.Film takes a graphic look at Iraq combat ER
WASHINGTON — The Army is bracing for the release of a documentary film that promises a graphic, unflinching portrait of life in a U.S. military hospital in Iraq.
The film, "Baghdad ER," focuses on the emergency room of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone during a two-month period last year as doctors and nurses treated wounded troops fresh off the battlefield. The documentary also looks at the day-to-day lives of doctors, nurses, chaplains and soldiers who work at the hospital, one of the busiest in Iraq.
The film, by Emmy winners Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, airs May 21 on HBO.
A memo dated Tuesday from Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army's chief surgeon, warned medical staff at Army posts across the country to prepare for a possible influx of soldiers and families seeking comfort and counseling after watching the documentary.
"This film highlights the heroic efforts of our medical personnel and the vital role of the [Combat Support Hospital] on the modern battlefield, but it also shows the ravages and anguish of war," Kiley wrote. "Those who view this documentary may experience many emotions."
He said soldiers who had served in Iraq might have flashbacks and nightmares, both symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Families who have loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan may experience increased anxiety about their safety, and some viewers may have strong reactions to medical procedures in the film, which include amputations.
"It is an extremely graphic and moving look at how we care for severely wounded service members," Kiley wrote.
Two senior Army officers, who were given anonymity, said the secretary of the Army, Francis J. Harvey, had declined to attend the screening by HBO, scheduled for Monday night at the National Museum of American History in Washington.
High-ranking military officers, including Kiley and Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, who is the Army chief of staff, had been expected to attend the screening but now will not, people involved in preparations for the event said.
"Given the subject matter, it's not something you're going to cheer at the end," said one senior Army official.
Richard L. Plepler, an executive vice president at HBO, said the screening would take place Monday as planned, but he said he expected far fewer people to attend than the 300 or so that Army officials told him to expect after an initial screening at the Pentagon.
"We had discussed a larger degree of participation from senior members of the Army when we first visited the Pentagon in March," Plepler said. "I don't really know why that participation has been mitigated."
Paul Boyce, a public-affairs specialist at the Pentagon, said the screening on Monday was planned as a tribute to the medical personnel featured in the film and did not require the participation of senior Army officials.
The Army and the other military services have limited the release of photographs and video footage showing wounded and dead troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, however, those images are being shown more frequently as journalists and filmmakers are allowed greater access to medical evacuation crews and treatment facilities.
The relaxation of those strictures follows the patterns of earlier wars. Government censorship prevented any photographs of American dead in World War I. Images of dead U.S. troops were banned during the first two years of World War II.
The ban was lifted in 1943 when President Roosevelt decided the public was too far removed from the war and needed to understand its human costs. Life magazine soon published a photo of three dead American soldiers lying on Buna Beach, New Guinea, in 1942. It became one of the most moving and memorable photographs taken in World War II.
The overwhelming majority of images from Iraq have been of dead and wounded Iraqis.
Col. Joe Curtin, an Army spokesman, said Defense Department policy allowed images of American casualties as long as they couldn't be identified. All wounded service members shown in "Baghdad ER" either signed waivers or have their faces blocked out, he said. The only images of dead troops are those in body bags.
One aspect of the Iraq war that's highlighted in the film is that 90 percent of the wounded who make it to trauma centers such as the 86th Combat Support Hospital survive, the highest survival rate in any war in U.S. history.
"I think when the public sees this whole thing, it's a gripping account of what America's best generation of people is doing," he said.
Curtin said the Army wanted people who saw the film to understand the harsh realities of the war in Iraq and the dedication and sacrifice of all who served there.
"The Army isn't stepping away from this," he said. "The Army embraces this."
Seattle Times
I guess history repeats itself
The film, "Baghdad ER," focuses on the emergency room of the 86th Combat Support Hospital in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone during a two-month period last year as doctors and nurses treated wounded troops fresh off the battlefield. The documentary also looks at the day-to-day lives of doctors, nurses, chaplains and soldiers who work at the hospital, one of the busiest in Iraq.
The film, by Emmy winners Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, airs May 21 on HBO.
A memo dated Tuesday from Lt. Gen. Kevin Kiley, the Army's chief surgeon, warned medical staff at Army posts across the country to prepare for a possible influx of soldiers and families seeking comfort and counseling after watching the documentary.
"This film highlights the heroic efforts of our medical personnel and the vital role of the [Combat Support Hospital] on the modern battlefield, but it also shows the ravages and anguish of war," Kiley wrote. "Those who view this documentary may experience many emotions."
He said soldiers who had served in Iraq might have flashbacks and nightmares, both symptoms of post-traumatic stress. Families who have loved ones in Iraq or Afghanistan may experience increased anxiety about their safety, and some viewers may have strong reactions to medical procedures in the film, which include amputations.
"It is an extremely graphic and moving look at how we care for severely wounded service members," Kiley wrote.
Two senior Army officers, who were given anonymity, said the secretary of the Army, Francis J. Harvey, had declined to attend the screening by HBO, scheduled for Monday night at the National Museum of American History in Washington.
High-ranking military officers, including Kiley and Gen. Peter J. Schoomaker, who is the Army chief of staff, had been expected to attend the screening but now will not, people involved in preparations for the event said.
"Given the subject matter, it's not something you're going to cheer at the end," said one senior Army official.
Richard L. Plepler, an executive vice president at HBO, said the screening would take place Monday as planned, but he said he expected far fewer people to attend than the 300 or so that Army officials told him to expect after an initial screening at the Pentagon.
"We had discussed a larger degree of participation from senior members of the Army when we first visited the Pentagon in March," Plepler said. "I don't really know why that participation has been mitigated."
Paul Boyce, a public-affairs specialist at the Pentagon, said the screening on Monday was planned as a tribute to the medical personnel featured in the film and did not require the participation of senior Army officials.
The Army and the other military services have limited the release of photographs and video footage showing wounded and dead troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Recently, however, those images are being shown more frequently as journalists and filmmakers are allowed greater access to medical evacuation crews and treatment facilities.
The relaxation of those strictures follows the patterns of earlier wars. Government censorship prevented any photographs of American dead in World War I. Images of dead U.S. troops were banned during the first two years of World War II.
The ban was lifted in 1943 when President Roosevelt decided the public was too far removed from the war and needed to understand its human costs. Life magazine soon published a photo of three dead American soldiers lying on Buna Beach, New Guinea, in 1942. It became one of the most moving and memorable photographs taken in World War II.
The overwhelming majority of images from Iraq have been of dead and wounded Iraqis.
Col. Joe Curtin, an Army spokesman, said Defense Department policy allowed images of American casualties as long as they couldn't be identified. All wounded service members shown in "Baghdad ER" either signed waivers or have their faces blocked out, he said. The only images of dead troops are those in body bags.
One aspect of the Iraq war that's highlighted in the film is that 90 percent of the wounded who make it to trauma centers such as the 86th Combat Support Hospital survive, the highest survival rate in any war in U.S. history.
"I think when the public sees this whole thing, it's a gripping account of what America's best generation of people is doing," he said.
Curtin said the Army wanted people who saw the film to understand the harsh realities of the war in Iraq and the dedication and sacrifice of all who served there.
"The Army isn't stepping away from this," he said. "The Army embraces this."
Seattle Times
I guess history repeats itself
posted by madtom at 11:04 AM
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