Pre-Deployment Training

Since Sunday evening I've been at Army Medical Headquarters at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas attending a five day course called Tactical Combat Medical Care. There are about thirty of us and and we're all headed for Afghanistan or Iraq. About half of us are physicians and the rest are mostly Physician Assistants. The course is taught by senior army medics who have each had several deployments and have personally handled everything they're teaching. Most of them have gone back to school and are now Physicians Assistants. I've also met former enlisted soldiers with combat experience who have gone back to school and are now physicians.   There is still a GI Bill and there are generous educational benefits offered to soldiers, even while they're in the military. Of course the...

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Separation From My Family & Absence From My Practice

I have never been away from my family for more than a week. My wife and I do not take separate vacations and we are not having marital problems. In addition to the very long hours I work, Joan also works more than full-time and we are a very busy household. I don't manage as many domestic things as Joan does and although I'm not indispensable there are several things that I'm responsible for that Joan is going to have a hard time keeping up with when I leave. I feel that I'm close to my three children, two of whom are young adults and I try to always be there for my youngest child, Julia who is 16 years old and I love her dearly. I do work very long hours and when I do take time off, being with my children, especially Julia, is always my number one priority.   Yes I do like to...

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TODAY IS 09/11/2010

There has never been a date that has meant so much to every one of us as September 11, 2001 but for obvious reasons (which I won't go into) in recent years it seemed as though public participation in commemorative events was floundering. This year the controversy about the Ground Zero Mosque has rekindled the meaning of this date. It is still not clear how 09/11 will be observed in the future and at the present time it is neither a national holiday nor a day of mourning and rage. Schools and businesses are open and the commemoration is confined mostly to the families Predictably , for the time being, elected politicians make appearances at these ceremonies but if observance lags they will also drop out.  When I ponder how we now celebrate the yearly anniversaries of September...

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Deployment minus 6 weeks

Next week is the 9th "anniversary" of the 09/11/2001 attack and in about five weeks I will report to Fort Benning, Georgia for 120 days of active duty in the United States Army on behalf of "Operation Iraqi Freedom". During my own "run-up" to this deployment people have made a big fuss over my decision to volunteer but it's not at all that simple. In December/2008, at the age of 57 and after an application process that lasted almost an entire year I took my Oath of Office and entered the Massachusetts National Guard as a medical officer with the rank of Major.

I want to thank everyone who have wished me well and expressed their respect for my decision. Please don't look at me in awe because before I made this decision consider what I been doing for the six years since 09/11 had occured?...

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