God Bless the Medics of the US Military

[Opusnone]

I am watching CNN's Combat Hospital for the first time, and I am moved.

If you haven't seen what war does to bodies and how the angels in the ER's do all they can to repair and save human life, I highly reocmmend this show.

It should be requried watch ing by ALL Americans, young and old.

[Stargazer99]

1. Especailly those who's sons and daughters are safe at home

with their well-heeled parents and jobs.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

2. I TiVo'ed it and will probably burn it to a DVD. Very good, recommended.

[dogday]

3. My Grandfather was a medic in WWII...

I have his medical kit, still with sutures and other medical equipment in it... Has a history to it.. My Grandfather gave comfort to many men who were wounded and dying, was the last person a few of them saw before they died... My Grandfather was also wounded and received the Purple Heart.. Shrapnel in his leg....

[Opusnone]

6. Now if we could only heal bodies with the same technology

we use to tear them apart, all diseases and maladies would be cured.

Think of the trillions of dollars spent every year on weapons, munitions, and killing systems.
What could a fraction of that do towards world peace and security?

[Drum]

4. I'm catching it too...wow.

the real price of war....

[bluestateguy]

5. Deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan would be much higher were it not for them

They indeed do a fine job.

[sarge43]

7. Back in the day, I got to talking with an AF medic noncom

who had put in hard time in the Korean War. He was assigned to an army patrol doing recon near the front line. He said the thing he remembered was the men would alway place him in the center of the group; he was always surrounded by bodies. They protected their angel.

[applegrove]

8. Yes. Vibes to those brave souls.

[Opusnone]

9. Does the military have no high tech devices

to sniff out IED's?

It seems that is what the majoirty of deaths and injuries are caused by, and should be the priority of a defensive technique.
Find the explosives before they explode.

They'll find a way to blame it on Clinton for sure.

[sarge43]

11. IEDs by their very nature (improvised) are difficult to detect

They can be a cooking pot in a kitchen (pressure cookers make excellent anti-personnel bombs) to used shell casings stash in the back of a truck or buried under a pile of rubble. Firing them? one favorite way, two cell phones, remove the transmitter from one, replace with a detonator, rig phone #1 to explosives, dial its number on phone #2. You can be on the other side of the world and do this.

And after awhile you don't even have to kill or maim anyone. You've made your targets terrified of everything, even their own stuff, in effect paralyzed them.

And Agent Mike, this information is easily found in books, on the web and on tv. I'm not a terrorist.

[Opusnone]

12. Don't we have the capability to sniff out explosive materials?

Don't they use these types of devices in airports, etc.?
Just asking.
I know they used minesweepers in previous conflicts, but with new geo thermal imaging, chemical identifiers and other technolgy, you'd think that we could find a way to overpower bathtub IED's!

[sarge43]

15. Yes, but they're very expensive and bulky. Difficult to use in field conditions

Not something the troops can easily haul around. In future the devices will be portable, but that's for the next time we get stupid.

Further, as my husband pointed out, even with a portable device troop has to detect it before IED goes boom. As the IED's operator is often watching troop approach ...

Believe me the military isn't indifferent to the problem; there isn't an easy fix.

[KT2000]

10. Required watching is right

healthy people are being killed and mangled - for what?

Was amazed that this got past the bush admin censors. Very raw and sooo sad.

[Bigmack]

13. Navy Corpsmen...

who travel with the Marines, are revered as saints. Always called "Doc".

Able to do brain surgery in a muddy field with an Xacto knife.

Bravest guys we knew.

[11 Bravo]

14. I'm here to post on your thread because of one.

As long as one of them was alive, ambulatory, and within range of your voice; the call "Medic up!" never went unanswered.

[gulfcoastliberal]

16. Baghdad ER

Is on google video. If you want to see the raw shit, watch it. Not for the squeamish...

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-348783717621633926&q=baghdad+er&hl=en