Life And Death In The War Zone

Military Medicine on the Front Lines

Treating patients with life-threatening injuries is always a challenge. Now imagine handling a medical emergency at the height of the Iraq War, beset by heat, sand, and frequent enemy attacks. NOVA heads into battle with the medics, nurses, doctors, and military staff of the 10th and 21st CaSH units, following them from their intense prewar preparations to their deployments in Kuwait and the desert north of Baghdad.

Shortly after their doors open, the medical and ethical dramas begin. Prepared for everything from chemical and biological attack to mass U.S. casualties, the CaSH staff quickly find that their biggest challenge is taking up the slack from devastated Iraqi hospitals. When Iraqi military and civilian victims — some of them children with horrific injuries — begin taxing supplies and manpower, heart-wrenching ethical decisions must be made.

Experience Life and Death in theWar Zone, an intimate story of survival in a combat hospital.