Spotlight: “A chance in hell”

I am told that the nightly news during the Vietnam War offered Americans the opportunity to see into the horrors of it. I am not old enough to remember myself; all of my “memories” of that war are basically those gained from exposure to the images later in life.

And although we’ve been involved in a number of confrontations since then, Vietnam set the standard of troops rotating in and out of combat, without the large troop movements of WWII that it seemed everyone was aware of. Such is the case of the war in Afghanistan, which is now 10 years old. Unless you know someone fighting, it’s been pretty easy to be unaware of the consequences.

Until now.

The Virginian-Pilot is doing a series on a combat hospital in Afghanistan. The series is graphic, both in words and images. Although only two days in, I find it compelling. Some of the people in the story are from right here in Hampton Roads. What they are experiencing in this hospital can only be described as a nightmare.

Even staff members who’ve served multiple combat tours say they’ve never seen injuries as devastating – or as numerous – as those they witness here. Nearly three-quarters of their patients come directly from the battlefield, the vast majority of them victims of insurgent-made bombs – what the military calls improvised explosive devices, or IEDs. Their signature wounds are double- and triple- limb amputations with severe injuries to the pelvis and genitals.

The staff at the hospital tend to only serve a tour of six or seven months – instead of the usual one year. Flashbacks and nightmares are common, as is the use of Ambien to help them sleep.

“The things we see routinely here, they aren’t natural. They’re not supposed to be part of the normal human experience,” says the hospital’s commanding officer, Capt. Mike McCarten, who has been a Navy doctor for 28 years. “We’re not wired to make sense of stuff like this, so it’s not in our best interest to become emotionally involved.

“Of course, we all do it anyway.”

While it may be an uncomfortable read, I think it’s important for us to understand – and appreciate – that war is hell.