Nurses Were and Are There

At the time of this writing, more than 4,000 United States troops have been killed and more than 30,000 wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, more than 1,000 United States civilian contractors and over 75,000 Iraqi civilians and insurgents have been killed and hundreds of thousands wounded. United States military nurses are there.

On July 10, 2007, United States Army Nurse Corps Captain Maria Ortiz was killed when she was hit by shrapnel while returning from a physical training exercise to the hospital. The hospital in Baghdad is in the Green Zone, along with the United States Embassy and the Iraqi Parliament—it is supposed to be safe. Captain Ortiz, who was born in the United States and raised in Puerto Rico, was the first nurse killed in Operation Iraqi Freedom. She was 40 years old. The loss of her life brings a clear message that none of our military nurses are safe.

If you tell a nurse who has served or is serving in the military that s/he is a hero, the immediate response will be something like, “No, I am not a hero. It's the men and women in combat who are the heroes—we are here to serve them.” What do you think? I know that I can say unequivocally that they indeed are heroes. Nurses are not there to fight, but they are there to care for the wounded—to save, to heal, and to comfort. Nonetheless, they are soldiers and sailors—they simply have a different mission—a very critical mission.

There are more military nurse heroes that one can ever imagine. While reviewing the literature for the article, US Military Nurses in Wartime, the deeper I dug, the more amazed I became by the countless stories of military nurse heroes. The more I read about the nurse heroes, the more I wanted to read. Every time I received an e-mail from my friend, Joe Blansflield (Colonel, United States Army Nurse Corps, Deputy Commander, Nursing Service, Task Force 399th Combat Support Hospital, Al Asad, Anbar Province, Iraq), my feelings of pride in our military nurses grew exponentially.

Nurses in the military provide the highest level of care to whoever is in need of their services—friend and foe alike. They provide care with great knowledge, compassion, and incredible dedication, often under the most adverse circumstances. They serve far from home and far from friends and family. They are the best of the best.

Nurses have served in the United States military since before the Revolutionary War, in every war since then, and in all the times in between. We have often heard stories of incredible heroic efforts, yet most acts of courage and extraordinary performances under unbelievable conditions will never be known except by those involved. I hope that this issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing causes you to want to learn more about our reluctant heroes—our military nurses.

I served on active duty with the Army Nurse Corps and as a Flight Nurse in the Air Force Reserves. I asked to be sent to Vietnam, but instead I was sent to Germany. I have always stood in awe of my brother and sister nurses who served in Vietnam. I continue to admire deeply all nurses who commit to military service—especially those who serve in combat areas. The work is hard and long, the tears are many, the grief is deep, and the memories haunting.

To all the nurses who have ever served or are serving in the military, we admire you, we praise you, we are so proud of you, and we want you to know we are always with you in spirit wherever you are. This issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing is a tribute to you. You are heroes. Be safe, God speed, and come home soon.