Driver's Training

Today started out pretty rough. I was up all night at the bedside of an 8 yo local national boy who's pick-up soccer game had been interrupted by a rocket attack. He came in from Asadabad after an operation which removed part of his colon and part of his small intestine in addition to correcting his pelvic fracture; when he arrived, he had an open abdomen and, while stable, was quite sick. He ended up going to the OR overnight, but even afterward required constant resuscitation. Ultimately, he ended up getting about 15 doses of blood products, but he was clinically better in the morning than when he arrived last night.

When I left the hospital, I was exhausted, and ended up sleeping until I had to report for training on the MRAP. As some of you may know, MRAP stands for "Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected" - it's the type of vehicle used here in Afghanistan for convoy missions (including patient evacuations). There are several different types of MRAPs, but the one I rode in could be configured to seat up to 8 passengers, or 1 litter patient plus 4 walking patients. It has a turret at the top for a gunner as well. It's a pretty complicated vehicle, much more complex than the humvees of the past. For example, it has a hydraulic back door which will take your fingers clean off if you're not careful! It has an intercom system, a fire retardant system, and a music system - just kidding, no music, although we were able to connect our iPod to the intercom to play music through our headsets. :) These little buggers cost around $500,000 each, but the advantage is that (according to my NCOIC) no one has ever died in an MRAP. It's a small price to pay for the security of the troops.


We got to the other side of the base, and the NCOIC asked if we wanted to drive. Eek! At first, I thought he was kidding, but ..... no, he was serious. So I got behind the wheel of thd 36,000-pound beast, and drove up and down hills and through a dust storm. The vehicle doesn't accelerate very well, but it does stop (almost) on a dime. I was surprised how easy it was to drive, considering its hefty size and shape. It was really pretty fun!