Nearly the end

I don't want this to sound too energetic....but my time in Kirkuk is now measured by hours!!! With God's grace, I should be home with my family again in less than a week. And, though I have tried to welcome the challenges this deployment has brought, I'm getting pretty STOKED to see my family again!

But first, to update this page before any more outcry from the homefront. We've maintained the same schedule for the past few weeks without too much excitement, save for some new pictures and another race. The half and full marathon that Jake and I helped plan (and design the t-shirt for....thank you again Nate) was on the 7th. True to November form, the weather was perfect (low 60's) without any serious wind or rain and everyone in our EMEDS group that ran either met or exceeded their race goal. I was very happy to improve my time from last month's half-marathon by over 8 minutes and Jake bettered his marathon time by more than 20 minutes! We then had some light recovery runs this week but went out yesterday morning for one last long, Saturday morning run (as has been our routine the whole 6 months). It was fun, but I can't say I'll miss running around that 6-mile loop (again and again and again...).

We also engaged in the local tradition of decorating our group's concrete T-wall outside the hospital. Our pharmacist and dentist did most of the artwork, copying the design of our EMEDS coin onto the wall and we will all sign our names to it before leaving. Here is our entire group assembled for a photo around our wall....

....and another group photo with the outgoing MEDEVAC group that evacuated all of our patients for the first five months of my time here. They've been a fantastic group to work with and took GREAT care of our Soldiers/Airmen!

This is hopefully my last post before heading back to Al Udeid for a short stop (a couple of days) on the way home. I sincerely appreciate being blanketed with such fervent prayer from friends and family during this time. Although it wasn't as professionally exciting as I'd hoped, God has used this time to grow me in many unexpected ways. Now, I look forward to an awesome homecoming and, hopefully, a truly thankful Thanksgiving in Roseburg.

My Cita, I love you more than any words can accurately explain. You've been a rock, and should be incredibly proud of your single-parenting skills this year! I can't wait to see how much our big man has changed and to hold you in my arms again soon soon...

Kirkuk out.

About a month

Yes, that's right, we're finally down to the last month before the famous group we affectionately refer to as "The Replacements" arrive to free us from our sentence. The days continue to tick away at about the same pace and the weather remains about as perfect as it could be in Iraq (lows around 70 and highs around 90). And no, there hasn't been any doctoring to do, just more of the usual: reading, running, working out and amusing ourselves in any way possible.

Just after the last post, the three of us who arrived together back in May had our celebratory pizza to mark the 3/4 point. We brought ice cream and root beer to make floats and chatted about all of the little moments that have made up our time together this year. We shared some laughs and commiserated that we have five kids between the three of us, and we're all ready to see our families again.

Last weekend, our base held its official "Air Force 1/2 Marathon-Deployed Locations" race. Over 80 people showed up to run at 6AM and we had lots of good supporters at all of the aid stations/tables. With a little manipulation, the biggest loop on base is 6.6 miles, so it was just two more laps around that course which we know and love so well at this point (I have logged over 350 miles on that loop in the last five months, and others have done much more!).

(4th place=no medal)

Lest you think we're getting bored (and yes, we ARE) or predictable, Jake and I made a tee time at our local course and played 7 holes last week. How is that possible? Well, it turns out there is a dirt golf course hidden behind locked gates here at the KRAB, and we finally managed to form a friendship with one of the gate-keepers. Each tee-box is marked by number and has an AstroTurf mat. The greens are raked and swept so that only baked clay remains and there are even real cups dug into the ground that hold actual flags! The longest hole is 120 yards long and after the tee, you hit off of sand, dirt or the occasional bush. It may not be real golf, but it sure was an awesome runner-up. Notice the shoulder-fired rocket launchers that have been converted to "bags" for carrying our wedges (the Ammo guys run the course).

(Super-flat back swing...time to hit the range and work out some bad habits!)

(Natural hazard on #6...I didn't make this up)

Always in love with you, Sweetheart. See you next month!!!

Cooling off

Unintentionally, it seems I've been remiss in my blogging duties. I wasn't purposefully avoiding it, I guess I just forgot about this blog for the last few weeks. But fear not, there have been at least a few events about which I can write....naturally none of them involve the operating room, though. OK, there was one dead appendix that needed to be removed, but that's hardly a case to dwell on for a few weeks!

For starters, we made some friends in the Fire Dept and convinced them that fire engine training was an "essential" skill for general and orthopedic surgeons (kinda like automatic weapons, driving MRAP's and burning holes in things with a laser...which Jake got to do last month). To our surprise, they not only let us drive both of their biggest engines, but we fired up the lights and sirens and even drenched the road with water while driving. I'm very big on REAL-LIFE training and tend not to let an opportunity pass us by!

We've also been blessed with cooler temperatures (FINALLY) over the past few weeks. After two days of intermittent rain showers (yes, actual rain) that felt more like a muddy mist, temps have dropped into double digits and stayed that way until the last few days. Nighttime lows are even in the 60's now, and many of us are breaking out the coats to cope with these "Fall" temperatures after months of oppressive, evil heat.

And, I'm sure it'll come as quite a shock to find out that we continue with our after-hours antics around the base. After a recent false-alarm trauma activation, I decided to model the "Internal Medicine look" for our ER crew:

Note the pocket full of way more pens than anyone would ever need, the stethoscope around the neck JUST IN CASE it's needed at a moment's notice, the dual handbooks full of lots of important information (that really should have been memorized) and the look of bewildered enthusiasm on my face proving I've ALMOST grasped the big picture with a patient instead of getting lost in the minute details AGAIN. Also note the female in the background, who IS our internal medicine doc (sorry, Charlotte, had to do it)! So, in response, here is her best "Surgeon" impersonation (I think she's attempting to exude over-confidence, but I'm still not sure why).

Speaking of models, there was another monthly talent show last weekend. And, yes, we participated. This time, though, we were merely props for another guys skit. He wanted to do a spoof on "I'm too sexy for Kirkuk" with us as models, and the theme was reflectique (using our nighttime reflective belts and other reflective materials). The only catch was that we had to make our costumes out of things here on the FOB (forward operating base). As you'll see, some of us went with "evening wear" and others were REALLY creative, and REALLY revealing! The camera angle isn't the best, but it's worth a laugh. This wasn't nearly as popular as our last show and pales in comparison to our plans for the October Talent Show...more to come on that one.

I love you always my beautiful Lady! Give Bradster a big hug from Daddy!

Synchronized Swimming Video

As described in my last post, our group of docs shared our unequaled talent with the rest of the base two weeks ago during the monthly Talent Show. Somebody had a camcorder and our EMEDS commander put his new MacBook to good use by making a good video out of our synchronized swimming event, complete with credits and special effects! After many requests from back home, I was finally able to upload it to this site. So, here it is (for reference, I am the third person in line as we walk in).

I'm still trying to find some pics of the popliteal artery injury that I worked on last week, just to prove that I occasionally do have a purpose here.

Missin' you tons, my Bella!

Busy Is a Relative Term

Desert life has actually been somewhat busy over the past couple of weeks. It began with a Hawaiian Luau party two weekends ago that was a blast. Unbeknown to many of us, the Communications squadron this summer is primarily made up of reservists from Hawaii. They spent weeks planning and preparing for a traditional party and didn't spare any expense. There were free Hawaiian shirts for EVERYONE (about 500 people attended), leis, tropical drinks (not what you think, alcohol is forbidden among us troops in Iraq and Afghanistan), lots of decorations/paintings, male and female dancing groups and enough traditional food to stuff every hungry Soldier and Airman! We were even allowed to wear civilian clothes while inside their compound (flip flops and cargo shorts galore). For a brief while, many of us forgot we were in Kirkuk. We're still saying "Thank you" every time we see them around base...it was THAT good!

Then, there was the monthly Talent Show last weekend. Knowing our relative lack of talent, our Orthopod found a funny skit online and convinced the rest of us docs to join in the show. We did a synchronized swimming spoof, complete with a blue sheet (held up by two "maidens"), swimming caps and goggles (courtesy of Amber, Jake's wife) and some quality tunes by Andrea Bocelli. As you might imagine, the crowd got REALLY into it.....enough to land us in second place overall (the video is in the mail, Darlin')! I felt pretty badly though, because we beat out some people with a lot of ACTUAL talent (an amazing pianist, some very good vocalists, a beat-box guy and a phenomenal robot-dancer dude). To top it all off, another EMEDS group (with a great female singer) took first place, allowing us to maintain our dominance in most of the base events. Now, if we can just continue to take down the key Army players at our twice-weekly poker tournament....

-Alex (FP doc) preparing for the Show

We followed up that craziness with some awesome rides in our MEDEVAC Blackhawk helicopter...naturally, in the name of "training" that I helped organize. These took place over the course of two nights and everyone got a couple of rides in different seats in order to better appreciate what our patients experience during evacuation. Our base Commander even came out and became a "patient" for one of the flights. In the highlight of the evening, the flight medic decided to take the "practice" as far as possible and stuck an IV in the Commander's hand DURING the flight...without warning him first! He came back into the ER with blood running down his fingers and was STOKED to see us making good use of our time (he's like a kid in a candy store whenever toys are involved...I think he's turned on one of the Fire engine sirens at least a dozen times now)!!

And last but not least, we had our second official running race of the Summer this past Saturday: the Labor Day 10K. I was proud to see 13 of our 44-member EMEDS group running that morning. It was a beautiful morning and almost everyone met their goal for the race. How many times now have I said, "Thank God for running and the gym"? Here is our group with our new t-shirts after the run...of course we can't wear these until we get back home:

Thanks to Mom and Pop for hosting CJ and Braden during their most recent Portland trip. They both had a blast!

I love you my Bella!!

Heat Delirium

So, for starters, whatever temperature this blog says it currently feels like in Kirkuk....go ahead and add about 15 degrees to get the ACTUAL temp. I don't usually look at it while I'm writing, but right now it says 97 and it's really 113 outside (as read from our EMEDS double-secret, classified, NASA-prototype thermometer). Not that it matters too much, because every day is either REALLY hot or REALLY, REALLY hot. We did see clouds for the first time about two weeks ago, and they looked so beautiful for the 45 minutes that they lasted (once the sun came up, they burned off almost instantly).

You might wonder why I'm so fixated on the weather today. It's because last week was one of our hottest yet. The Air Force, in its infinite wisdom, uses a measurement system called Heat Stress Condition to determine the safety of being outside each day. The conditions are Green, Yellow, Red and Black, in ascending order of pain. Green is usually only possible at night here, and Black is like living a few miles from the surface of the sun. Last week, we had four straight days of Condition Black with each day being over 120 on our thermometer! I never really thought I'd care about the difference between 115 and 125, but I have a renewed appreciation for these upper-limit temps. So, here's a word-picture that I hope will portray the feeling of outdoor movement (while wearing thick, polyester uniforms, naturally) here at the KRAB.

Imagine the hottest day wherever you might live. If it's not at least 105, then imagine Arizona in the summertime. As you walk outside of your heavily air-conditioned home, the dry heat is choking at first. Then, as you become accustomed and venture further out, a "friend" has kindly set up an industrial-sized fan in your yard, aimed right at you. Only, this isn't a typical fan...it's a massive hairdryer blowing air that feels like it has come straight out of your oven when set to "broil." And, to heighten their enjoyment at your expense, your "friend" throws up several hands full of dusty sand into the back of the fan (because they wouldn't be caught dead in FRONT of the thing) which coat you in a fine mist of silica that sticks to the beads of sweat that NEVER, EVER leave your skin. It kinda makes you wonder what the purpose was of that shower you recently finished? And that would be about how it feels to us each day here at our KRAB paradise.

OK, on the bright side, at least it isn't humid! We have officially passed the halfway point (thank God) and are on the downhill stretch now. And don't read too much into my sarcasm, it's just some minor electrolyte disturbances from profound sweat loss during our run yesterday! We have also enjoyed some more intimate time with automatic weapons (at 1PM, just to see how hot we could make it) and had a great weekend with some good pics coming soon.

Cita and the B-ster....I'm always lovin' you guys!

Hangin' in there

There must be a little-publicized water surplus in the city of Kirkuk, because our FOB decided to have ANOTHER wet and wild event this past weekend. And, naturally, some element of competition is essential to any worthwhile endeavor at a military installation. Thus, in deference to that recent Ben Stiller movie with so many great lines, the Services group put on the KRAB "Water Balloon Dodge Ball Tournament". Sixteen teams of five signed up (yes, there really isn't much else to do on Sunday afternoons) and vied for the title....and, as is often the case, our EMEDS team bested them all and strutted victoriously to Mongolian BBQ night at the DFAC (dining facility...it's important for our intellectual stability that everything has an acronym). We even won digital picture frames as trophies for our effort.

On a more serious note, we finally held the mass casualty exercise for which I had spent a few weeks preparing. Its purposes were to simulate a disaster or attack that injures more patients than our facility can simultaneously treat and to practice our group's response. It went well and several interesting lapses were noted in our system, which have all been addressed. Here are a few images of the ER as we prepare for and then treat our patients.

Don't worry, even with ALL of this excitement in one week, I still found plenty of time for exercise and planning various youthful activities (wait until I describe our skit for the talent show contest at the end of this month!). Our unofficial EMEDS running club meets almost every morning at 0515 and heads out for various distances. We usually have at least 3-5 people, with some mornings hitting 7 or 8. Saturday morning has become our long distance run (meaning multiple loops around the 6 mile route we're allowed to run) and the dust storms have been surprisingly cooperative lately. The morning depicted below was a particularly clear sunrise and I got some great shots from around our base.

I'll conclude with a shot of the cemetery that is within our FOB. We aren't allowed to enter because it's a sacred site for the Iraqis. But, during Saddam's regime, this was engulfed by the Iraqi military base and civilians were denied access. We had a ceremony here last month involving Army and AF chaplains as well as local religious leaders, and some Kirkuk inhabitants got to see their ancestors' graves for the first time in decades. Pretty cool, I thought.

I praise God for this difficult time of separation from my family, knowing that He will grow our characters and marriage though this trial. Thanks to all of our family and friends for their support and prayers. As always....I love you deeply, Cita.

Lotsa pics

Just in case anyone forgot the real reason we were sent on this desert vacation, last week quickly reminded us. We had two trauma activations with four patients each, separated by a couple of days, that indelibly educated our new crew about the potential violence surrounding the KRAB. In keeping with our theme, though, there were no "true" general surgery emergencies that needed fixing, only orthopedic extremity injuries. So, our ortho guy (Jake) let me jump into the fray and externally fix a fractured femur (ie: stabilize with external pins and rods before final internal fixation in Germany or the States). It was fun to have a little something to do, but it really served to remind me why I chose NOT to pursue a career in Orthopedics!

(not one of my usual trade tools)

(our OR has no A/C and is HOT...we're usually swimming in a sweat bath by the end)

I'm sure it will come as a surprise that we managed to find some extra-curricular fun this week as well. Remember that huge vehicle I stood next to for a picture several weeks ago (the MRAP)? Well, we convinced someone to take us for a ride around the KRAB and let us do a little 4x4 action of our own. These behemoth's weigh around 14 tons and are encased in armour with a gunner's turret on top. They were designed to combat the ubiquitous presence of IED's (improvised explosive devices) during the early parts of Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. MRAP's (Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected) are all-wheel drive and loaded with electronics, communication and other offensive equipment. The version that we commandeered, though, was a medical MRAP configured to transport patients within the base in the event of a mass casualty situation. In case anyone's wondering, this is definitely NOT a standard (or even allowed) activity. Like that's ever slowed us down before...

(Me in the driver's seat)

(I can hear CJ saying, "Pay attention to the road while you're driving." :)

And, to keep us cooled off during the summer heat, the Fire Dept held their semi-annual Fire Muster last Sunday. This is a multi-event, team challenge involving lots of water and strength drills. Of course, it's well known that this activity was originally developed to show the ladies just how tough and strong our Fire guys can really be (no shortage of testosterone over here). We competed in a tug-of-war, a hose and accuracy drill and a bucket brigade, after which we were in second place overall. Unfortunately, our luck ran out on the final event: the joust (using fire hoses to "push" a bucket along a rope past our opponent's mark). As you can see, a soggy wet and fun time was had by all (water conservation efforts were on hold for this day). And it only took about 30 minutes to dry our shoes out completely in the arid 115 degree heat!

(giving it all we got)

(some tug-of-war losers)

(The Hose Joust: that green bucket is on a rope tied to two fire engines)

(losing the joust and getting soaked)

(our base Commander sharing the love with some of the cheering section)

Cita, you're always in my prayers! I love you...

The Replacements Arrive

Although three of us docs have been here for over two months, the majority of our EMEDS is on a different schedule. So, the "replacements" for those guys arrived about a week and a half ago and have been getting settled. Most of them are from Florida (Eglin AFB is the main supplier of personnel to our facility) and will be here for the next six months. Their predecessors were ecstatic to see them arrive, but their energy dissipated as the news that they would sit here at the KRAB for an extra week sunk in. Have I mentioned the efficiency of the Armed Forces yet? Have no fear, they finally left this weekend and should be happily sipping margaritas at home before the end of the week. We'll miss our roommate and running partner, Glen (flight doc), the most but are stoked for him to get home to his wife and FIVE kiddos.


(Glen's in the middle)


Literally right as these new folks were getting settled, and before my planned mass casualty exercise, we were privileged to take care of a few more of our Army brethren. Yet another Russian-made, shaped-charge grenade was thrown at a convoy of Humvee's and brought us four patients. One was injured and required some relatively minor operating, two were minimally injured and the fourth was gravely injured as the grenade exploded right behind his head. Despite his devastating injury, we kept him alive and hurried him out of here in an attempt to get him to Germany per our protocols (to either be an organ donor or say goodbye to his family). The other injured patient is finishing up his treatment in Germany and Walter Reed.

On a brighter note, many of the new crew is excited to join in our fitness efforts. Here, Jake (ortho) and I made a curious decision to run "hills" in the middle of the day, when the temp was around 115. By "hills", I mean one of the 75-ft tall, pyramidal mounds that dot the base, usually topped by a radar or some antennas. I'll admit that it was RIDICULOUSLY hot and, even after consuming plenty of water, caused lingering nausea for some time! Hey, we gotta find something fun to do around here.

(note the lush vegetation)

And for our weekly culture, we enjoyed last weekend's KRAB's Got Talent show, our monthly event to showcase the hottest future stars of the Air Force and Army. Quite a few good musicians and singers stood out this week, as well as an old-school robot-breakdancer that was phenomenal. I think the funniest was the guy who dressed up as a Viking (complete with the mop-wig, helmet and shield) to sing an Italian aria. He had a "translated" version on the projected screen that explained he was singing about things like scratching his butt with salad tongs!



Love to my fam' and my lady.

Secret Weapons

Well, another week has passed at the KRAB...and yet another severe dust storm is upon us. Although somewhat comical in their consistency, they do tend to disrupt airflow (AKA: flights landing and taking off). I'm pretty sure the several members of our group who were scheduled to depart today after dutifully serving their 6-month term weren't laughing when the skies darkened yesterday. But, as always, a positive can be found if earnestly sought. And that upside comes in the form of cooler temperatures. Today, we all felt quite a reprieve from the heat and almost everyone noted how much "cooler" it felt. The thermometer at 2:30 this afternoon read 113. How about that for perspective!

To be complete, I should explain that last week was clear and HOT (even for Kirkuk). I have yet to find any reliable web sites for weather forecasting in the area, so those back home may not appreciate the realities of our summertime. And I know that the temperatures I'm writing about are accurate because our public health guys have a special thermometer directly outside the EMEDS (it reads dry temp, wet bulb temp, radiant heat temp and a few others). On Saturday, the hottest day, the dry bulb (standard thermometer) read 121.6 at 1:30PM! As proof, here is a pic from Friday (much cooler).

And the radiant heat temp (including the sun's rays and the heat reflected back off the ground...in other words, what we feel outside) read a toasty....

Don't feel too badly, though, because we're quite accustomed to it by now. In fact, I find myself really looking forward to our early Saturday morning run around the base when the temps are still in the 90's.

As the days without anything resembling a surgical problem add up, we did have another VERY high point this week. It began with a connection made during treatment for a minor sports injury. To say thank you, a member of the group that shall remain nameless (at their request) offered to have us over for a BBQ. Naturally, we accepted and found ourselves enjoying some of the finest sirloin and rib eye steaks I have ever tasted! These guys new how to do it...with sauteed onions, garlic and plentiful sides. Again, their method of acquiring of these foods shall remain undisclosed. However, they saved the best for later and quietly invited us out to the weapons range one afternoon for some serious guy fun. Our hosts brought several fully automatic rifles, high-end pistols and a suppressive fire rifle that laid down 800 rounds per minute. I'm sure you can gather from these pics what an awesome time we had!

(I like this action shot with shells flying)

(The SAW)

Cita, thanks again for the SWEET box of goodies you sent! I couldn't be more proud of your amazing single-parenting skills with our lil' man. And, I love you always.

Making Waves

What happens when you put a group of talented, stubborn individuals together in a small cage with no real access to the outside and very little work to be done? Petty issues become MUCH larger ones. This is doubly true in the Air Force where the "institutionalized" interact regularly with folks like us, who were trained by, and think like, the rest of the surrounding world. That sets the stage for some rather interesting confrontations. Last week was an excellent case in point. I'll try to summarize to avoid making this blog several pages long.

Normally, the higher-ranking physicians are given single rooms (called POD's) while deployed. However, due to some odd circumstances and the inability of our command to make difficult decisions, I room with the Ortho guy and one of the Flight docs in a standard dorm room (we are the only three Majors living MOD's). I have actually enjoyed the company and we plan to keep this arrangement even when single rooms again become available. Unfortunately, and for reasons none can explain, we were given the worst room in the building (nearest the loud, broken door we all used to enter/exit, smaller than all other rooms and containing important communication equipment that prevented us from sleeping away from the wall bordering the hallway). This seemed odd at first, but we settled in nonetheless. The problem with this plan was that some of the guys work all night and literally come and go EVERY hour, all day long. So, after numerous nights of waking up EACH hour, I finally tried sleeping with earplugs. It worked, but I was unable to hear my relatively quiet pager when someone needed to speak with me. Clearly, a remedy was in order.

Our MOD has four unoccupied rooms for transient personnel that need a bed for 1-2 nights as they pass through (typically 1-2 times monthly). Inexplicably, these are some of the largest and quietest rooms, located in the center of the MOD. So, we asked our MOD Chief (don't even ask, every noun or thing has at least one person as its Chief) if he minded us switching rooms and allowing the infrequent transient the pleasure of our ridiculous room. We explained our jobs and the need for sleep without earplug use and he agreed that it made sense. So, on a Sunday afternoon, we moved our lockers, shelves and bags from room 16 down to lucky number 13. And for three days, we had the best, most restful sleep of our short tour thus far.

What could be wrong with this? Ahhhh, never forget the ego of some senior NCO's (which has been known to bruise easier than a ripe peach). Unbeknownst to our group, one of the senior NCO's in our EMEDS (who naturally has his own room in a POD) is "in charge" of room assignments and was extremely unpleased with our callous decision to "bypass" his authority by not asking his permission first. I tried to reason (first mistake) with him, explaining that no one had alerted us of his "reign" over the rooms. I stated that, frankly, it had never occurred to any of us to ask someone who wasn't our boss and didn't live in the MOD if they would permit the move. We had asked the MOD Chief and were given permission. To no avail. Our commander was quietly (and of course, behind closed doors) briefed of the situation by said NCO and requested (by email of course, direct confrontation is to be avoided at all cost) that we return to our original room. I hope you're enjoying the "rational thought" involved in these decisions!

Dutifully, we moved back as directed and then requested (through the above-mentioned senior NCO) a room change with Services (an ironic name, don't you think?). In typically mature fashion, he waited three days before making this request with Services....there must be punitive consequences after all. But, a week later, we were finally "granted" permission to change rooms.....right back into room 13 where we had moved in the first place!! If any of you wonder why the various government services take so long to execute relatively simple tasks, this should shed some light on the processes involved. After three moves in less than two weeks, here is a picture of me reading on the couch (which was already in our room but apparently not a part of the standard floor plan, per our NCO, and therefore not authorized to be on the floor).

On a lighter note, we have been engaged in a very competitive ping pong tournament over the past week. The finals will be later this week and most games draw at least 6-8 spectators as a cheering section. Thanks to Dad for purchasing a table when I was a teenager and having a several-month match that honed my skills! I think tonight's match is the quarterfinals....

We were also blessed with a very rare award by one of the Army infantry battalions for our care of their soldiers. They presented it in their traditional cavalry uniforms, complete with riding hats. Very cool. It may be hard to read this picture, but it was a VERY special honor to our EMEDS and was only the 23rd such award this group has ever given (remember, the Army is over 200 years old).

Finally, we had our monthly 5K race (on the base roads) yesterday morning that was a great time. We received t-shirts and water bottles from the sponsor (one of the huge contracting companies here) and enjoyed the fleeting break in the weather. Less than an hour after completion, the dust descended (literally) like a fog bank in San Francisco with visibility of ~150 feet that would have cancelled the race. Today, the ground and all outdoor surfaces are covered in a layer of dust reminiscent of the ash after Mt. St. Helens erupted!

Until next week...

Always in love with you Cita!!

Fun, Food and Flying

Yet another KRAB week has passed. Although the days can seem to sometimes crawl, I continue to be amazed by how quickly another weekend arrives. God bless the gym and the running routes on base!! I had no trauma patients this week but did manage to treat a few common general surgey issues, including a young soldier with acute cholecystitis that was at a more forward base. Unfortunately for him, his illness struck during one of our weekly dust storms and I was forced to transport him by ground to Kirkuk. He stayed here for a little more than a day until the skies cleared and he was off to a cleaner facility with laparoscopic equipment to have his gallbladder removed. I have to admit, though, that a small part of me kept hoping he would deteriorate and allow me the privelege of shucking out that gallbladder the old fashioned way!

I am still working on arranging the driving training for this vehicle, but here is a sample picture of one of the MRAP's on base. These are the primary Army convoy vehicle, and were specifically designed to withstand IED blasts (improvised explosive devices, the most common terrorist weapon here). They come in many different configurations with various toys attached (this happens to be a medical MRAP, as is obvious by the red crosses).

This weekend, we had the best "trifecta" of food thus far. Friday was a BBQ at the Provincial Reconstruction Team's compound (the nation-builders that support education, healthcare and other Iraqi reform projects) and some interesting conversations with folks that I don't normally get to meet. Saturday was our weekly BBQ-and-a-movie at the EMEDS (we watched the original MASH movie) and Sunday was another EMEDS event with lots of incredible Korean BBQ (sweet beef, spicy pork, kimchi...). Thank you Sgt Parker for all of the time and effort spent preparing and cooking, it was worth it. Below is Dr. O manning the 'que, toasting some fantastic pineapple slices while enjoying a little treat from Baskin Robbins. Yes, deployments can be tough sometimes!

And, last but not least, I enjoyed some time on a flight simulator this weekend. We use them to train upcoming Iraqi pilots, but they always have unused time. So, the civilian instructors are happy to teach us enthusiastic neophytes and watch us try not to crash. By the end of the session, I could take off, fly around, do an aileron roll and land without any verbal instruction. I will definitely be making this a regular stop on my weekly rounds!

I love you always Cita!!

In continuing the trends of ebb and flow in trauma surgery during Operation Iraqi Freedom, this week brought no new patients. Good for the soldiers and local nationals....not so good for me. But, we always find plenty of things to occupy our time here at the KRAB (Kirkuk Regional Air Base). As the summer moves along, the temperatures seem to be heating up a little as well. Yesterday, the dry-bulb thermometer capped out at 117 degrees with radiant temperatures off the ground (mainly asphalt and rocks) hitting a sweltering 132 degrees! The strangest part is that it really doesn't seem that hot to me anymore. We still go running around the base (on safe, specified running routes, of course) but we tend to start early and finish before 8AM...right about the time triple digit temperatures roll in.

Along with the climate and surroundings comes some interesting critters. The several thousand Airmen, Soldiers and civilian contractors here make a fair amount of trash each day and this attracts rodents (mainly rats). And guess what animals like to eat rats......

...that's right: snakes. Since I arrived here, four vipers have been caught. Two in living quarters, one in our EMEDS, and one at the Firehouse. Thankfully, no one has been bitten that I know of, because the antivenom is a helicopter flight away at a different base! The big snake above is obviously dead already, but the smaller one below was still alive when caught in one of the rooms of my building (for a very short while).

The docs and nurses obviously spend a lot of time together and we've begun some fun weekly rituals to pass the downtime. We watch M.A.S.H. episodes pretty much every night before dinner and have "BBQ & a Movie" nights on Fridays where we rig a projector outside under the netting of our lovely KRAB island, as seen below:

There are tables, benches, a radio, mounted speakers, a BBQ, coolers and, of course, a small pond with a running waterfall and fake fish! Naturally, the entire area is covered by camouflaged netting...for ambience.

Here is a pic of four of us in the ER (L to R: myself, Dr. O (Ortho), Dr. D (ER), and Dr. K (FP)).

We've even begun networking with lots of people on base and have some sweet activities planned, most of which I can write about as time permits. Between the various armoured vehicles, helicopters, planes and weapons here at the KRAB, I think our group will manage to find some great memories during this deployment!

(Sunset on the flightline)

Until next week.....

Lovin' you Iraqi-style my Cita!!