The Unseen Warriors

BlackFive has an amzing post up called The Third Rule of War. It is a story by itself, about the staff at the present day version of a M*A*S*H. This writing will give you a prespective where battlefield medicine has progressed to, since the version presented about the Korean War. The story stuck with me, and this morning, then I felt there is something more intriguing to this well written report... We love the warrior tales, across history. Washington crossing the Deleware, Stonewall Jackson on the Civil War battlefields, the men who assaulted the beaches of Normady and Iwo Jima. The "fighting man" is honored by the telling of their stories of victory and sacrifice. We also hear of the combat medics and corpsman, such as PFC Desmond Doss and HM3 Wayne Caron, but we don't often hear about those professionals behind the lines, who are every bit as dedicated, and every bit as essential. That's what this story highlights. In this story, titled "The Last Full Measure" by Col. Brett Wyrick, USAF, it is the doctors and nurses who fight a battle. Their skills are not honed in the skies above the Mojave Desert, or at Ft. Irwin or Ft Bragg, but in medical facilities. Add to the crucial work of such medical teams, that of the engineers, the supply/quartermaster corps, the mechanics, the vast array of the "team" that wears the uniforms of our nation. Add to that the deciated civil servants who handle the paperwork, and pull the shore power cables to a ship arriving from sea, then help rearm it, and at DFAS in Cleveland, and a thousand other offices around the country and the world. Next are the contractors, the legendary ones like Boeing, Grumman, General Motors, and so many others who rolled up their sleevs and turned their plants to manufacturer the "Arsenal of Democracy," as well as little ones like Blackhawk Industries making specialized equipment for guy who can't tell you where they got "that medal." The final layer of our effort to support the troops doing the dangerous and hard work, are the families and friends, writing letters, sending shaving cream and DVDs, and money to buy school supplies for Iraqi and Afghan children. We're all in it together, and it looks like we're doing well....