I am not a military nurse, but I have been writing about Air Force, Army, Navy, National Guard and Reserve nurses for almost nine years now. I’ve e-mailed questions to nurses who were some of the first to arrive in Afghanistan shortly after 9/11. I was with Navy nurses, some who had left small children at home, aboard the USNS Comfort in the Persian GuIf waiting for casualties at the start of the war in Iraq; I’ve visited Army and Air Force nurses in Iraq who were there during some of the heavie... Read More ››

I had the privilage of serving during the counterinsurgency operations with the 10th CSH in 2006. You know your a military nurse when you discover above all else the absolute reverence that the heroes in the Combat Arms community demonstrates to you. I had the privalage of being involved in some of the worst Emergency Scenarios one could imagine. Examples of senior ranking Infantry officers and NCO's breaking down and thanking my young staff for their efforts and "their tears...because those ... Read More ››

You roll out of bed at O’dark-thirty to go for a quick run before duty. You wear combat boots & camouflage to work. On arriving at ‘the office’ you check the computer and pray your deployed Marine son’s name is NOT on the list of the next Med-Evac of incoming wounded from Iraq or Afghanistan. You proudly help off-load litters of wounded and ill patients from the war zone now at the ER door. You quietly answer questions on the phone from an anxious far-away mother of a wounded soldier who just a... Read More ››

You know you’re a military nurse when…across the trauma bay, ICU, ward or wherever, you see in the eyes of a fellow military nurse, “the look”. It is the quiet confidence of experience. Of having been tested with the most clinically challenging trauma cases in the world, many that defy description and having dealt with them in multiples. And knowing that you and your colleagues will lean on each other, help each other, and provide each wounded service member the best care possible, no matter ... Read More ››

….You consider it a privilege to leave your family for an extended period of time to perform nursing duties in a Third World Country under obscure conditions. Yes, I said a privilege! I am so proud to be and Army Nurse and to have assisted in research performed on our modern day battlefields. Our predecessors had warned us that we would not be “just collecting research data,” but in fact sometimes we would be expected to assist in caring for the traumas coming in. I, as an OB Nurse, was sure t... Read More ››

You’ll know you’re a military nurse when in the middle of the night you’re able to hear the first crackle of the loudspeaker coming on, the voice on it loudly telling you “Bunkers, Bunkers…” and when it is all over you were sure a MASCAL was breaking down your door and you weren’t in Kansas anymore. In 1972 after college, I wanted to go to Vietnam but my father who was a Silver Star and Purple Heart under General George Patton wouldn’t hear of it. Instead, I went off on another adven... 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 ››

.... At age 28 you are the only nurse, and the only one with critical care experience, for over 3,000 soldiers and marines in the hostile city of Ar Ramadi in 2003-2004 and you chose to be there! As one of the first Brigade Nurses, developing a highly skilled trauma team was only one of the challenges that needed overcoming. I wrote the following in my June/July 2004 article for the Nurse Corps Newsletter: "I have found myself to be the pharmacist, triage officer, patient tracker, educator, ... Read More ››