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Healing beyond the battlefield: When care extends past soldiers

Military physicians balance treating American casualties with caring for the sick and the wounded of Iraq and Afghanistan.

By Damon Adams, amednews staff. Feb. 28, 2005.

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Capt. Jack Smith, MD, a U.S. Army reservist in Afghanistan, said people come from miles away when they hear through village leaders that the Americans -- and their doctors -- are coming. One Afghan brought his father seven miles in a wheelbarrow so an American physician could treat him.

Dr. Smith's main job is to treat U.S. troops and coalition forces in Afghanistan. But he also volunteers to provide medical care in local villages. He travels in an armored convoy with fellow soldiers on the humanitarian missions, then sets up a makeshift doctor's office in a heavily guarded area.

Sometimes, the swarm of people is overwhelming as physicians use translators to bridge the language gap and patients try to explain their problems.

"We may see 500 people a day between eight of us. We try to see as many as we can, but as many as we see, there are just as many we don't see," said Dr. Smith, an internist from Bayonne, N.J.

When they complete their responsibilities of treating U.S. troops, active military and reservist physicians give medical care to people in Iraq and Afghanistan who are caught in the cross fire of war.

In villages, they provide basic aid to people who otherwise would go without it. They transport the most seriously wounded to military camp hospitals, conducting surgeries and following patients through recovery.

The military uses the humanitarian trips to distribute donated food and clothing and to give medical care through physicians and other personnel. It's a goodwill gesture that the military hopes will build strong relations with Iraqis and Afghans.