Day 339: Burn!

I wanted to share one of my more tangible accomplishments since being deployed here in Afghanistan as a medical mentor. One of the obvious deficiencies here at the Afghan Army clinic is their inability to properly dispose of their medical waste such as contaminated needles and other equipment that has contact with bodily fluids. Currently, all of this medical waste is thrown into the regular trash which poses a significant health risk to the surrounding community. To help curb this problem, I sought out to get a medical waste incinerator installed here on base. Although the process to request and arrange the installation was long and extremely painful, the finished product is finally here!

April 2009, the medical incinerator arrives on post!

June 9th, the foundation is completed

June 14th, the posts are placed and the fencing begins

June 19th, the incinerator is brought over to the site and the building of roof begins

June 20th, fencing is completed

June 29th, the grand opening and first test run! Oooo Ahhh!!

Talk about mission accomplished! I'm glad to see that we have the means necessary to prevent the potential spread of blood-borne illnesses. I just hope that we don't run into issues of the machine breaking in the near future! We'll see.

"Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction."
2 Timothy 4:2

Day 338: Parting Gifts

My Afghan Army counterpart, Colonel Shah Zad Gul, and his medical staff had a pleasant surprise for me just before leaving on R&R. He bought me some authentic Afghan clothing to include a hat, vest, and a festive head covering accessory that hangs down from my head to my back. He went on to tell me that this is the Afghan way of saying "thank you" to good friends. He then offered to take me for a night out on the town, Khowst City, as he thought I would blend in quite easily and getting captured by some bad guys wouldn't be likely. I respectfully declined.

I was so appreciative at such a generous gift as I know Afghans make hardly anything at all. But beyond the giving of some tangible gift, I'm blessed to see that they saw a value in having me be a part of their medical mission, and that they saw me as one of them.

As much as I have had my share of frustrating and discouraging mentoring moments, I'm glad to have been not only a mentor but also a student of their often misunderstood culture. A culture that has been tarnished by the few who continue to perpetuate their extremist views that have resulted in this Global War on Terrorism, but in my opinion a culture that has survived decades of war and poverty because of their loyalty, generosity, strong sense of family and friendship, and spiritual strength.

"In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words of Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' "

Acts 20:35 NIV

Day 337: Sacrifice

Although I have seen and cared for many wounded and fallen soldiers during my tenure here in Afghanistan, nothing ever prepares you to care for a fellow US soldier who has made the ultimate sacrifice for their country. These are the experiences that have made my deployment difficult, at times unbearable.


Today, our camp stood down from the usual duties to honor our recent fallen brothers, First Sergeant Blair and Sergeant First Class Dupont. Two men who exemplified and defined the meaning of valor, honor, and sacrifice.



I have never attended a Fallen Soldier ceremony until today, and although I barely knew these two men, I was still very moved. Despite the dusty and stuffy venue, the ceremony was conducted with the utmost dignity from the meticulously prepared display of the soldiers' gear and awards to the thoughtful words that were shared from fellow soldiers. These two men will be sorely missed.


In the same way that these men have willingly paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country, we are called to make ourselves living sacrifices for God as He made the ultimate sacrifice for us. As you ponder the loss of these soldiers, the families they have left behind, and their honorable service, consider the gift of life that you have been given and the potential for living that life for the benefit of others. A life set aside for the good of others is a life of valor, honor and sacrifice. That is what has been asked of us, no less.

"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your reasonable act of worship."
Romans 12:1 NIV

Day 336: King of Pop

We were prepping for an early morning convoy operation when I noticed my good friend, Mitchell, who was staring aimlessly and with a look of complete bewilderment and sadness all mixed together. I thought maybe he was dreadfully tired as he had just returned from leave and was likely still jetlagged and sleep-deprived. When I asked him what was wrong he told me, "Michael Jackson died!". I didn't know what to say. Honestly, as much as I have been entertained by the King of Pop with his moonwalks, catchy songs, and his high-pitched "eee hee or ooo hoo", I was actually quite surprised at Mitchell's distraught expression as if he had just lost a close friend. I actually felt a little guilty that I didn't share in his grief, so I decided to take a few seconds to think about which of his songs had been the most memorable for me...here are the lyrics.

"Man In The Mirror"

I'm Gonna Make A Change,
For Once In My Life
It's Gonna Feel Real Good,
Gonna Make A Difference
Gonna Make It Right . . .

As I, Turn Up The Collar On My
Favorite Winter Coat
This Wind Is Blowin' My Mind
I See The Kids In The Street,
With Not Enough To Eat
Who Am I, To Be Blind?
Pretending Not To See
Their Needs
A Summer's Disregard,
A Broken Bottle Top
And A One Man's Soul
They Follow Each Other On
The Wind Ya' Know
'Cause They Got Nowhere To Go
That's Why I Want You To Know

I'm Starting With The Man In
The Mirror
I'm Asking Him To Change
His Ways
And No Message Could Have
Been Any Clearer
If You Wanna Make The World
A Better Place
Take A Look At Yourself, And
Then Make A Change

Although many people may remember him as controversial and downright weird...I would like to think that he had a sincere desire to contribute positively to our world. Yes, he was misunderstood, chastised by the media, and hammered with rumor after vicious rumor, but despite all of that he continued to portray himself as a man who still had love to give.

MJ, may you rest in peace.

Day 333: One Hundred

If anyone has been paying attention to my deployment countdown, you would have noticed that I am within 100 days of completing this deployment! Just thought I would throw it out there for anyone that may want to feel excited for me...

One Hundred Days and counting...woohoo!!!

Day 331: Dad

Fatherhood has been one of the most thrilling and exhilarating experiences of my life. Being away from Maya and Maxwell, especially on Father's Day, has made me appreciate even more the blessing that comes from raising children. Although my time with them this past year has been spent primarily on a webcam, watching Maya go from crawling to standing or observing Maxwell as he shoots hoops on his toy b-ball court has given me the strength to overcome the drudgery that comes with this deployment. Before I know it, I'll be trading in guns and body armor for diaper duty and bath time.

Quality Time

Storytime!

Dad and Grandpa with Maya

I also wanted to mention a special "thank you" to my dad for the support that he continues to provide especially during this time that I have been away from Gemma and the kids.

Happy Father's Day Dad!

"Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him." Psalm 103:13 NASB

Day 330: Fallen Heroes

Today, is a sad day as we lost one our fellow team members in the midst of battle. It's times like these that remind us just how much our heroes are sacrificing for the sake of freedom. Please keep us in your prayers as we continue on in our mission.

"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
Revelation 21:4 NKJV

Day 328: Corpsman

Hospital Corpsman Pledge

"I solemnly pledge myself before God and these witnesses to practice faithfully all of my duties as a member of the Hospital Corps. I hold the care of the sick and injured to be a privilege and a sacred trust and will assist the Medical Officer with loyalty and honesty. I will not knowingly permit harm to come to any patient. I will not partake of nor administer any unauthorized medication. I will hold all personal matters pertaining to the private lives of patients in strict confidence. I dedicate my heart, mind and strength to the work before me. I shall do all within my power to show in myself an example of all that is honorable and good throughout my naval career."


Crazy picture I know...

On June 17th, 1898 President William McKinley signed into law a Congressional bill authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Navy Hospital Corps. Yesterday, we honored the 111th birthday of the Hospital Corpsman. Hospital Corpsmen serve as enlisted medical specialists for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps. The Hospital Corpsman serves in a wide variety of capacities and locations, including shore establishments such as naval hospitals and clinics, aboard ships as the primary medical caregivers for sailors while underway, or with Marine Corps units.

Petty Officer Garcia conducting IV Training Class

Be they assigned to hospital ships, reservist installations, recruiter offices, Marine Corps combat units, or joint units such as the mentoring mission here in Afghanistan, the rating of Hospital Corpsman is the most decorated in the United States Navy with 22 Medals of Honor, 174 Navy Crosses, 31 Distinguished Service Medals, 946 Silver Stars, and 1,582 Bronze Stars. There have been 20 naval ships that have been named after hospital corpsmen. Talk about overachievers!

The sole Navy Corpsman on post, Petty Officer Garcia

In my young career as a Navy physician, I have had the privilege of working with some of the brightest and most motivated medical professionals, my Navy Corpsman. Their knowledge and clinical expertise rivals any 3rd or even 4th year medical student. They are the backbone when it comes to getting my clinic duties done whether it's back home on Naval Hospital Guam or here in theater...my Corpsman lead the way! Happy 111th Birthday!!

"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received, freely give."
Matthew 10:8 NIV

Day 326: Finals

If anyone knows me, they would know that my all-time favorite sport is basketball. Whether it's shooting jump shots on the court or watching an NBA playoff game on TV...it is one of my favorite things to do. In addition, if anyone knows me they would know that I'm not a Laker fan and probably the exact opposite. Perhaps, it's my first impressions of a cocky Kobe Bryant or an even more annoying, no free throw making Shaq. Maybe it's the fact that almost all of my friends love the Lakers, and I simply enjoy going against the grain so to speak:)


Well, I just wanted to take a few moments to congratulate all of my bandwagon Laker fans out there...we'll see what next year brings.

Day 317: On Their Own

As an Embedded Training Team (ETT) member, my overarching goal is to get my Afghan medical counterparts to perform their responsibilities on their own. The US presence here in Afghanistan has created an overdependence on our weapons, expertise, and money which we as ETT members have tried to minimize. If I had to objectively measure any kind of success during my time here, it would be in terms of what my Afghan medical counterparts have been able to achieve or implement on their own such as conducting of first aid classes for non-medical personnel, staging vaccination clinics, producing a mass casualty plan, adhering to an ongoing training schedule, and so on and so forth. In the last week, I have been able to see the progress that my Afghan mentees have been able to achieve.


We have shown them how to conduct an efficient and safe vaccination clinic following all universal precautions such as clean technique, gloves, and utilization of sharps containers.





And as you can see, the vaccinations were prepared and administered by the Afghan medics only. I purposely left my US medics out of this one and allowed myself to simply take pictures and make sure that they were not throwing their needles into the regular trash...they still needed a little coaching on that part though.


The other success story was watching their ability to teach a basic first aid class to soldiers without any medical background.


As you can here, First Sergeant Mujahid and Corporal Gul Rahman, 2 of my hard-working Afghan medics have the class under control. Way to go gentleman! My work is done...at least part way.

Day 316: Oasis

Oasis

a small fertile area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well
OR
something serving as a refuge, relief, or pleasant change from what is usual, annoying, difficult

When I first arrived in country and found out that I was coming to Camp Clark, people always referred to Clark as the base rumored to have a swimming pool. As if it was some mystical oasis with magical healing powers. I guess when you see where Khowst is on a map of Afghanistan...we really are in the middle of nowhere which would make a swimming pool more of an impossibility.

Check Out my Toy Rocket!

Well, let me dispell all the speculation and rumors for everyone. The pool exists! We had the grand opening today, and we had a blast. In more ways than one has this pool served as an oasis both as a rare find in the middle of the desert, but also as a refuge from the daily reminders that we are in a war. For the 15 minutes that I was in the pool, I felt like I was on a resort vacation...aahh...what a feeling. You know, it's seemingly little things like a quick dip in a swimming pool that goes a long, long, long way to boosting morale on a deployment. Whatever I can do to get through the day, I'll take it!

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them. I will make rivers flow on barren heights, and springs within the valleys.
I will turn the desert into pools of water, and the parched ground into springs.
Isaiah 41:18 NIV

Day 313: Follow Up

Since I've been here in Afghanistan our small base has been attacked 15 times to include a combination of rockets, mortars, and improvised explosive devices. Fortunately, 14 out of those 15 times no one was hurt and the mission continued on as usual. But, the one significant casualty occurred during our most recent rocket attack as my medical team and I were urgently summoned to the the Afghan Army clinic to assess a young soldier who caught shrapnel into his chest. What made this experience so interesting was that we weren't sure if the rockets had stopped coming so we had to dash up to the Afghan clinic with our "full battle rattle" on. Come to find out, this soldier was struggling to breathe as a result of the shrapnel still stuck in his left chest. From what I could tell, he was retaining air in his chest cavity through the hole in his chest (tension pneumothorax) which required urgent decompression with a large bore needle. I had my Afghan medic pull out a long 14 gauge (very large bore) needle and walked him through the insertion of the needle over the patients 3rd rib and into the chest cavity to release the air that was building up...which, by the way, temporarily relieved his shortness of breath. At that point we quickly called for an air medevac and took him to the landing zone, and while standing there waiting to have the patient picked up I prayed so hard that no more rockets would be launched at us as we were hanging out in the open air without the safety of a bunker.


What happened to the patient? Lucky for me, I was already on a convoy mission to Forward Operating Base Salerno the very next day which was where our trauma hospital was located. So when I arrived on post, I swung by the hospital to pay him a visit, and low and behold there he was with a chest tube in place. Come to find out, that needle decompression bought him just enough time to get the definitive treatment that he needed. Talk about a follow up visit with a happy ending!

Day 311: Recognize

Recognition through the awarding of personal decorations and awards has been a time-honored military tradition. It has been a method of motivation, and sometimes healthy competition amongst the men and women in uniform. At the same time, an awards ceremony often marks the end of an individual's tour of duty. Today, we recognize a team of individuals who have reached that long-awaited milestone.


Today, I had the privilege of witnessing the awards ceremony for our Air Force team here on Camp Clark. In various capacities have they served our base either as battle captains, radio operators, internet/communication maintenance officers, and combat medics. Obviously, most near and dear to my heart, and at times the thorns in my side, have been my Air Force medics. For the last 6 months they have been "my team" when it comes to the day-to-day mission of the Troop Medical Clinic.

They have maintained their professionalism, poise, motivation, and dedication to the mission.

But, they have also easily fooled me and have revealed their mischievous ways along with their tendencies toward slackerism (...my word). Nonetheless, they have all grown on me, kinda like an unrelenting fungus.

Air Force & Navy like Peas & Carrots!

In all seriousness, I have grown to be proud of every one of them as each one has established their personal legacy as an integral contributor to the objectives of Operation Enduring Freedom. Whether it's providing tactical care during a 4-hour standoff against the Taliban, coordinating the distribution of over 10 tons of humanitarian assistance to poor local national children, taking charge of the Troop Medical Clinic daily operations, or medically covering down on Field Artillery missions and Mounted Combat Operations (aka convoys) - I can honestly say that they have each left this country with much more than a bunch of medals/awards. They are concluding their tour with the recognition that they are American heroes and have served their country with distinction, and for that I am truly grateful.

"Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven..."
Matthew 5:12