I've been here about 2 weeks now. Things are much better than I expected. I'm the only Air Force doctor here and have three techs working with me. The clinic is appropriately named the "Doc in a Box" clinic as we are in a rectangular trailer (yes, that is me carrying a gun in a shoulder harness.)
And here I am literally in a box (for some reason, our supplies come in much larger boxes than needed!).
Without giving too much detail, here are the best and worst things I've discovered about being deployed.
Best
1. Free water and food anytime, anywhere. They say the average person loses about 20 lbs during deployment, but I don't really know how. The dining facilities are open 24/7 and offer a wide variety of foods (even for the very picky!) And you definitely don't have to worry about having drinking water available. You can pick it up in bulk from water stations scattered around the base; every building has one or more fridges dedicated to suppling water!
2. The location. Okay, you'll see my comment about the heat below, but if I could have this location w/o the heat, I'd take it. I am close to the suspected birthplace of Abraham and buildings that were created in the 21st century BC. That's 4000 years ago! And I thought buildings in Europe were old!
3. The people. Somehow, you'd think the stress of deployment would make people here less friendly; however, everyone I've met here has been extremely friendly. Even the patients understand if we're running behind or have other duties. My team, crazy as we are, has been extremely dedicated to looking for ways to improve conditions in the clinic and on base. Go 'Doc in a Box' clinic!
4. The impact. Here we have more ability to make a difference and make changes without having to sift though different levels of bureacracy. We didn't have a plan for the flu, so we (the 4 of us) created it. We noted inadequate public health inspections, so we investigated. Instead of noting problems and having our hands tied in red tape, here we are able to make policy and improve conditions.
Worst
1. The barricades (T walls). Everywhere I go, I'm surrounded by T walls. There's no easy direction giving as the actual buildings are all hidden behind identical concrete walls. If I am lucky enough, one of the T-walls may have something painted on it, to indicate what's behind it, but not always. It confuses the enemy, but it confuses me too!
2. The heat. I suppose if you're big into tanning you may enjoy the fact that there are no clouds in the sky and everyday the temperature gets up to at least 115 degrees. I'm not. One day with just a little rain, shade or cooler temperatures would be nice. They have a heat index here, but it's not very helpful. Anything past 110 degrees is just plain hot!
3. The isolation. I am the only Air Force doctor for the AF members at the base. We have support from the Army hospital, but I'm the first line. I can't run into another doctor's office and bounce ideas off them. At a concert tonight, I realized that 'if someone gets hurt, I'm the only doctor here and everyone knows it!' While the independence is nice, it brings with it a lot of responsibility. I can always be called and never truly have a day off.
4. The driving conditions. Don't get me wrong, I love jeeping in the mountain passes of Colorado. However, I'm not thrilled with EVERY car ride feeling like a Jeep ride. We do have two trucks to drive around base (only one with A/C), but the roads leave something to be desired. Some are paved and some aren't but all are filled with potholes. We're told that no one should ride in the back of trucks; no kidding!
