The other day I had the opportunity to be a part of a medevac helicopter mission. There was an injured patient who was an urgent transport (typically these patients are on a ventilator and in need of more advanced care than can be provided) When the helicopter crew heard of the mission all they knew was that an urgent patient needed to be transported from Tikrit to Balad. Tikrit has the ability to do some surgery, but for more complicated cases they need to go to Balad. When we arrived at Sadaam’s home town. We landed and shortly after we landed another helicopter landed. This was going to be a tail to tail transfer i.e., the patient does not stop at the hospital. The team unloaded the patient from the other helicopter and loaded him onto our helicopter. It became obvious that this was an Iraqi or at least appeared to be. He had been shot in the neck and was going to be a quadriplegic. He was on a transport ventilator, which was breathing for him. There was also a monitor that showed a continuous read out of his pulse and blood pressure. I was monitoring his vital signs as we finished loading the helo. All of his values were borderline. The critical care nurse then boarded and took over the monitoring. During the flight his blood pressure dropped and he required a significant increase in his medications to keep his blood pressure at low normal values. When this occurred the pilots, always cognizant of the condition of the patients they are carrying, pushed the nose of the helicopter over to increase the speed. We arrived just minutes later in Balad at the Hospital. There was a team waiting for us and quickly took the patient to the ICU.

When I told the stories to others, I was asked whether he was a good guy or a bad guy. At that point I realized that I hadn’t considered that when I was transporting him. I was glad that I was able to focus on my role and not allow the side he was fighting on change the way I would care for him. This is probably one of the most difficult issues for doctors over here. They routinely may have the villain and the innocent in the same ICU. It is probably for the best that most of the time we do not know who is on which side.

Many may ask what are we doing taking care of the enemy. My response would come from a parable that Jesus taught us. In Luke 10: 25-37, Jesus tells of a story when a Jew had been robed and beaten. A Priest and a Levite pass him and do nothing to help. Then a man from Samaria, hated by the Jews, stops and cares for him and then makes arrangements for his continuing care. Jesus exalts this man as one who truly showed love for his neighbor.

So what about us medics in the armed forces taking care of these guys who are trying to kill us. We give them our blood and the best medical care that can be found in Iraq. What would they probably do if we were injured? Well if history is our guide they may drag us through the streets. I think that type of behavior would qualify them as the very least of our brethren. In Matthew 25: 40 Jesus states, “……’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me.”

The time in Iraq is a crucible for my faith and I need God’s gift of compassion and grace and mercy more than ever.