| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-USA |
| User: |
"Charles Farley" |
| Date: |
22 Dec 2004 12:48:17 PM |
| Object: |
Muslims Bomb Hospital, US Troops Eating Lunch |
From Brad Lewis, who was there yesterday when 'jihadists' bombed a
cafeteria while troops were eating lunch, and then bombed the hospital
and medical staff tending to the wounded:
Any attack with casualties will naturally mean that eventually
a very large number of care givers will be concentrated in one
location. They took full advantage of that. In the middle of
the mayhem [after the attack on the troops eating lunch] the
first mortar round hit about 100 to 200 meters away. Everyone
started shouting to get the wounded into the hospital which is
solid concrete and much safer than being in the open. Soon, the
next mortar hit quite a bit closer than the first as they "walked"
their rounds toward their intended target...us. Everyone began to
rush toward the building. I stood at the door shoving as many
people inside as I could. Just before heading in myself, the
last one hit directly on top of the hospital.
Full posting from Brad follows...
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
MASCAL
By the time I got back to our compound it was all over the news. It
seemed like the thing had just happened when in reality I had been
neck deep in it for several hours. And there it was on TV. Frankly,
it's kind of a blur.
The day began early as I didn't sleep very well last night. Once I was
awake I decided not to just lay there and stare at the darkness so I
got up, got dressed, shaved and headed into the TOC, the heart of what
goes on. In the TOC (Tactical Operations Center) they monitor several
different radio nets to keep abreast of what is happing in the area.
It's the place to be if you want up to the minute information. When I
arrived it was fairly calm. I made small talk with the guys there and
sipped that first cup of morning coffee. The day was clear and there
was very little going on, or so it seemed. A very short while later we
received the initial reports. In this area there are several "camps"
or "posts" that house the various combat and support units that do the
day to day fighting and working around here. The first report said
that a mortar had just hit one of the nearby chow halls during the
middle of lunch (I'm on GMT so my morning is actually the middle of
the day). It's called a MASCAL or Mass Casualty event and it's where
the rubber meets the road in military ministry. They said there were
approximately 10 casualties. That was the extent of it so I kind of
filed it away in the back of my mind and continued to sip my coffee.
The next report wasn't so good. 10 dead and approximately 50 wounded.
They were being transported to the Combat Surgical Hospital down the
street. The Chaplain at the CSH is a good guy and I knew he'd be in
need of help so I woke my assistant and we rushed to the hospital. I
didn't expect what I saw.
The scene was little more than controlled chaos. Helicopters landing,
people shouting, wounded screaming, bodies everywhere. As the staff
began to triage the dead and wounded I found the chaplain and offered
my assistance. He directed me to where he needed me and I dove in. I
would be hard pressed to write about every person I had the
opportunity to pray with today but I will try to relate a few.
I found "Betty" on a stretcher being tended by nurses. I introduced
myself and held her hand. She looked up at me and said, "Chaplain, am
I going to be alright?" I said that she was despite the fact that I
could see she had a long road to recovery ahead of her. Most of her
hair had been singed off. Her face was burnt fairly badly, although it
didn't look like the kind of burns that will scar. What I do know is
that it was painful enough to hurt just by being in the sun. I prayed
with Betty and moved on.
"Ilena" (a made up name. She spoke very softly and had a thick accent
so I couldn't really hear her) had been hit by a piece of shrapnel
just above her left breast causing a classic sucking chest wound. The
doctors said she had a hemothorax (I think that's what they called it)
which basically meant her left lung was filling with blood and she was
having a very hard time breathing. For the next 20 minutes I held her
hand while a doctor made an incision in her left side, inserted most
of his hand and some kind of medical instrument and then a tube to
alleviate the pressure caused by the pooling blood. It was probably
the most medieval procedure I have ever been privy to. In the end she
was taken to ICU and will be OK.
"Mark" was put on a stretcher and laid along a wall. A small monitor
on his hand would tell the nurses when he was dead. Even a cursory
glance said it was inevitable. Mark had a head wound that left brain
matter caked in his ear and all over the stretcher he was lying on. I
knelt next to Mark and placed a hand on is chest. His heart was barely
beating but it was beating so I put my face close to his ear to pray
with him. If you've never smelled human brain matter it is something
unforgettable. I had something of an internal struggle. He's
practically dead so why stay? He probably can't hear anything! A
prayer at that point seemed of little value. But I couldn't risk it. I
prayed for Mark and led him in the sinners prayer as best I could.
There are few things in this life that will make you feel more
helpless. After that, I needed some fresh air.
I stepped outside and found the situation to be only slightly less
chaotic. The number of body bags had grown considerably since I first
went inside. I saw a fellow chaplain who was obviously in need of care
himself. I stopped him and put my arm around him and asked how he was
doing. A rhetorical question if ever I asked one. He just shook his
head so I pulled him in close and prayed for his strength, endurance,
a thick skin, and a soft heart. Then I just stood and breathed for a
few minutes.
Regardless of what some may say, these are not stupid people. Any
attack with casualties will naturally mean that eventually a very
large number of care givers will be concentrated in one location. They
took full advantage of that. In the middle of the mayhem the first
mortar round hit about 100 to 200 meters away. Everyone started
shouting to get the wounded into the hospital which is solid concrete
and much safer than being in the open. Soon, the next mortar hit quite
a bit closer than the first as they "walked" their rounds toward their
intended target...us. Everyone began to rush toward the building. I
stood at the door shoving as many people inside as I could. Just
before heading in myself, the last one hit directly on top of the
hospital. I was standing next to the building so was shielded from any
flying shrapnel. In fact, the building, being built as a bunker took
the hit with little effect. However, I couldn't have been more than 10
to 15 meters from the point of impact and brother did I feel the
shock. That'll wake you up! I rushed inside to find doctors and nurses
draped over patients, others on the floor or under something. I ducked
low and quickly moved as far inside as I could.
After a few tense moments people began to move around again and the
business of patching bodies and healing minds continued in earnest. As
I stood talking with some other chaplain, an officer approached and
not seeing us, yelled, "Is there a chaplain around here?" I turned and
asked what I could do. He spoke to us and said that another patient
had just been moved to the "expectant" list and would one of us come
pray for him. I walked in and found him lying on the bed with a tube
in his throat, and no signs of consciousness. There were two nurses
tending to him in his final moments. One had a clipboard so I assumed
she'd have the information I wanted. I turned to her and asked if she
knew his name. Without hesitation the other nurse, with no papers,
blurted out his first, middle, and last name. She had obviously taken
this one personally. I'll call him "Wayne". I placed my hand on his
head and lightly stroked his dark hair. Immediately my mind went to my
Grandpa's funeral when I touched his soft grey hair for the last time.
And for the second time in as many hours I prayed wondering if it
would do any good, but knowing that God is faithful and can do more
than I even imagine. When I finished I looked up at the nurse who had
known his name. She looked composed but struggling to stay so. I
asked, "Are you OK?" and she broke down. I put my arm around her to
comfort and encourage her. She said, "I was fine until you asked!"
Then she explained that this was the third patient to die on her that
day.
"Rachel" was sitting in a chair with no injuries. She was worried
about two friends that had been moved to other hospitals in country.
So we prayed.
"John", a First Sergeant, asked me, "How does my face look?" knowing
he had been badly burned and would probably have some scaring. He was
covered in blood, pus, and charred skin so I said, "First Sergeant,
you look better than some people I know back home." He laughed and we
prayed.
One of the many American civilian workers had been hit in the groin.
He was happy to be alive and even happier to be keeping, "all my
equipment." It was a light moment in a very heavy day.
As my assistnt and I walked away at the end of the day I saw another
chaplain and a soldier standing among the silent rows of black body
bags. The soldier wanted to see his friend one more time. We slowly
and as respectfully as possible unzipped the bag to reveal the face of
a very young Private First Class. His friend stared for a few seconds
then turned away and began to cry.
The last count was 25 dead, and around 45 wounded. Nevertheless, our
cause is just and God is in control even when the crap is a yard deep.
I'm where God wants me and wouldn't change that for anything, even if
it means death. After all, "to die is gain".
Post Script: all patient names are ficticious.
Brad Lewis 6:25 PM
http://chaplain.blogspot.com/2004/12/mascal.html
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| User: "pain." |
|
| Title: Report: Dark Ages returning; Bush celebrates X-mas. |
22 Dec 2004 01:11:42 PM |
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Charles Farley posted:
Nevertheless, our cause is just and God is in control even when the
crap is a yard deep.
Riiight. That's what the other side is saying, too.
The turning of the new millineum and the Bush presidencies will go down in
history as another Crusades.
Great.
~~~~~~~
"The idea of the crusade corresponds to a political conception which was
realized in Christendom only from the eleventh to the fifteenth century;
this supposes a union of all peoples and sovereigns under the direction of
the popes. All crusades were announced by preaching. After pronouncing a
solemn vow, each warrior received a cross from the hands of the pope or his
legates, and was thenceforth considered a soldier of the Church. Crusaders
were also granted indulgences and temporal privileges, such as exemption
from civil jurisdiction, inviolability of persons or lands, etc."
www.newadvent.org/cathen/04543c.htm
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| User: "Charles Farley" |
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| Title: Re: Report: Dark Ages returning; Bush celebrates X-mas. |
23 Dec 2004 12:23:58 PM |
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pain wrote:
Riiight. That's what the other side is saying, too.
The turning of the new millineum and the Bush presidencies
will go down in history as another Crusades.
You have nothing to say about 'jihadists' bombing a hospital, and
instead shift into typical liberal-tolerance-mode and spout off
anti-Christian rhetoric, in addition to exhibiting moral bankruptcy
in seeing no difference between 'jihadists' and coalition forces.
Islamic terrorists declared war against "Jews and the Crusaders"
in 1998, when Bill Clinton was President and two US embassies
(and the people within them) were incinerated by muslim terrorists.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/binladen/bombings/summary.html
An interesting photo, no? It's quite similar to this photo:
http://a740.g.akamai.net/f/740/606/1d/image.pathfinder.com/time/photoessays/wtc/manhattan.jpg
Lastly, the crusades were DEFENSIVE wars fought against muslims.
Try reading a book sometime.
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