Reservists Do It Again!

submitted by Powell Black

June, 2007

Powell Black

Have you ever wondered what Naval reservists in today's Navy are doing in the war in Iraq? If you haven't, you might be surprised to learn they are keeping very busy. Take the case of medical reservists. In "our war" we didn't think much about them -- until we needed them. In today's war, it's much the same.

Rear Admiral Betsy M. Morris, Senior Health Care Executive Associate Chief, Human Capital for Navy Medicine (whee! Some title!) comments, in part, as follows:

"Since the beginning of Operation Iraqi Freedom, more than 3,700 Navy Medical Reservists (note that last word) have been activated to be forwarded deployed or to meet the manpower needs of medical treatment facilities whose Active Duty personnel were deployed."

That is well more than half of the Navy Reserve Medical Force!

Last year, the Dallas, TX, medical facility deployed to Kuwait with 382 people, 366 of them Reservists. (95.82%)

Not all of us realize the extent to which our medical personnel are literally 'in the fight.' Any number of them have been wounded in combat action. It is a story of sacrifice, personal and financial. It is a story of courage and dedication.

Most of all it is a story of Americans who care; caring professionals caring for others; caring for America's military; caring for their Marines; and, yes, caring for those who can't care for themselves. It is not the story of all our medical Reservists but of some of those who have truly gone in harm's way.

Petty Office Second Class Lucas Kruse, recipient of the Purple Heart for action in Iraq, joined the Navy to be a hospital corpsman. It was what he wanted to do and his experiences with the Marines led him to pursue a childhood dream of becoming a chiropractor like his father. About his active duty tours, Lucas says: "Through all the travels and experiences, I was able to grow as a man, tolerate other beliefs and cultures, and appreciate the fact that the world is an ever-changing and complex melting pot." After he left active duty, he joined the Reserve. Today, he is well along in chiropractic school, making his dream a reality.

Regarding his Purple Heart, Lucas said a unit ahead of his unit had been ambushed and were pinned down. We were to go in and help them. My fire team was ordered to clear a house that was in our area of movement. Once at the door, I was standing last in line ready to enter. Then, a blast from behind us shook the ground. I remember getting up, seeing the dust settle. That's when a marine shouted that I was bleeding. I saw the blood running down my leg. The other corpsman checked me out and got me back to the truck. There were three small pieces of shrapnel in me. I was lucky. The funnything about it, though, is that my flak vest was untouched. go figure.

As a retiree, I guess we cannot imagine what our current reservists, let alone our other military personnel, are going through. We owe them a debt of gratitude. We owe them our prayers.

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