Can we please just land our field hospitals?

[reprise]

I didn't want this war - I don't think anyone really wanted it - but I think that in my time on this messageboard I have managed to have very civil and quite respectful discussions about the "necessity" of military intervention in Iraq : discussions in which neither myself nor those arguing a different political viewpoint felt like they were being treated as "wrong", "treasonous", "stupid", "hawkish", "doveish", "right-wing", "left-wing".

We need field hospitals in Iraq right now people - the military forces of the UK, the US, and Australia are more than capable of flying those facilities in - why aren't we?

Australia sent ONE nurse with the two shipments of medical supplies which arrived in Iraq yesterday.

Can those who truly believe that "the game is over" please let the rest of us in to start taking care of the people who live in this ravaged land?

[reprise]

I should probably add that this issue has been annoying me so much that I finally rang our DoD and enquired about our capability. We can apparently deploy 5 FULLY EQUIPPED field hospitals within 72 hours. Apparently, also, our commitment to the "coalition of the willing" did not include the commitment of medical personnel. Pardon me while I vomit.

[armageddonman]

Originally posted by reprise
why aren't we?

Beats me. Incompetent planning? Ignorance? Those who are responsible simply don't care?

[reprise]

Originally posted by armageddonman


Beats me. Incompetent planning? Ignorance? Those who are responsible simply don't care?

Perhaps misjudging the electorate? Since the capabilities of the coalition to land field hospitals were published in the Western media today in contrast to flying a 12 year old boy for - much deserved - lifesaving surgery, all hell has broken loose in Australia (BTW, our government has no current plans to except ANY refugees from Iraq).

On the one hand I despise the way in which the Western media has used this PARTICULAR 12 year old child, but if it makes the rest of us actually give a crap about what our governments do in our name, then perhaps it's not a bad thing. It's just a shame that we didn't give a crap when so many Afghani children were losing arms, legs, and whole families as a result of the landmines left in that country by the world's superpowers.

[Jon_in_london]

I think one problem is the fact that most of the staff for these field hospitals are staffed mostly be reservists/TA persons and mobilising them can be difficult.

5p.

[reprise]

Originally posted by Jon_in_london
I think one problem is the fact that most of the staff for these field hospitals are staffed mostly be reservists/TA persons and mobilising them can be difficult.

5p.

With all due respect, I have no idea whatsoever of the level to which UK and US medical corps are trained. I am perhaps - quite wrongly - assuming that they are trained to a lesser level of medical standards than our own. And as someone who has personal knowledge of the competence of our armed forces medical personnel, I'd like an explanation from both the US government and my own why our expert medical personnel are not being deployed.

The particular troops which we have officially sent to Iraq are our "elite" forces - they know how to treat life-threatening wounds. If anyone has personal knowledge of Australian forces violating any of the Geneva Conventions or Protocols, email me NOW.

But don't ANYONE sit there and tell me that the "coalition of the willing" doesn't have the physical resources or the medical expertise to establish field hospitals in Iraq RIGHT NOW. Australia HAS the man-power and we can actually spare the physical resources - the word "disgust" doesn't even begin to describe my feeling toward my (isn't it very convenient that our government always makes decisions when our parliament is not in session) "democratic" government right now.

We get to vote at federal level next year. Just as the Kiwis have had the balls to stand up to various US administrations in spite of the threat that the US would not honour it's ANZUS obligations should NZ get the crap bombed out of it by some "rogue state", those of us who actually get to elect the next federal government in Australia are actually feeling more affinity to the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, than ever before. Who'd have "thunk" it?

We will - perhaps - very soon be dumping lattees in OUR harbour.

[Jon_in_london]

Originally posted by reprise


those of us who actually get to elect the next federal government in Australia are actually feeling more affinity to the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand, and Canada, than ever before. Who'd have "thunk" it?

We will - perhaps - very soon be dumping lattees in OUR harbour.

:confused:

[Jon_in_london]

Reprise, I cant explain anything on behalf of the Aussie/US governments but so far the UK is concerned:

Our armed forces are stretched to the limit. Reservist and TA medics have been called up in unprecedented numbers just to support the troops we have in the gulf at the moment, this is partly because the Royal Medical Corps is appallingly underrecruited (**** pay etc..) and partly because the medics we do have are supporting our troops in the Falklands, Bosnia, Kosovo, Cyprus, Sierra Leone, Gibraltar, Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and about half a dozen other ****-spots right now that would degenrate into slaughterhouses were our overworked, underpaid, underappreciated troops pulled out..... but the medical staff in Iraq are in fact looking after Iraqis right now- have been for a while actually.

[/rant]

and whose 'lattees' are you going to dump in a harbour and why?

[egslim]

I see here a perfect role for those countries who opposed the war for various reasons. Apparently concern about civilian casualties wasn't one of those reasons, though it was touted as such. Otherwise we would be seeing a huge influx of French, German and Belgian medical transports into Iraq.

[Wolverine]

Originally posted by reprise
We need field hospitals in Iraq right now people - the military forces of the UK, the US, and Australia are more than capable of flying those facilities in - why aren't we?

May I ask... what makes you think we haven't set up any field hospitals in Iraq already?

UK forces have established a fully-operational field hospital outside of al Nasiriyah within the last few days, and other coalition forces (and non-military contributors) are engaged in similar efforts as we speak.

While the major military conflict seems to be at an end, there are many areas which still must be secured. We must also perform needs assessments to ascertain where humanitarian and medical assistance is needed most. There is indeed much yet to be done, however it cannot all be accomplished overnight. Right now, it's a work in progress.

[arcticpenguin]

Field hospitals in Iraq? Go to Google News and search for "devil docs".

[Mel]

Originally posted by reprise
Iraq yesterday.

Can those who truly believe that "the game is over" please let the rest of us in to start taking care of the people who live in this ravaged land?

"The game is over" was a quote by the Iraqi ambassador in NYC. The military is still trying to secure basic law & order in most of the cities.

As I said in the other thread where you posed this question about humanitarian aid for Iraq.

A dead humanitarian is no good to anyone and so it will take some time to get enough workers into the country.

I think another concern of the coalition is that they might like to see some aid coming from Iraq's neighbors and not limit the rebuilding process to only "infidels.'

[jj]

Originally posted by reprise
I didn't want this war - I don't think anyone really wanted it - but I think that in my time on this messageboard I have managed to have very civil and quite respectful discussions about the "necessity" of military intervention in Iraq : discussions in which neither myself nor those arguing a different political viewpoint felt like they were being treated as "wrong", "treasonous", "stupid", "hawkish", "doveish", "right-wing", "left-wing".


Really? Who were you talking to?

We have field hospitals, too. I wonder where they are.