"REAL" Maritime Navy in Kandahar

Everyone calls us "dirt sailors," but last week we became a "real" maritime force here in Kandahar. Due to the heavy rains, we developed Boardwalk Lake in the middle of the base. I was sad not to see a couple of boats floating on the water. This morning, we would have needed an icebreaker ship to make it through some of the edges.

We also had a nice Mardi Gras party to celebrate the end of the tour for many of our members. Jeff Cook (another ER doc who just got here) and I "dressed up" for the occasion. I obviously worked harder at getting beads than he did! I will miss many of the people here that I have grown to know and worked so hard with saving lives here. They will always hold a special place in my memories. Unfortunately (and fortunately:), all deployments must come to an end, and their end is now. Mine is soon..........

"Team Butler" Comes to an End:(

"Team Butler" is what we call ourselves. For the last four months, every 4th day, we have worked, eaten, and slept together. We have been called in as a team for multiple casualty events. We have saved lives, and watched helplessly as people died. We have laughed and joked, and shared stories of our lives and families. We have gone to receive our mail together, and have shared our "bounty." We have learned from each other and taught each other. I have taken something away from being a small part of each of their lives, if only for a moment. I will miss them all, and wish them the best. To Phil, Drew, Sean, and Will: I wish you all hapiness and success in your lives. Thank you for all that you have given me. Fair winds and following seas....

To start our call days off "right," we would play a song called "Boom Box." I believe it is one of the SNL parody songs. I always called it "Boiled Goose," after a line in the song. It always seemed if we forgot to play it, everything would go to hell. When we played it right off, we knew it would be a good day.

Ben (Lucius my brother, not Benjamin), I believe HM1 Dave Sauer (our Lead Petty Officer and an "honorary" member of Team Butler) could give you a run for your money with his "white man's overbite" and dancing ability during one our morning episodes of "Boom Box!"

SUPERBOWL MONDAY- An Overseas Military Tradition!

Superbowl Monday. Sounds weird, I know. But when you are overseas, that is the norm (because we are living in YOUR future!). So, when we were drinking beer (ok, NA beer but still beer), eating snacks, and then chowing down on pancakes and coffee to go with our beer it seemed almost normal on a Monday morning. The Superbowl began at 0400 local time, so many of us packed into the conference room with AFN (Armed Forces Network) on cable and a big screen TV. Well, I did not exactly get there at 0400, but was present for the second half. Our MWR (moral welfare and recreation) committee did a fabulous job as you can see in the picture decorating the room like a football stadium, complete with "fans in the stands" wallpaper! It was a lot of fun, and turned out to be a great game (for all but the Patriot fans). There is something weird about starting a 24 hour trauma shift with a beer in one hand and a mug of coffee in the other!

I was still in the mood for sports and beer so after the game ended, one of the other ER docs and I went outside to the "driving range" adjacent to our ambulance bay and drove a few "downrange." Gotta love American ingenuity to bring just a little slice of home overseas to the combat hospital in AFG!

Groundhog Day: The "Real" One

So.....Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow? Bastard! Who gave him the glasses anyway???

Analogous to 6 more weeks of winter back home, I am also stuck in my own "groundhog day" here in Afghanistan for 6 more weeks or so. And it has been gloomy, wet, and cold weather here lately.

However, I am planning on bringing some Arizona sunshine to my experience here and am looking forward to working on making the transition to a new rotation of trauma teams a positive one. I will be busy helping with orientation, teaching, and training up the new group. It should be challenging yet fun.

I was, once again, amazed at the recent teamwork in the trauma bay here in Kandahar at the Role 3 hospital. The week prior to our MASCAL Drill, we had 2 "real" multi casualty events that everyone pulled together for and performed flawlessly. So, when the drill came up, it was a piece of cake for us. "Just another day at work doing what we always do" is what the Chief of Trauma said at the beginning of the drill. "Tru dat" as Morgan would say! We had one of our "dead" moulaged victims want to come in and see the drill so we chanted "Dead Man Walking" as he came through. I guess my trauma team figured we are so good we can "raise the dead" as we brought him into our bay. Our last picture as a group (the trauma teams) ended in plates of shaving cream being smashed in a few faces. Not as tasty as whipped cream, though. Fun times!