After completing vascular surgery fellowship a few months before 9.11.2001, my military career was spent during the entirety of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars. My time in uniformed service was different for my family and me than initially anticipated. Despite the tumultuous and often austere nature of the early years of the wars, I was fortunate to receive timely and strong mentorship directing me “bloom where I was planted .”At the same time, I had the privilege of meeting and working with some of the most talented, dedicated, and selfless professionals I have known.
The training I received during my vascular fellowship at the Mayo Clinic was particularly well-suited for casualty care in which hemorrhage had been identified as a leading cause of preventable death and vascular injury a primary cause of amputation. In addition to extraordinary operative experiences as part of deployed U.S. surgical teams, I learned from and developed lasting friendships with devoted military surgeons and medics worldwide. The imperative of the wars also afforded tremendous opportunities for innovative translational research. Reenlisting a few times seemed an obvious move as the casualty care mission continued, and I was subsequently offered interesting, if not non-traditional, leadership assignments. Our country’s all-volunteer force is lifeblood that should not be neglected. Although far from what I expected when commissioned as an Air Force lieutenant many years ago, I consider it an honor to have contributed to the mission that cares for and sustains that national treasure.