Originally broadcast on the PBS-aired NOVA series, Life and Death in the War Zone follows two U.S. CaSH (Combat Surgical Hospital) units assigned to the invasion of Iraq. These mobile units, designed to provide trauma care for expected American casualties, are shown to be marvels of design and execution, staffed by dedicated and sympathetic professionals. The two units featured here, however, had very different wartime experiences: originally scheduled to enter northern Iraq through Turkey, one was refused passage, and wound up deployed to Kuwait, where it saw no action before being transported home; the other, which moved quickly into Iraq, was faced with relatively few American soldiers to treat and found itself more involved with injured enemy combatants and Iraqi civilian wounded. The most powerful elements of the program, in fact, involve the serious deficiencies in local medical care--not as a result of incapable personnel, but rather a lack of equipment and supplies--and the stringent restrictions placed on the CaSH unit's ability to treat civilians. The film ends poignantly with the death of a seriously injured young girl just as the staff is preparing to transport her to America for treatment. A postscript notes an upsurge in American casualties during the occupation. A solid, responsible piece of reportage (but viewers should be forewarned that some operating room scenes are quite graphic), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Life and Death in the War Zone
(2004) 60 min. VHS or DVD: $19.95. WGBH Boston Video. PPR. Color cover. Closed captioned. ISBN: 1-59375-044-7 (vhs), 1-59375-113-3 (dvd). Volume 19, Issue 5
Life and Death in the War Zone
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