“She still has nail polish on”, stated the Lieutenant as the nurses around stopped momentarily, allowing the words to hang there suspended only by a collective unspoken frustration. I can only imagine the day her mother had planned for this 4 year old Iraqi girl. It was supposed to be a festive occasion; one of her relatives was getting married. Surely she could feel the sense of excitement around her, for in these small Iraqi villages everyone is interconnected. It’s unknown whether this... Read More ››

You'll know you’re a military nurse when someone asks you what you do, you say "I am an Officer" first, and then you say you are a nurse. You visit the National Mall in DC, and Vietnam veterans at The Wall tell you their stories of how nurses saved their lives, and then they thank you for serving. You have a special section in Arlington National Cemetery dedicated to military nurses who passed before you. You say, "War is hell", and you know it to be true because you lived through it. You ... Read More ››

you are asked what part of the hospital you work at and you say I don't. After the puzzuled look you tell them that you are a nurse on airplanes and the confusion grows even further. I go on to explain that I am a flight nurse for the air force and my job is aeromedical transport. I explain how I have played a vital role in making this the most survivalable wars. I say if you are injured and make it to ER in Balad, Kandahar, or Bagram you have a 98% survival rate. The highest the nation has... Read More ››

When you are taken to Nellis Air Force Base and think you've landed in Top Gun.... When you feel a pull or an urge to be a part of something bigger and better than yourself. When you hearLee Greenwood "i'm Proud to be an American" or "God Bless the USA" and get goosebumps When you travel abroad and realize the importance of the freedoms that we experience. I always knew I wanted to be a nurse. However, I was lucky enough to join the Air Force asnew graduate and was trained as a Trauma Nur... Read More ››

1975--1979,WILFORD HALL, LACKLAND AFB, TX.. ENDUCTED AS A 1ST BLACK PRIMARY CARE NURSE PRACTITIONER(PCNP), AFTER V.A. IN HOUSE TRAINING TO HELP WITH POST VIETNAM HIGH PATIENT LOADS. 1ST ACTIVE DUTY ASSIGNMENT, LACKLAND AFB, BEFORE PHYSICIAN ASST. PROGRAMS AND DEGREE NURSE PRACT. PROGAM BECAME POPULAR. PCNP PICTURE USED AS A POSTOR FOR RECRUITERS OFFICES. USING MY MASTERS IN NURSING, I WAS ALLOWED TO GO INTO ADMINISTRATION AND OFF TO KOREAN. A SMALL CLINIC AND HOSPITAL, HAD TO HELPED PREP... Read More ››

You know you are a military nurse when: you are caring for 30 plus wounded troops in the back of a dark, cold and noisy aircraft cargo bay while wearing Kevlar body armor, helmet and other combat gear. Caring for wounded troops in the back of a cargo plane is one of the biggest challenges for an Air Force flight nurse. The environment is in constant flux where the temperature will be 110 degrees when bringing the wounded onboard and then 60 degrees when the aircraft reaches altitude. The aircraf... Read More ››

... when you go to war aboard a Hawaiian Airlines 747 with everyone wearing BDUs and gas masks bags - except for the stewards in their ALOHA shirts - wishing you "Good Luck!". (Thanks) You land in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Hawaiian Airlines has lost your luggage - just like in the States. So you lie around on your personal bags watching the planes take off and land while the frantic Major tries to find your equipment. Suddenly a missile fires and nearly hits a C-141 taking off - everyone jumps ... Read More ››

you are a flight nurse sitting in a C 130 Hercules with sweat dripping off your earlobes, into your eyes and down your face in 115 degree heat on the flight line in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia waiting to pick up an urgent air evacuation patient in Kuwait. The plane takes off with a pile of army infantry rifles 12 inches high in the middle of the webbed seats [yes, in most circumstances all "loose items must be securely stowed, but not on this day] and you start to feel nauseated. Because "green gas ... Read More ››