Baghdad ER

hmmm, over at Toni's blog, I learn about an hbo documentary, Baghdad ER.

From the hbo documentary website:

The documentary offers a taste of daily life in the thick of war, including exclusive frontline rescue footage of the 54th Medical Company Air Ambulance Team, and dangerous missions of soldiers patrolling "IED Alley," also known as "Route Irish," the most dangerous road in the world. IEDs (improvised explosive devices) are homemade bombs, which are the leading cause of injuries and death in Iraq. Sometimes graphic in its depiction of combat-related wounds, BAGHDAD ER is an emotional, devastating and honest account of modern-day war.

Uh oh, "honest account of modern-day war" - let me guess, it's not moonbeams, fairy tales and daisy picking?

When I attended the Milblog conference last month, I stood outside Walter Reed with a ton of other people on the Friday night in torrential rain. No raincoat, umbrella or hat, just a quickly sodden NY Daily News for cover. A baseball cap was plunked on my head by a manly, very young guy and we got chatting. He was a recovering soldier from the hospital who came out to see who was supporting the troops and also to walk down the road and have a laugh at the Code Pink plonkers.

"What's wrong with you, you seem perfectly healthy to me!" Just occasionally I make really really stupid comments. He explained his substantial injuries and said "if you watch me I don't walk well at all." I didn't get his name but he was lovely and dear and walked just fine.