A Day in the Life......

Hello all,

Been along time since I have updated, I know. Our company has finally all moved back to a central location so I have been pretty busy trying to get all the medical things in order. We are soon to be splitting the company up again so I have been spending time getting our medical SOP's revised and current for our operations, briefing the commanding officer on medical issues, getting all the necessary supplies for our trucks, getting study material out for my corpsman for their upcoming advancement exams and many of the other admin issues I have to deal with as the chief of the medical department for our company.

This last week I have made airway kits, IV start kits, barbicide for the barbers in the company, changed and revised where things go on the trucks, put stitches in one of my Marines for a small accident getting out of his MRAP, made many runs to our Battalion Aide Station to get supplies and get dates for evaluations, awards,reenlistment packages and advancement. Put submissions in to my 1st Sgt. for docs worthy of awards, taught, counseled my junior docs, got the program up and running for my docs to get certified with the Marines, which is called the Fleet Marine Force Enlisted Warfare Qualification.

On the lighter side, for those of you who know MASH as well as I do, have joy rided in a soft top ambulance with my derlict roommate in places on the base we probably shouldn't have been, stolen, or let's just say acquired meds and drugs from places that will not be posted on here, to wheel chair races, watching the Marines that are from Oklahoma practice roping a fake cow to just the everyday humor that we must have to get through the times like these.

Overall, days are short and quick. No real action going on anywhere in our province. Mostly country building at this time, not what the Marines are trained for by the way, we are warriors. I am very interested in what the next few months hold. I really hope that the Iraqis can hold their own when we go. Our next fight will be Afghanistan. We won't make it there, we will stay our time here and come home. Looks like we have come in at the end of this party. But the good thing is just the other day the Shia and Sunni had a huge meeting for the first time with all the big wigs on security of the country. They finally realize, we think, that the only way for us to exit, as we have planned to do since day 1, is to take control for themselves so we can leave their country.

I hope all is well back home. We got word the other day, rumor of course but pretty good one, that we may be RIPPING in July, that is a term for relieving in place, and then heading back to the states in August. As with the military though, as I have seen time and time again, don't bank on any rumor until your feet are on the ground. So, with that I am off to mark off yet another task complete on my dry erase board.

Doc