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Editor's note: Pentagon Correspondent Jim Miklaszewski recently returned from an embedded reporting trip to Iraq.
The NBC crew and I were already on our way to the Air Force battlefield hospital at the Balad Air Base when in the distance we saw the Blackhawk medevac helicopter coming in for a landing. What we didn't know was that it carried ABC anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt. Both had been seriously wounded by an IED -- improvised explosive device -- military jargon for one of those increasingly sophisticated and deadly roadside bombs. Vogt's reportedly recovering nicely. A week later, Woodruff remains in a medically-induced coma at the National Naval Medical Center outside Washington, his long-term prognosis still uncertain. What is clear is they both owe their lives to the men and women at Balad.
The Air Force hospital is a sprawling complex of medical tents. In Iraq, unfortunately, it gets plenty of business. All day and night, the most seriously wounded soldiers and Marines arrive at Balad -- 1,100 per month -- many suffering critical head injuries from those IEDs. What happens here is nothing short of remarkable. Some of the most complicated, and in many cases risky medical procedures, are performed as a matter of routine, often under mortar fire, in the middle of a war zone.
Of the 30 military physicians on staff, two are neurosurgeons. In fact, brain surgery is conducted almost daily. It's the only battlefield hospital ever to be equipped with not one, but two CT-scanners, to quickly locate elusive chunks of potentially deadly shrapnel lodged inside the brain and body, saving precious seconds between the time the injured first arrive and they're whisked into surgery. But it's the medical staff, both Air Force and Army, who account for the 96 percent survival rate at Balad.
Col. Jill Sterling, a Medical Squad Commander from the Air Force Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, told us that she felt honored to be treating the U.S. servicemen and women, badly broken by the war, and that her current tour at Balad has been the epitome of her medical career. "We're really making a difference," she said. "We're saving lives." Soon, the sound of approaching Blackhawk helicopters carrying more wounded Americans rose up outside the tents. When I turned to Col. Sterling she was already gone. There were more lives to be saved.
Read more from Jim Miklaszewski
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NBC Pentagon correspondent Jim Miklaszweki, who is in Iraq, told MSNBC's Don Imus that U.S. troops in Iraq are hunkered down at Camp Victory and other safe camps and not going out on patrols which would explain why attacks on U.S. troops has dropped off.
Miklaszweki said he asked General Casey about how few U.S. troops are on patrol in Iraq and he said Casey just smiled.
This information coincides with what I have been told by GIs returning from Iraq who said their commanders are keeping U.S. forces in highly guarded camps and not going out on patrols as they had been doing.
THIS IS A MAJOR STORY AND SHOULD BE LOOKED INTO BY EVERY NEWS ORGANIZATION.
Bill Corcoran, Chicago, corkcol@aol.com
Bill Corcoran, Chicago, Ill. (Sent Feb 8, 2006 3:21:16 PM)
Mr. Miklaszewski, please be safe in your journeys...what you are reporting is very dangerous. And may god bless you for showing American life to us in Iraq.
Arthur Tran, Las Vegas, NV (Sent Feb 8, 2006 12:20:02 AM)
Special treatment for the elite? No. Rather, this is special attention paid by the PUBLIC to a national figure being wounded. Stories about wounded troops in Iraq have been done. It began with Jessica Lynch, and never stopped. I have seen numerous reports on the wounded on the networks, I have read them in the national magazines, and I have listened to them on NPR. The stories were there before Bob Woodruff was injured. Perhaps you don't remember them or did not notice them because they did not involve a name you recognized, but the stories were there. Are we giving troops our attention, or just our "support?"
Jerry Jacob Springfield, Missouri (Sent Feb 7, 2006 9:46:52 PM)
Have I been kept out of the loop as a citizen on this. I have never heard of this place until now. We(american public) need to be told and made aware of the efforts of these brave personel. My father was a corman during the Vietnam war but he never got to close. He was on a ship far out at sea. To me this IS what I also want to hear about from the area. It has all become to everyday.
Vernon, Harrisburg, PA (Sent Feb 7, 2006 4:58:45 PM)
I tend to agree with Bob above, I am truly sorry for the injuries suffered by the imbeded reporters, but they are there by their own free will. Reporting a graphic story, swaying the masses and putting on television the horror and realities of the war. I was in the first gulf war and the imbeded reporters were with us from our base in Saudi Arabia to the two forward operating bases in Iraq, and returning to Saudia Arabia. He was in the way, making his stories fit what was popular at the time and sending the pictures and interviews that fit what was required of him to report. I don't see many stories of the schools, neighborhoods and municipal services being restored and rebuilt. All I hear is how bad the war is going, no end in sight, oh what a bad Bush idea. I didn't vote for him, but we have to back his play, bad or good. There are 25,000,000 free Iraqi people capable of controlling their own destiny. The country was run for decades by cronies and family members of a dictator. It is going to take decades for true democracy to take root and grow. Look how long it took america to truly be free. Maybe reporters should travel on a donkey cart and see what it means to have a tough life. Keep the faith you fellow soldiers, airmen, and marines. You stupid reporters keep your heads down.
Mike Goike (Sent Feb 7, 2006 4:52:29 PM)
Once again, attacking the media will not solve the problem. The media cannot seem to win. When they report on those fighting this insipid war, they are "ignoring good news" and "focusing too much on the bad." When they tell stories of they tehmselves being attacked, they are ignoring the soldiers. people simply cannot have it both ways; the fact is that the war in Iraq is a quagmire and no one in Iraq is safe, unlike before our invasion.
John Nichols, Nashville, TN (Sent Feb 7, 2006 4:40:39 PM)
Having been to both the Baghdad military hospital and the AF facility at Balad (and also the medical operations in Bagram, Afghanistan, I can state unequivocally that the men and women of all ranks who work in these hospitals do so without regard to the social status of the patient; it's medical need that takes precedence.
David Adams, Colorado Springs CO (Sent Feb 7, 2006 4:28:26 PM)
One night in Balad?? Not enough to get the full picture I am afraid--but try 150 nights--155 plus attacks on the base and 500 plus casulties in a 5 day period (Fallujah) not to mention several mass casulties. You want to know what a night in hell is like from a medical/nursing perspective I can give you some insight on that--Where was the national affiliates when we were taking care of all those casulties? Now that one of your own (media) is injured, Balad is becoming a household name--For those that served there this is well deserved recognition-but why did it take an injured reporter and a cameraman for the world to see what we do at the AFTH.
ANON (Sent Feb 7, 2006 3:06:05 PM)
While it is a shame that anchor Bob Woodruff and cameraman Doug Vogt were injured, perhaps the media attention would be better directed at the men and women who daily put themselves into harms way to fight the battle, instead of just report on it. I understand that this attack is closer to home for the media...but the rest of the injuries and deaths are closer to the American public. Again, it seems that there is special treatment for the elite.
bob gearhart (Sent Feb 7, 2006 2:01:47 PM)
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