One Month Down

I have reached the one-month mark of my deployment! Four more to go. Deployed personnel manage the duration of their tours in many ways. . Some scratch off one day at a time. Some count week by week. Others will only start counting after they reach "Over the Hump Day," i.e. the half way point of deployment. Some elaborate "countdown timers" are in use over here. Some timers are simple spreadsheets that count backwards and give you percentages of time remaining and time elapsed. Others are more sophisticated and can feature an image (PG-13 of course) that is gradually revealed in proportion to the elapsed time on deployment.

The one month mark is a special milestone. First, you are eligible for the deployment/campaign ribbon once you have reached the one-month mark in country. In my case that makes the Afghanistan Campaign Ribbon/Medal. While relatively exotic over the first few years of the conflict, this ribbon is becoming more common place in US military service members. In contrast the Iraq campaign ribbon is almost ubiquitous among Army service members who served within the past six years. Since this is a NATO conflict, troops who serve in Afghanistan also earn the NATO ribbon/medal after 30 days in country. The military also starts paying 'Family Separation Allowance' of $250.00 to service members who have been deployed for more than 30 days. I have no idea how that amount was determined. I should deposit the $250 each month for future therapy sessions for my kids for not having their father around for five months or to compensate my wife for having to be a single parent to three kids.

I remain amazed at what people will do for a piece of colored fabric i.e. a ribbon. This human propensity is apparently taken advantage of starting at the Cub Scout/Brownie level in the United States. In discussions with service members in my capacity as a psychiatrist I frequently explored fantasies of earning a Purple Heart because of the prestige of it and how rare the ribbon is. Unfortunately there exists a disparity in how readily awards/medals are awarded between the varying services. The Army is the most liberal is issuing medals and the Marine Corps in notoriously stingy. In my tour in Iraq last year it was commonplace for all unit commanders and senior leadership to earn a Bronze Star apparently for simply doing their job for 12-15 months. I suppose the ease of which medals are issued is an attempt to shore up morale that is flagging due to the prolonged nature of the war and the demoralizing effect of guerilla tactics.

One 'benefit' of the two wars we have been fighting since 2001 is that our military has more actual combat seasoned troops than it has had since WWII. If even a fraction of these service members remain in the service for their entire careers and assume leadership positions then I believe that future military decision will be made with a significantly higher degree of practical expertise than say decisions during the 80s, 90s, and first few years of the 21^st century. In the line community the likelihood of completing a career without a combat zone deployment is becoming a rarity. In the physician community certain specialties are being deployed more than others. Mental health providers may well be the most deployed while deployment remains a very rare occurrence for uniformed pediatricians and obstetricians. In fact deployment including sea tours remains so rare for the latter two specialties that the question has been raised why we need uniformed pediatricians and obstetricians/gynecologists at all. Civilian providers could easily provide those services on the mainland and even large overseas bases.