My Interview With Newsvine Army Surgical Tech StatWar

This is my fifth or sixth interview of other Newsviners. I've posted links to all of them from the recommendations section of my bio page, but they have ranged from Walt D to Dennis to Pamela Drew to, most recently, CartoonCat.

This is the first part of a two-part interview with StatWar

As the kind of guy who struggles with questions like whether one can be against the war while supporting the troops I've been jumping at the chance to interview, directly, Newsviners serving in the military. While I'm a news junkie I prefer to hear directly from members of the military. While their opinions are, of course, subjective, taken as a whole they provide another perspective, a different glimpse into how the war is going and what's on the minds of those fighting it.

Those are some of the reasons why my interview with Rob stretched from one part into three and why, more recently, I decided it made more sense to have Rob and his roommate, Josh, review books about the war – an oral history of the war by the media and a
compilation of blogged memoir pieces by soldiers.. than for me to try to do so. Incidentally, an interview with Josh, Rob's roommate and a Newsviner, is in the works.

But today we have the first part of my interview with Stephen, aka StatWar. I've offered to interview – and thus help spotlight their opinions and perspectives – any soldiers participating in Newsvine. StarWar was kind enough to agree to that arrangement.

Even more helpfully he wrote his own introduction. So this is how he describes himself:

My name is SPC Stephen Brannen, with the 325th Combat Support Hospital(CSH). I am 25 years old, and have been a member of the US Army Reserves for the past 4 years. This is my first deployment, and hopefully, my only deployment for at least a few years (I really need to graduate from college).

I am currently majoring in political science with a minor in computer science, I only need two more years before I graduate. I also work full-time as a surgical tech at one of my local hospitals. I currently plan on getting a commission once I graduate either by going to med school, or becoming a physician's assistant (which is a masters degree.

Scott: How has your position on the war changed as a result of you going over and fighting in it?

Stephen: If anything my position on the war has been strengthened, that we need to stay until Iraq is strong enough to defend itself from both inside and outside factors. There are real problems here, some caused by us and some that existed before we even got into this war, and we have the ability to fix some of these problems. I work at a hospital here in Iraq, and just about two-thirds of our patients are local nationals.

Right now, purely for humanitarian reasons we need to stay: Their
facilities are worthless. The local Iraqi hospital, Tikrit Teaching
Hospital, does not have the capabilities to do pretty much anything that is expected from a modern facility.

What has been the biggest surprise for you in fighting in Iraq?

When I was first mobilized for training, in the months leading up to my
actual deployment, they kept instilling in us the idea that we would
constantly be going outside the wire (mainly on convoys). While I
understand that we are all soldiers first, and our job specialties
second, there is no reason why a hospital unit needs to learn how to
bust down doors and clear rooms. It isn't going to happen. I can
completely understand, and agree to, convoy training but the bulk of
our pre-deployment training was spent on squad tactics.

We spent three days total actually training for our jobs out of three months, and even then it wasn't realistic at all. That was a huge surprise to me, but after getting to Iraq I learned that all of this training was worthless because we are not allowed outside of the wire. They cannot afford to lose someone who works from the CSH, most of us are just too specialized in our jobs to be easily replaced.

Just recently, though, I found a huge surprise, you can see my hospital
inside Iraq in Google Maps. I got really bored one day and found it fairly easily.

What is the biggest misconception that you've noticed about life in Iraq?

To me, the biggest misconception is that US Soldiers are dying and
getting injured non-stop in Iraq and that soldiers are living in some
kind of tent city with no access to hot meals or water. It is true enough that when soldiers go on missions they might have to go a few days without showers, but once they get back it is just like being at home.

I have a 26" LCD HDTV in my "room" (I am in an open bay, but I don't
know what else to call my little area), a new MacBook, a PS2 (I'll be
getting a PS3 before the end of the month). I don't personally have
internet, but it was simply because I couldn't get enough guys to get
in with me on buying a satellite dish. I have also gained a little weight because of the three hot meals I eat at the dining facility.

There have been nearly 4,000 US deaths in Iraq during the war since its
inception back in 2003, but for 2005 (the only year I could find data
on) in the US alone there were over 16,000 murders. That is four times
as many deaths of US citizens in one year in the US versus four in
Iraq. I almost feel safer here (and I do stress the almost).

Another misconception is that Iraq is getting more violent, since I've
been here the number of combat related injuries (CRI) at our hospital
has declined significantly. We spent 22 days of September in Iraq with
45 CRI, the same number as a full month in October. We had 39 and 44 CRI in November and December respectively. When I got here 95% of our
surgical procedures were due to CRI, now only 69% are. The numbers are
decreasing every month.

If you wonder where I am getting my numbers from, I recently was tasked
to create an excel spreadsheet for our quarterly reports. I'm kind of a
computer geek, and so I get things like this tasked out to me. The sheet itself figures out the percentages and totals, but the data comes
straight out of our patient database.

How much interaction have you had with Iraqis. I know some say the Iraqis want us there, some say they don't: what has been your experience and observations?

I do not get regular interaction with locals, due to my job. I work in
surgery, and by the time I get up close and personal to an Iraqi they
are asleep on an operating room table. I do, however, visit the ICU
(which doubles as our PACU, or Post Anesthesia Care Unit), where our
patients end up after surgery. Normally, the family members of our
patients are let in to visit, and many will stay for however long the
patient is with us.

There was a baby that was here for a few months, his dad didn't leave
his side the entire time he was here. He seemed to be a genuinely nice
guy, and had nothing but nice things to say to us. I think he understood that we were doing everything we could to get his kid healed up, and he thanked us for taking care of his son.

There are some, the detainees that are brought for example, that wake up and try to strangle us (normally they are pretty weak after surgery so it isn't that big of a deal). It seems to me that most regular,
every-day Iraqis are happy that we are here, or, even if they don't like us here, don't want us to leave.

What kind of work specifically are you doing there?

I am a surgical technician, deployed within a Combat Support Hospital
(CSH). My job is to assist doctors during surgery. It isn't the most
secretive job, but it is still vital.

If I asked you where you were specifically would you have to kill me?

I am located on COB Speicher, in northern Iraq near the city of Tikrit.
As I mentioned above if you really look for it you can see my hospital
on Google maps (and my barracks as well).

Have you been following the news about Blackwater (the controversial private security firm). What are your thoughts about it?

I obviously read Newsvine, but I also read the Stars and Stripes everyday (although, because it is flown here, we get two days worth at a time, and it is always at least a day late). I personally think that
firms like Blackwater should operate under the same Rules of Engagement (ROE) as US Soldiers do, and I dislike the fact that if I was working with them or a company like KBR I would be making a lot more income here, but these contractors lower the amount of US military on the ground and that can only be a good thing.

I, like most of my fellow soldiers, did not join the military to earn a ton of money. I wanted to serve my country, and this was the best way to do that. If I wanted to just make money I could have led a very different life.

How did you find your way into the military? Knowing what you know now - that you'd be sent to war - would you still have joined the military?

This is the part I am a little embarrassed about, but I guess it is
Part of my journey so here goes. I originally joined the military as an ROTC cadet. I got involved with the program during my Freshman year of
college and it just clicked. I enlisted as a cadet, the MOS is 09R, and
was treated like an officer at my unit. I was sent to Basic Combat
Training (BCT) in 2004 as part of my enlistment. I originally had no
advanced individual training (AIT), and continued to drill with my unit
as a soon to be officer. When I got word of the upcoming deployment of
my unit I gave up my contract as a cadet, was bumped down to a PFC, and
sent to 68D AIT (Operating Room Specialist). I was promoted to SPC
shortly before attending the school, and volunteered to be deployed
after getting back from the 6 month course.

As you can see by my enlistment date (2004), it was well after the
invasion of both Afghanistan and Iraq, and I joined knowing that I had
a high likelihood of getting deployed. I would not change my decision, even if given the opportunity.

Have you always had an interest in the military?

Not really, surprisingly. My dad was a career Army officer, but never
insisted (or even expected) that I join the military. I remember when I
first started going to college I got a letter from the Marine Corps
about becoming a commissioned Marine officer, and them paying for all
four years of college. He got a kick out of that, but talked me out of
it.

It wasn't until I got involved with ROTC that I really became interested in joining the military, and I even had to talk my dad into
the idea. I joined when I was 21, but I still wanted his approval before I enlisted.

I was not recruited into the Army, I didn't get talked into it. I took a class that had no strings attached and just became enthralled with th lifestyle. It came naturally to me, unlike some of those in the class,
and I really enjoyed myself. I sought out my recruiter who simply filed
the paperwork and sent me on my way to basic.

What's your stance on the "support the troops" argument that the only way to support the troops is to support the war? What's your response to the counter-argument that the best way to support the troops is to get them out of the war?

I do not think you have to support the war to support the troops, but

you cannot support the troops by saying the best way is to bring them
home. Many of us truly believe in this mission, and to support us by
trying to bring us home is not supporting us at all. I am disgusted by
the politicizing of the war in Congress, by delaying bills to fund our
mission here in Iraq.

If you want to support the troops, then wish them luck. Send them
letters, cards, and if you are willing to care packages. I could care
less whether someone supports the war, but I chose to join the military
and knew I would get sent to Iraq. I fully believe in the mission I was
sent here to do, and to tell me I need to come home would jeopardize
that mission.

Do the units you are working have adequate protection from the IED's or does such a thing (decent protection) even exist?

I have personally seen the benefits of wearing the gear we are issued
here in Iraq. If you are injured in Iraq you have something like a 93%
chance at surviving, a number that is higher than any war the US has
ever fought, including Desert Storm. The IBA works extremely well for
what it was designed to do, as does our newly redesigned Kevlar helmets.

We had one soldier come into the OR whose HMMWV (that is the correct
abbreviation of the humvee) was engulfed in flames due to a ruptured
gas tank during an IED attack. He had burns over 70% of his body; but the areas covered by the IBA, Kevlar, eye protection, and the leather area of his boots were (for the most part) not burned at all. It was just amazing the protection that this gear provides.

How much access do you have to the news media? Is Internet access restricted? Are you going to get in trouble for just doing this
interview?

As I stated earlier, we have the ability to get completely unrestricted
internet access in our rooms if we choose to do so. We also have
internet access inside the hospital but it is restricted (mainly from
blogs, porn, Facebook, etc). I can, however, get on Newsvine from inside the hospital. We have Armed Forces Network being broadcast over-the-air (with 10 whole channels, one devoted to 24/7 news coverage). They also provide Stars and Stripes for free, and I can buy news magazines like Time and what-not at the Post Exchange (PX). I do know of a few people who have their local papers shipped to them.

I doubt I will get in trouble for doing this interview, but if you
don't hear from me again you will know what is going on.

(cue ominous music)

What do you need there that we, us newsviners, can provide? Books? Music?

Like Rob in his interview, I think you guys are doing a fine job. Just
keep writing and seeding great articles to keep me entertained while I'm here. I might be getting a few more people from my unit on here. I keep telling people about how great Newsvine is.

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