Inspire, Winter 2006

"We are the best at what we do.Everyone camefrom different places and different units,and we all gelled together.We've had to deal with a lot ofthings,like the power going out(while treating patients),but we work through them as best we can.I think it's the people that make this hospital run as well as it does." For some,the fact that they are in Iraq using the profession they've trained for,while saving lives, is an honor. "It's great knowing that what you have been training for and went to school for is useful:' said Navy Lt. Alecia M.Gende, enroute care nurse,Charlie Surgical Company."It's nice to know that you can contribute to the war effort. It's a privilege to be here and to be able to see the things we do.It's a privilege to work with the Iraqi civilians that maybe would not have gotten the quality ofcare had we not been here. That helps to give them a better impression ofAmericans." Since the hospital treats everyone from U.S.service members to Iraqi Army and police to local nationals for care,friendships are formed between the medical personnel and some oftheir patients. "We had a couple(local nationals) here for at least "The most difficult aspect,for me,would be pronouncing a U.S.service member's death,"said Sharpe."The toughest part ofmyjob is to realize when any more care for the patient is futile:' Through the despair when those fateful days occur,the sailors and Marines manage to keep their spirits high • enough to continue theirjobs and save the next person who arrives in need oftheir care. "We have a high morale here because we focus on our successes,"said Sharpe."There is nothing more rewarding than saving a Marine who is literally dying after operating on him and fixing him.There's no bigger boost to morale than saving someone's life. It carries us well through those times where we can't." As the fight in Iraq continues, sailors and Marines continue to save lives.The unit— originally designed to be mobile and work out oftents wherever the Marines go — works out ofa fixed structure and receives numerous casualties per week via helicopter transport straight to the hospital. The surgeons,nurses,dentists,corpsmen and Marines are all part ofan elite team who witness and fix things and people that only a handful ofothers ever get to experience. "Ifyou think about it,we essentially make the war fighter invincible,"said Gende,a graduate ofthe University ofWisconsin,Eau Claire."We can take a person who was injured and heal them here and send them off. Maybe they go back to the United States or maybe they come back out here.There is great pride in that." There's no bigger boost to morale than saving someone's life. It carries us wellthrough those times where we can't. a week and a half:' said Gende,a 29-year-old native of Princeton,Wisconsin."They knew our names,and we knew theirs.You form a relationship.You know that they will know you forever and that you will know them forever,because there was that bond formed between the two cultures." Although the sailors and Marines with Charlie Surgical Company save several people's lives other than just the U.S.service members,there is a downside to their job. Inspire 23