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    Rifleman/Doctor: A Marine Corps Physician’S Memoir
    Rifleman/Doctor: A Marine Corps Physician’S Memoir
    Rifleman/Doctor: A Marine Corps Physician’S Memoir
    Ebook95 pages44 minutes

    Rifleman/Doctor: A Marine Corps Physician’S Memoir

    By Warren S. Gilbert MD

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    About this ebook

    Warren S. Gilbert grew up on the streets of Chicago, and no one expected him to accomplish much. Even so, his athleticism paved the way for him to attend Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and his intellect led him to Rush Medical College. While most people would have been happy with graduating and becoming a successful physician, he grew bored and moved to Nevada for a fresh start.

    But as time passed, he sought more meaning out of life and he found it when various branches of the armed services began calling. With his country seeking help from qualified doctors and terrorism on the rise, he joined the US Naval Reserve.

    But everything changed when terrorists attacked the United States on September 11, 2001. What was supposed to have been a detour turned into a career that would lead to some of his most memorable and meaningful moments.

    Join Gilbert as he looks back at serving his country, fighting terrorists, and excelling as a member of the US Naval Reserve and then as a physician serving with the Marine Corps. It was all part of pulling double duty as a rifleman and doctor.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisheriUniverse
    Release dateApr 14, 2014
    ISBN9781491730669
    Rifleman/Doctor: A Marine Corps Physician’S Memoir
    Author

    Warren S. Gilbert MD

    Warren S. Gilbert, MD, is trained in family medicine, emergency trauma medicine, and general surgery. He is the medical director of ARC Health and Wellness in Reno, Nevada, and serves on the Nevada Homeland Security Commission. He and his wife, Debby, have four children and seven grandchildren.

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      Book preview

      Rifleman/Doctor - Warren S. Gilbert MD

      Copyright © 2014 Warren S. Gilbert, MD.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

      iUniverse books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

      iUniverse

      1663 Liberty Drive

      Bloomington, IN 47403

      www.iuniverse.com

      1-800-Authors (1-800-288-4677)

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      ISBN: 978-1-4917-3067-6 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4917-3066-9 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014905960

      iUniverse rev. date: 04/11/2014

      CONTENTS

      Preface

      Dedication

      From Roughness to Regimentation

      Answering the Call

      Off to War

      And So It Begins

      Deployment as a Combat Emergency Trauma Specialist

      Off to War… Again

      Casualty Care in the Combat Theatre

      Increasing Command Responsibility

      Off to War… Yet Again

      Homeward Bound… Once Again

      So Why Do We Do It?

      Thank You

      PREFACE

      Every branch of the armed forces has its’ own dedicated, inclusive medical personnel. Every branch, that is, except the Marine Corps. The Navy and the Marine Corps are both branches of the Department of the Navy. All of the medical services in the Marine Corps are provided by Navy personnel on a voluntary basis. You see, the Marine Corps is strictly a fighting ‘Force of Readiness’; ‘First to Fight’, as the saying goes. Ready to go anywhere in the world, anytime, almost on a moment’s notice, due to its’ prepositioned MAGTFs (Marine Air Ground Task Forces) that are strategically situated throughout the world ready to deploy in support of any combat mission.

      Anyone who serves with the Marine Corps, including medical personnel, have to be trained, prepared, and ready to be a part of the fighting force that is placed in harm’s way as the need arises. Hence, there are scant medical resources in the Marine Corps, limited to those who are willing to do just that, in contrast to most medical personnel who serve in the other military branches where that eventuality is much less likely.

      This book chronicles what it is like to be a physician serving with the Marine Corps, in all of its’ aspects, not the least of which being involved in combat operations where your life is on the line under some of the most austere conditions imaginable. I spent most of my military career doing just that, as an emergency trauma specialist serving with the 4th Marine Division. This is my story.

      DEDICATION

      This book is dedicated to the men and women of the armed forces of the United States of America who I have had the honor and privilege of serving with during my years of military service; and to all who have paid the ultimate price in giving their lives in defense of our Country.

      FROM ROUGHNESS TO REGIMENTATION

      There are many reasons why an individual would choose to go into the medical field. This could range from the lure of monetary gain to the more altruistic ideal of wanting to help people, or make the world a better place, or find a cure for disease, and anything in between. For me it was not all that complicated. From an early age I was a rather mischievous, active child who had his share of injuries for which I would be seen by our pediatrician. I discovered a certain fascination for what he, and other doctors, did and how they could resolve my medical problems with medication, suturing of my assorted wounds, and removing my tonsils so I no longer had repeated ear infections and sore throats.

      As I progressed in school I found that the two subjects that I excelled in, and the only ones that I really had any interest in, were math and science. I, therefore, knew that if I was to go to college in the hope of elevating myself out of the rough neighborhoods of the Southside of Chicago, and go on to some sort of meaningful, successful, career it would either be as a teacher or a doctor. Teaching was out of the question because it might mean that I would end up with the kind of students that I went to school with, myself included, who were constantly getting in trouble, disrupting class, and seemingly impossible to reach and impart with knowledge. That left either research (too boring, laborious, repetitive and frequently unsuccessful) or medicine.

      My family was not affluent. My father worked long hours, sometimes at more than one job, and made enough for our lives to be reasonably comfortable but without much extra money to go around. I had a paper route from the time that I was ten years old until I got a job at the local hardware store at age thirteen. I worked there for several years after school, when I wasn’t at football practice, and on weekends. I learned some very practical skills that would help me land a job in construction work once I turned sixteen and could afford my own beat-up used car and insurance.

      My high school was in a ghetto and was a melting pot of minorities, mostly black and Hispanic, which weren’t really minorities since they outnumbered the white kids. In order to survive you had to be either tough, play sports, or know members of the various gangs in order to avoid getting mugged on the long walk home after school. I chose all three. Having developed an affinity for weight lifting around age thirteen, by the time I entered high school I was close to six feet tall and quite muscular. I took up boxing and football in high school and, as such, guys didn’t mess with me. When I would walk home after football practice it was generally dark and I would usually get approached by one gang or another at some point during that journey. If I knew some of the gang members they would just let me pass. If I didn’t than I would end up fighting my way out of the situation and sprinting off to home. It was not uncommon for me to be involved in one fight or another several times per week, both in and outside of the school.

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