On Call in Hell: A Doctor's Iraq War Story

I was one of the first to see Dr. Jadick speak on his book; indeed, I am the one on Book TV who asks him the question about previous books by battalion surgeons such as "Doctor at Dien Bien Phu" and "Doctor at Stalingrad." I think there is something in this book for everybody. Jadick not only tells us about his high school life, but how he got into medical school. For instance, he did not make it into MD school, so he applied to DO (Osteopathy) and got accepted. I hope my niece tries that route. I have had a number of DOs and they are quite good. Indeed, they are over represented in the military if I remember right. Jadick also served as a Marine officer. He was turned down due to an eye problem, which you can notice when he lectures, for West Point. He pushed on, though, and became a Marine officer after college. I can get behind that, as I also had to obtain a waiver for military service. Jadick also describes how he obtained a Navy scholarship while at med school. Again, something for all to take note. For any doctor interested in battlefield surgery you should read this book. He talks about the "golden hour" after being wounded and points out it really is immediate attention that will save lives. The whole point to Jadick in Fallujah is that his concept of a Forward Aid Station treating soldiers immediately wounded is what saved an estimated 30 Marines. Jadick has concerns that his oath as a doctor was possibly violated in Fallujah. At one point he told the Marines to go and kill an insurgent sniper who was taking pot shots at him and the wounded. He actually saw the insurgent killed. Was this wrong? He did, however, treat the enemy as required and he also felt necessary. He noted there were two types of insurgents: the hard core, who would attack and bite them, and the average joes who seemed happy that the war was over for them. Jadick felt that the attention he gave the second group was good propaganda for America. He felt it gave the insurgents the view that America was not trying to kill them all and could be fair. I had asked Jadick about his thoughts on other such books, naming Grauwin's Dien Bien Phu book, whereby even x-ray machines were parachuted in to the battle. Jadick felt that the one lesson to take away was that the most important aspect to saving lives is the right person at the right time makes the most difference. For any doctor wanting to treat combat wounded, Jadick goes into detail about just how to handle these wounds. Now I do have to fault this book. On page 142 he mistakenly references the "U.S. Army's Seventh Cavalry Division." I was a member of the 7th Cav in Vietnam and it is the REGIMENT, not Division. This regiment was at Ia Drang and the subject of "We were soldiers once," and should be correctly cited. All in all I would recommend this for inclusion in the budding Battle of Fallujah library of books currently being published.

There were two battles being fought in Fallujah. One a battle that was taking lives and the other a battle to save lives. Dr. Jadick was there and he was in command of saving Marine lives. This book tells that story. I've talked to many Marines who were there, some that Jadick had saved, and to a man, each had the utmost respect for his dedication. Jadick spent time administering to Marines while under fire. His and his staff being on the battlefield in Fallujah was key to his saving so many young mens lives.

Richard Jadick just blew me away with this book. This is much more than a book about saving lives in desperate situtations. It also about creativity, teamwork, leadership, altruism and love for your fellow man. Who should read this book? Anyone interested in military history, in the relationship between the Navy and the Marine Corps, in traumatic care in peace and war, in the realities of intense combat, in combat injuries and their treatment. It is also a must read for anyone considering joining the military or becoming a medical professional. The very best chapters start with chapter 8 and continue on to the end of the book. If you thought Hemingway could write about warfare, you should read what Commander Jadick and his co-author have put together. A modern day classic.

MAG49 was totally right about the Publisher Weekly's comment, TOTALLY ridiculous. So much of the meaning in this book was held in not only the fact that CDR Jadick stopped to tell you about each Marine and Corpsman- but that he remembered each person. That he stopped to tell you that a real person was out there fighting, or fighting to keep the Marines alive in the Corpsmen's case.. when it would have been so much prettier to do a glory book about the brave doctor. He obviously wasn't really worried about that. You can clearly tell he cares and cared about every man and woman. -I also got a feeling that most likely it wasn't his idea to write this book. Somehow.. reading it, I have a sneaking suspicion from his deep respect for the Chiefs and Command Master Chief that he was convinced after long discussions that if he did this- someone could hear his opinions. Now, I do not know him at all.. I'm just someone who is incredibly impressed.. no.. STUNNED.. reading this book. Now, if you read this book and you do not work in Navy Medicine.. this guy is for real. That he cared this much, to go out and risk his life because he knew his idea of the Forward Aid Stations, and previous Trauma experience could make a significant difference in saving lives, is so commendable. His ideas on how to improve the Navy Medical Corps are unbelievably good. I PRAY someone at BUMED and up on high reads this book. (I have one addition to his idea. He says to try to get doctors from among our enlisted ranks who show leadership and want to go to Med School, I say not to just look in the Navy.. look in the Marines too..) We have some awesomely good doctors, and some good doctors who are good leaders. Like he says, it is *not* normal that they are taught to be both. To be fair, they are not given the time or training usually. Enlisted are given much more leadership training and experience than a doctor. We keep them busy constantly seeing patients and doing paperwork. If you then pull them from that environment and expect them to magically turn into a officer who can deal with Marines.. it is a little much. CDR Jadick's previous experience as a Marine coupled with his trauma experience made him an ideal person to see some unique possibilities to improve treatment and training. GREAT BOOK. Could not put it down. Should be a text book for all Hospital Corpsmen deploying with the Marines (with small text warning "*do not expect your doctor to behave like this, or *please place your senior IDC in the place of the doctor in this book.) Should be required reading for Navy Doctors deploying with the Marines. Would give an excellent feel for the actual set up of the Marines, tips on interacting with the personnel, and generally some excellent mental preparation for training to do trauma treatment.

This is a truly outstanding book which conveys the reality of combat medicine and the dedication of the physicians and corpsmen who accompany the US Marine Corps on the front lines. This should be required reading for every American. The Publishers Weekly review unfortunately missed the entire point of this book with their comment regarding the emphasis placed on each Marine who lost his life in the battle of Fallujah. This book wasn't written to make money, create fame or make best-sellers lists; it was specifically written to bring attention to and laud each of those Marines and US Navy corpsmen who serve a cause greater than themselves and who gave their lives for their country, their Corps, their fellow Marines and for our Freedom. Semper Fi.