especially bad to his legs. To prevent the swelling that results from a burn from cutting off circulation through his legs, the docs downrange had performed what was called a fasciotomy... two slices on either side of the calf to relieve pressure. So in addition to the burns, he also had two large open wounds on his legs that we packed with saline-soaked gauze twice a day to debride and aid with tissue regeneration to try to close the wound. But the most tragic injury of all was the traumatic brain damage he suffered in the blast... his mental ability was that of a toddler. I'm not sure if he ever understood a word I said to him. But it was clear he knew his pain... he knew his legs hurt. He would just wave his one leg back and forth in the air, moaning. We'd give him pain medication, which would help some, but he'd keep waving his leg back and forth. He was unable to do mundane things most people take for granted, like feed himself, put on his glasses, or much less carry on a conversation. Once in a while, as I talked with him, he would make eye contact. Sometimes, he would get frustrated during what I perceived as he wanted to communicate something, but was unable to do so. Being a new nurse and not yet having that intuitive knowledge that comes with experience, I tried to encourage him and reassure him, but I'd always thank him for what he had done in Iraq. His wife flew in a little later with their baby daughter, he had the most adorable baby girl, whom he had never met prior to his injury. She was a beautiful little baby girl! Even if he couldn't express it, everyone knew, he was a very proud Papa!
Well, that New Years Day in 1996, President Bush came to the Burn Center to visit the wounded soldiers and their families. President Bush spent at least 10- to 15-min in each patient's room, visiting with the patients, encouraging them and thanking them on behalf of a grateful nation for their tremendous sacrifice for the protection of this great country. He gave each wounded soldier one of the most coveted coins you could ever receive, the Commander-In-Chief coin, which if you have ever spent any time in the military, you would know soldiers love to collect these coins and commanders love to give them out. But the POTUS coin (President of the United States) will trump any other coin at the bar. It's also an honor to be coined. President Bush also presented 9 soldiers with Purple Hearts that day for their wounds suffered in battle in service to the protection of our nation from terror.
When it came time for President Bush to enter into this patient's room, I helped him get gowned and gloved up (you have to put on a new gown prior to entering each patient's room because burn patients are very susceptible to infection), and I tried to convey to him without using words just my eyes and my face (if that makes any sense) that this next one would be tough. He spent at least 20-minutes with this patient and his family. And when he came out, you could tell he had been crying in there. I was touched by how much time President Bush spent with the patients and their families... most celebrities spend an average of 5-10 minutes visiting with patients, and this is no insult to them, I just mean to point out how President Bush truly wanted these soldiers and their family members to know that he cared for them and that he supported them. What I saw on President Bush's face was expression of a man clearly moved by the tremendous sacrifices these young men had gone through to protect this nation from the terrorists who committed these heinous acts against them. President Bush understood what this war meant to them. And that's why it makes me angry when I hear liberals and people who have never even met President Bush, and accuse him of using our soldiers as pawns for personal gain. Nothing could be further from the truth, because what I saw that day was tremendous devotion and humbleness from of a great leader. And you know what President Bush did next after stepping out of this patient's room, when he came out of the soldier's room he walked straight up to the first nurse he could thank, which happened to be me, he took my hand like he was going to shake it, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek... (NOT in a Monica Lewinsky, sort of way, just to make that clear)... but one of deep gratitude for the care the nurses had been given this brave, patriotic, young, once strong and healthy, soldier. I'm not saying this for personal glorification, it just happened to be me that he kissed, but I'm trying to show you that President Bush sincerely loves the American soldier and only wants the best for them. He
hates having to send them into harm's way to fight a war that we did not ask to get into. But he had to do it for the security of our nation. Those of us serving, understand this, we remember the attacks of 9/11. And so far, President Bush has done a damn good job of protecting us too because we haven't seen a single terrorist attack on our own turf since 9/11. BUT we have seen at least 20 terrorist plots - which have come into public awareness - that were foiled very successfully by the policies of the Bush Administration.
Another man whom I had the privilege meeting at the Army Burn Center was Senator John McCain. He too, came and visited the troops, spent time with their families and thanked them for their service to the country. Both men showed great affection and empathy for our soldiers' sacrifice in recovering from devastating burn injuries. President Bush wept for them.
Ironically, I was also working at Landstuhl, the day Barack Obama
cancelled his visit to see patients at our hospital. My liberal compatriots were all excited at the prospect of meeting this "great man of hope and promise," Barack Obama. I was skeptical though, and I told them so, I said I doubt he'll come... he is not going come if he is not allowed to bring his entourage of campaign media reporters. True enough, he never showed! He cancelled. He cancelled after he just got done giving a campaign speech to a crowd of 200,000 Berliners, so that he could, as I understand it, "go to the gym!" This is
deeply troubling to me, as a soldier myself and a caretaker of these good and brave soldiers who serve on the frontlines facing down the enemy daily downrange, how can a man who intends to be Commander-in-Chief treat a soldier like this... this is why I truly fear for the American soldier if he is elected.
Liberal politicians don't get it... they say "Support the troops, bring them home now!"
First, this is ironic, because this is also what Al-Quaeda and the Taliban are hoping for. But what these liberals
fail to recognize or acknowledge is that our military is an
all-volunteer force. Nobody has been co-erced into joining the military. And for those of still in the military today, this war has been going on long enough that we know what the deal is... we know that by electing to stay in and serve that we're looking at repeated deployments, long seperations from our loved ones, long hours of hardship, the possibility of being shot at or blown up. But we do it in service to our country to PROTECT OUR FAMILIES AND AMERICA
FROM THE RADICAL TERRORISTS WHO WANT TO DESTROY AMERICA! Trust me, what we see in Iraq and Afghanistan, we do not want see at home.
The liberals try to portray military members as these poor guys, hard on their luck, just trying to get a college education and get suckered into joining the military is the only means of accomplishing this. I believe John Kerry is a fine example of this, he said, with regards to education, "If make the most of it, you study hard, and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well... if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." We don't need this kind of support. Liberals attempt to bar military recruiters from high schools, they protest and even attack ROTC programs and try to kick ROTC programs off university campuses. Trust me, if this was all about education, there are easier ways for us to get an education than going to
war.
"Thanks, but no thanks... "
Its madness to see liberal politicians denegrade all the hard fought work we have accomplished in Iraq by calling for a forfeiture in announcing plans for withdrawal. Men have been asked to make tremendous sacrifices to reach the point we are at today, soldiers like the patient I described to you above. Soldiers who have suffered emotionally and physically from burn injuries, loss of limbs, loss of eyesight, and trajically loss of life in the fight for freedom from terror. Family members who have lost their loved ones. Children who have lost parents... All of these people's immense sacrifice and pain would be in vain if we do not finish the mission we set out to accomplish. And these liberal politicians calling for a time-table for withdrawal refuse to acknowledge how
close we are to acheiving our mission in Iraq, we are on the cusp of victory! As of 29 OCT 2008,
thirteen of the eighteen provinces in Iraq have been deemed secure enough to be handed back over to the Iraqi leadership. We are gradually withdrawing our troops, but not before due time... we are at a critical juncture.
http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1469&Itemid=78It's hilarious, and yet frustrating, to watch politicians like Senator Barack Obama continue to deny the success of the Surge and state his refusal to vote for the surge, even with all that he has seen take place. Many soldiers' lives have surely been saved as a result of the Surge strategy. Senator McCain pushed for the Surge in Congress in 2006, and when it was implemented by President Bush and brilliantly executed by General Petraues and other great military commanders on the ground, one year later we began seeing security handovers of entire provinces in areas that were once the most volatile regions in the al-Quadea stronghold... but now they are firmly in the control of the Iraqi people... thanks to our soldiers hard work and dedication, and the Surge. Then, in September, Senator Biden came swooping down from the heavens proclaiming,
"
If you want to know where al-Quaeda lives, you wanna know where Bin Laden is, come back to Aghanistan with me... where my helicopter was forced down... at 10,500 feet in the middle of those mountains. I can tell you where they are." "The superhighway of terror between Pakistan and Afghanistan where my helicopter was forced down...John McCain wants to know where Bin Ladin and the gates of Hell are? I can tell him where. That's where Al Quaida is. That's where Bin Ladin is. It's not in the country of Iraq." Alright, Biden says the real fight is not in Iraq, it's in Aghanistan. First of all, let's just clear up one point, Biden's helicopter was not forced down by Osama bin Laden as he'd have us all believe, it was a snowstorm, and the pilot only landed because he felt it would be more prudent to err on the side of caution than take a risk with senators and generals on board. And it's funny isn't it, that Biden's bogus story about his helicopter being forced down to attack a man, John McCain, who really did have his airplane forced down. The irony of it all is simply astounding. Secondly, the fighting in Afghanistan has only picked up BECAUSE the Surge was such a success at driving the terrorists out of Iraq. The terrorists were no longer able to find safe-harbor in the towns and cities of Iraq amongst the Iraqi civilians and were forced to flee. And they fled across the desert to fight the US military in the only other location they could - Afghanistan.
"Gen. David Petraeus, the U.S. commander in Iraq, said last week there is some intelligence that Al Qaeda is shifting forces from Iraq to Pakistan and
Afghanistan. That would continue a larger trend: the departure of foreign
fighters. The Pentagon says that in early 2007, at the peak of foreign terror in
Iraq, foreign fighters made up more than 10 percent of the insurgency and were
flowing into the country at a rate of 110 a month. Now that number is 40 a
month. Many foreigners are heading for havens on the Afghanistan-Pakistan
border." - "Terror Travels: Goodbye Iraq, Hello Pakistan", Andrew Bast,
Newsweek. July 26, 2008
The terrorists are not
just in Afghanistan, most of them are seeking refuge in neighboring Pakistan where the run across the Pakistan-Afghanistan border to conduct their terrorist activities, then scurry back to Pakistan where the Pakistani government has been slow to root them out. And note that these militants are not just Taliban and al-Quaeda members, they are also foreign fighters and mercenaries coming from Pakistan, Chechnya, Syria, Libya, Saudia Arabia, even Europe. Why are they so determined to fight Americans? Because they are all jihadists. Jihadists see it as their duty, according to the Islamic teachings, to wage war to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim states. In early June 2008, about 300 fighters from jihadist groups secretly gathered for a meeting in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. They made a pact to "resolve their differences and commit more fighters to another front instead: Aghanistan" (Gannon, AP, 15JUL2008). This had been the second of such gathering this year, as confirmed by Pakistani and European intelligence officials. "The message was that... Aghanistan is the fighting ground, against the Americans, there," said Toor Jul, leader of the militant group Hezb-ul Mujahedeen in a July interview. So you see, Afghanistan is where the enemy is conducting their jihad... we need to keep it that way because it seems that it would be better for America to meet them on their own turf while preserving the freedom of Aghani's and Iraqi's, then have to fight them in our cities and towns.
Some liberals will respond, "Well the jihadists wouldn't be fighting us if we hadn't invaded their country in the first place."
First of all, Aghanistan does not belong to these militants, many of them are in fact foreign fighters, and Afghanistan belongs to the Afghan people. Second, don't think the jihadists will find a way to wage their war in America if they cannot fight us in Iraq and Afghanistan. They already have tried and are still trying. Since 9/11, the U.S. government has discovered hundreds of insurgents, detainees and ordinary people in Afghanistan, Iraq, and the Horn of Africa with criminal records in the United States. One man was Mohamed al Qahtani. When he was captured, he claimed to be in Afghanistan to "learn the art of falconry." But when his fingerprints were traced, it turned out he had been denied entry into the Orlando International Airport in August 2001, a month before the Sept. 11 attacks took place. Al Qahtani has been referred to as the 20th hijacker. He's currently locked up in Guantanamo Bay. Another man, was stopped at checkpoint in Tikrit who claimed to be a dirt farmer, but a quick fingerprint check against the biometric database found he had 11 felony charges in the United states, including assualt with a deadly weapon.
Please read Washington Post's "Post-9/11 Dragnet Turns Up Surprises: Biometrics Link Foreign Detainees To Arrests in U.S." by Ellen Nakashima, July 6, 2008.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/05/AR2008070501831.html?hpid=topnewsWouldn't you rather we face them down in the mountains of Afghanistan and the sands of Iraq, than at our own homes?
I know that what is going on over there in Iraq and Afghanistan, we don't want to see in America. The brutality of these terrorists daily bombings, beheadings, my goodness their torture manual alone should scare anybody, and a pervasive sense of fear.
"How-To Manual Found in Al-Quaeda Safe House Shows Disturbing Torture Methods"
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,275341,00.htmlPatient asked that I make sure people know, "We Fought like Hell" -- Battle at a smalloutpost in Afghanistan
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