From August 2006 through November 2007 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Major Christian Meko, M.D., served as the brigade surgeon for 3rd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, based in Iraq's Salah ad Din Province. In this interview, Meko - a family medicine doctor - discusses the big dividends in country that predeployment trauma training paid; the types of medical equipment brought and used, as well as the medical facilities and capabilities available, both US and Iraqi, during the brigade's 15-month deployment; the medical training provided to Iraqi Security Forces and their receptivity to it; their efforts to get an Iraqi nursing school established; and also his primary tasks of providing medical support throughout the brigade's area of operations, coordinating care of US soldiers and helping rebuild the provincial healthcare infrastructure. Meko also talks about conducting cooperative medical engagements; the ongoing training done by his medical personnel; that 3rd Brigade suffered 60 killed and over 300 wounded during this gruelingly long tour; how he helped his staff guard against what he calls "provider fatigue"; the excellent support he received from the brigade leadership; and the pride he takes in the fact that his medical personnel did not lose anyone whom they could have saved. Meko closes his interview by praising the work of his brigade's family readiness group; talking about the challenges of having his wife (who is also a physician) home with their son while also doing her residency; and attesting to the great care wounded 3rd Brigade soldiers received at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

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