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Kerry Barrett ReportingVolunteers hold an essential role at the field hospital in Balad. It's the busiest American level one trauma center, and operates 24 hours a day in a challenging environment.
We got the chance to speak with just one of the many volunteers from the 388th fighter wing out of Hill who says seeing the reality of war up close has given him a new understanding of what life at war is really about.
Capt. Scott Johnson/ 388th Fighter Pilot: "One day when I was volunteering there was a girl, 16 years old from Mosul. [Her] name's Ezra. She had been hit by a Humvee. Her family, and her mom were killed, some of her friends were killed. But we landed a helicopter there and picked her up and we're healing her."
Whether it's Iraqi civilians, insurgents or American soldiers, it's those types of scenarios Capt. Johnson says have given him a broader horizon.
He believes very strongly in the U.S. mission and he's incredibly motivated to do his job. In fact, he says after the things he's seen, even more so.
Capt. Scott Johnson/ 388th Fighter Pilot: "I want to do the job well, and that's what I pray for. But when I get the opportunity to drop that bomb and kill those insurgents and want to do it well and want to do it quickly. But it just brings... there's so many more colors that come into the picture when you go to the hospital and see the people lying there from the different attacks."
Which is why he volunteers. Today he's helping out in the pharmacy, but there's almost nothing they don't do.
Dr. Jeffrey Bailey, Lt. Col. Air Force Physician, Trauma Surgeon Director: "Provide the type of support that if they weren't here, one of us might have to be doing that, and maybe our time might be better served doing something that requires us to be in the operating room."
That includes cleaning urine bottles, sweeping up or what Capt. Johnson says is the best part of all-- simply sitting and talking with patients, sharing good will.
Capt. Scott Johnson/ 388th Fighter Pilot: "We get so many care packages from home, which is awesome. But you have a lot of left over candy and stuff, and you give them to the Iraqis. They don't speak your language, but they understand that you care enough to share some of the stuff from home."
A Humvee graveyard, as it's called, is a reminder of a grim reality. Just about every one of them was destroyed in some type of insurgent attack, and almost every one of those attacks delivered at least one person to the hospital.
Reading about those attacks is a far cry from living them, an important distinction, says the Commander of the 388th Fighter Wing, Lt. Col. Peter Gersten.
Lt. Col. Peter Gersten, 388th Fighter Pilot & Commander of the 4th Fighter Squadron: "Welcome to reality. This isn't a TV show. This is life, and I encourage you to experience life. I encourage you to go over to the field hospital and see life. See what reality is about."
Again, it's very important to stress Capt. Johnson believes in their mission. All the men and women we spoke with said the same thing. They remain motivated to do their job, do it quickly, do it well, and then return home to their families.
