Susan Stankorb, R.D., L.D., is a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army stationed at Ibn Sina Hospital, Chief Nutrition Care Division, in Iraq. She graduated from the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition in 2003.
I applied to the army internship and was accepted for the 2004-2005 term. After acceptance, I received orders to report to Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, where I attended Officer Basic Course (OBC). This is where they teach you basic military bearing, a little military history, and about how to function in the army. OBC is a two-month course that includes physical training, classroom time, and field experience (living in tents in the middle of nowhere). We went to the field, which is a place called Camp Bullis, on the outskirts of San Antonio. Here we learned basic soldier skills like how to shoot an M-16 riffle, land navigation, loading of ambulances, and how to call in MEDEVAC request. We spent a week in the field to learn and practice these tasks. After graduating OBC, I began the internship at Brook Army Medical Center in September 2004.
The internship at Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC), a 450-bed, Level I trauma hospital, is an extensive training program with great opportunities. We had rotations in critical care, diabetes, spinal cord injury, pediatrics, renal, community nutrition, and outpatient nutrition and spent time on the Institute of Surgical Research burn ward. Each week, we would have didactic time and time spent in rotation. The internship was very challenging and incorporates the full spectrum of dietetics.
During our food service rotations, we planned and executed a special meal that fed more than 1,000 people in the dining facility of the hospital.
While in the internship, I also had the privilege of escorting a Medal of Honor Recipient, Col. Howard, to our holiday ball. It was during the same mission that I had the opportunity to meet Denzel Washington.
After graduating the internship, I reported to my first duty station, Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. FLW is a basic training post, where many young enlisted soldiers enter the army. At FLW, I worked at an army community hospital and served the Chief of Clinical Dietetics, providing inpatient and outpatient nutrition care to a population of 36,000 beneficiaries. I ran an outpatient clinic that teaches diabetes, cholesterol, and weight management classes. I also provided inpatient nutrition for a 75-bed hospital with six ICU beds. In addition to working at the hospital, I taught essential nutrition to basic trainees in order to reduce attrition of new recruits. We focused on prevention of anemia for female soldiers and weight management.
As the Chief of Clinical Dietetics, I also served as a community dietitian teaching at post-elementary schools and the youth center, as well as inspecting troop dining facilities and federally funded childcare centers. I attended FNCE and made a presentation on patient room service and cost savings for the military dietetic symposium.
At Fort Leonard Wood, I had the opportunity to serve as an assistant investigator on a study involving athletic training diets for basic trainees. I then volunteered for a deployment to Iraq with the 28th Combat Support Hospital. Prior to deploying, I submitted a research protocol to examine enteral feeding practices for U.S. soldiers entering the CSH. The protocol was approved by an Army IRB. During the deployment process, I reported to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to train with the unit. We spent 30 days preparing to come to Iraq, making sure our weapons qualifications and basic soldier’s skills were adequate.
From Fort Bragg, we went to Kuwait. The temperatures were up to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. After acclimatizing to the weather, the unit moved on to Baghdad in mid-September. During the winter months the weather is much cooler and ranges between 30-60 degrees Fahrenheit.
We arrived in Iraq after 24 hours of travel. I took my place as Chief of Nutrition Care for the hospital. We are located in a fixed facility building that, prior to the war, served as Saddam Hussein’s personal hospital for himself, his family, and members of the Bathe party. The hospital is named Ibn Sina, it is a large facility hospital with ICU and OR capabilities. Our main function is to preserve life, limb, and eyesight. We treat U.S. military, coalition forces, and host nation Iraqis injured due to combat. I also am responsible for running two dining facilities that produce 2,000+ meals daily and supervising patient feeding. I serve as an adviser to food service personnel in theater and advise many commanders on nutrition-related matters including dietary supplement use. I also monitor any adverse events associated with dietary supplements.
I have had some wonderful experiences here in Iraq. I have had the opportunity to teach nutrition support to a team of Iraqi physicians. I have worked with several Iraqis to teach diabetes education and provided nutrition support until they get better. Each time I do this I can see that we are influencing the way Iraqi people think about Americans. I am especially aware of this with one very special patient, a young girl whose family was caught in the middle of a fire fight with insurgents. She suffered a gun-shot wound and was here for about a month for several reconstructive surgeries. When she left the hospital, she requested to see me before she left just to give me a hug. I will always remember that.
I am happy to be here supporting my fellow soldiers and have had a wonderful learning experience. Though it is hard being away from the comforts of home, there is no place I would rather be.
This article originally appeared in the 2007 Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition newsletter.
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