Nurses voluntarily sent to Afghanistan. Military doctors in Afghanistan

Elmira Aksarieva returned from Kabul in December 1988.

February 15 is the official date for the withdrawal of the Soviet contingent from Afghanistan. Several hundred Kazakhstanis disappeared or died from 1979 to 1989 in this country. They, simple boys who remained forever in the mountains of Afghanistan, are called “heroes of someone else’s war.”

This is rarely remembered, but in addition to male soldiers, there were also women there. Little Russians (then all people from Soviet Union called Russians - Approx. author) girls with frightened eyes who had to pull fighters out literally from the other world.

About how to exchange peaceful Tashkent for war-torn Kabul, return back and not forget yourself in Afghan war, nurse Elmira Aksarieva told the correspondent.

“I was 28 years old. I wanted to work abroad. At that time I was a KGB employee in Tashkent. I was called to the military registration and enlistment office only in July 1987, from there I was assigned to the central hospital of Kabul as a nurse. I worked for a year and a half until the first withdrawal of troops in December 1988...", recalls Elmira.

Only on the plane from Tashkent to Kabul did the girl finally realize that she was flying to war.

"I ended up in transit with everyone. We took off at night. We flew for 45 minutes on a military plane and were in Kabul already in the morning. Because of my worries, I immediately fell asleep. The next day at 10:00 we were lined up and distributed, who went where. We were women and men of different professions, civilians. They were brought to the hospital and distributed into modules, now they call it barracks. They lived there,” says the woman.

Work in Afghan therapy was clearly different from Tashkent. People were brought here in the very different condition. Sometimes and in parts...

"There are a lot of patients - very different. They were brought to in serious condition... Lots of tests, consultations throughout the hospital. They worked for days, two on their feet. It was impossible to sleep at night. The hospital in the military unit was closed. It was impossible to leave: it was a protected zone,” says Elmira.

Everyone was on edge.

The hospital was located not far from the houses where Afghans somehow tried to survive: people angry at the war, devastation and strangers who had lived in their city for almost ten years.

“I just stayed in the department: I stayed with a fellow countrywoman. I went out into the street after duty. Something exploded. Hardly. The car near the walls of the hospital was filled with explosives from our laboratory. No one was hurt, but the guard was stunned. There was fright, shock. We calmed the sick people down. Everyone started running... It was scary!

Doctors and nurses did not dare to go out into the streets of Kabul alone. But there was a temptation: there were too many foreign goods on the shelves for the inexperienced Soviet eye.

“We went with the permission of the authorities. Usually with an escort. And it was so scary to walk. Such cases were told that they could kill people and do even worse. When I first went out into the city, I remember that it was divided into poor, middle and richer areas. It was scary to go out alone, although I can’t say that Kabul was destroyed. It couldn’t be compared with our cities: I compared it with Tashkent - heaven and earth. But there were foreign goods, and you could find them on the market. I had to find everything,” recalls Elmira.

Residents of Kabul looked at visitors with caution, but gradually they began to get used to visiting doctors.

"Shuravi. They called us "shuravi" - Russians. The common people who lived nearby did nothing bad to us. There was no aggression. They just looked at us with interest. The small children already knew the Russian language, because our military were not there the first year they came up and started talking. But I didn’t learn the local language,” says the woman.

It’s hot in Kabul in the summer, and Elmira looked with incomprehension and regret at the Afghan women covered from head to toe.

Until I met them on the volleyball court.

“I am a volleyball player, and a whole team gathered because we had to compete with a team of Afghan women. I was the captain of the team. They came to us on the territory of the hospital, we had a playground, and there we played together. I was surprised that they In general, there are volleyball players. In the city, women are mostly covered. It’s rare to see a girl without a covering. Even young girls are covered with a black scarf, and their faces are almost invisible. And they came to volleyball like ordinary girls: in sports uniforms and shorts. , with uncovered hair,” Elmira recalls with a smile.

By the way, there, at work in a military hospital, she met her future husband, a military man who ended up on the operating table in surgery.

They merried.

“After recovery, he returned to his unit. When we went home, during the first withdrawal of troops, on December 22, there was no such winter, the Afghans said. It was cold. But I wouldn’t say that: winter in those days was like in Alma-Ata It was snowing, it was 1988,” says Elmira Aksarieva.

They arrived in Tashkent, and from there they left for Kazakhstan.

Then, what is now commonly called the fashionable word “post-traumatic syndrome” or “PTSD” began to happen to her husband.

He hasn't fully "returned" from Afghanistan.

“He was shell-shocked. The person becomes nervous, twitchy. But not like the others they were talking about. But it was clear from him what he had gone through,” the woman shared.

And then the vodka started.

"Yes. There was vodka. Not with me - I didn’t drink at all. I’ve now been divorced from him for more than 15 years, and it’s all “thanks” to this vodka. He drank a lot. Not much, but he drank. Often. A person changes completely, loses common sense,” the woman said bitterly.

Now she has two adult daughters and grandchildren. None of their family went into medicine.

Elmira is afraid to even think that one day her children will find themselves in a zone of armed conflict.

“It’s scary to think about it, to be honest. When I was leaving, filling out the documents, I didn’t tell my parents anything and presented them with a fait accompli when I already received a call from the military registration and enlistment office. For seven months they didn’t know anything. My dad took it for me, my mom and my brother a ticket to Issyk-Kul. I had to leave with them. And at that moment I received a call. I had to hand over the ticket and tell my mother everything on July 17, and I left on the 23rd. Once I came on vacation and saw my mother completely gray. I don’t wish this on anyone...” the woman said with tears in her voice.

Essay by a Wounded Soldier
Kabul hospital. Unforgettable

Dedicated to those who were defeated, but not defeated - those who survived and did not perish

By the will of fate, brought with a serious wound to the Kabul hospital, in an endless series of surgical operations, unable to sleep from persistent physical pain, groans and heavy thoughts that could be heard, I was imbued with what I saw, which became for me a true revelation of the fortitude and fortitude of our soldiers, invariably preserved by the stingy soldierly memory.

In the darkness of a midnight hospital ward, dozens of lights of pale smoldering cigarettes stretched out in a long chain hospital beds, on which young boys, awake, crippled by the war, in gloomy silence, with their gaze fixed on the bottomless ceiling, painfully searched for an answer: to the drilling “How can I live now?”

With all my nerve endings, I felt an oppressive aura floating in the air, filled with great human grief, a dome hanging over everyone who was left alone with their personal misfortune, lost faith and meaning - to start living again. But still:

Exhausted, but strong-willed, we rose. Step by step, overcoming pain and weakness, on crutches and the shoulders of nurses, we learned to walk again, bringing the path home closer.

Behind us remained, which had already become family, our hospital, its sacred brotherhood united by the war, where, in oblivion from what happened, we are only on the approach to the point of no return: not accepted last Stand, we are half a step away from the fatal click of a mine, an instant away from an ominous bullet flying out of the BUR.

Not along the ceremonial corridor, but as a “cargo-300” in a “rescuer” Il-76, at the appointed time, lying on a stretcher, covered with soldiers’ greatcoats, we will rise into the Afghan sky for the last time and, heading towards our native lightning, will fly towards a new destiny .

Those defeated, but not defeated, who have passed through the corridors of Afghan hospitals, face serious trials ahead - a foreign environment, another country, where, having been defeated again, we will be deceived, rejected and forgotten. “Unforgettable” - Kabul, Afghanistan, October 20, 1986.

“Wounding and death are constant companions of all battles and wars”

The path to the Kabul hospital, omitting the description of the previous event, began from the airfield, where military personnel who were wounded of varying degrees of severity were delivered from different parts of the country, places of military operations, with the aim of urgently carrying out complex surgical operations and further evacuation to the Union.

The modest appearance of the emergency department of the 650th Central Clinical Military Hospital of the 40th Army of the TurkVO USSR Ministry of Defense in Kabul did not at all correspond to the impressive, by various standards, scale of the army military hospital and was striking in its broken state. On a cold concrete floor, with a rarely preserved, ceramic tiles, without bothering with the psychological aspect, in everyday haste, a dozen canvas stretchers with lying, seriously wounded soldiers, who arrived as the last batch from the Shindand hospital, were unloaded.

At the end of the procedure for receiving documents and external examination of the wounded, they were distributed to the appropriate departments, where each found a new “place of duty,” a circle of comrades, a treasured bed, hospital uniform and a new faith. I believe in the ability to change fate.

The hospital ward - a huge room that once served as the royal stables of the officer guard of King Zahir Shah, was densely packed with iron bunk beds installed in three rows, with narrow passages, a desk at the entrance, a duty nurse and accompanying medical paraphernalia neatly stacked in the corner - droppers, ducks, ships, etc.

The wide corridor of the hospital was a transport artery, connected to it - surgical, therapeutic, ophthalmological, a number of trauma and other departments, operating rooms, dressing rooms and a canteen, access of many to which, due to the severity of the injuries received and associated difficulties with movement, was often not relevant.

The first tier of beds was legally reserved for the seriously wounded - amputees, blind people, bandits - wounded in the abdominal region, spine, brain, etc. There were many warriors with double amputation of the lower limbs, who lost both the upper and lower limbs, and the two upper ones at the same time, with complete loss of vision. There was a lot...

The vast majority of the wounded, it seemed, were the so-called carriers of the Ilizarov apparatus, soldiers who received through bullet or shrapnel wounds, with damage to the bones of the extremities. Bulky devices, consisting of massive steel discs and special wires drilled into both ends of the bone, were designed to build up the missing area of ​​bone tissue. Some had two of these devices installed. On two legs, or on one leg and an arm, etc. Often, due to the frequent lack of space, this category could be seen on the second tier.

The shortage of beds, in conditions of a continuous flow of wounded, was normal, but when problems occurred with their timely evacuation to the Union, and the simultaneous massive influx of new wounded, the situation became critical. Serious complications with beds were caused by the start of large-scale military operations. During this period, the flow of wounded increased exponentially, and the hospital had difficulty coping with the volume of work. In cases where there was a violation of the arrival schedule of “Rescuers” - evacuation planes - Il-76, twice a week departing for the Union, the hospital command compacted the space in the wards to the limit. Also using the wide hospital corridor, it was installed in long row dozens of bunk beds.

The team of doctors, nurses and hospital orderlies, who conscientiously carried out their professional tasks, were constantly overloaded. During the daily morning dressing changes, they had no real opportunity to give all the woundednecessary attention. On revenue came from military discipline and personal self-awareness. Many
The soldiers considered it their duty not to distract the nurses, who were busy caring for the seriously wounded, and carried out treatment and preventive measures on their own. Every morning, a decent queue lined up at the entrance to the dressing rooms, of those who independently treated their own wounds and changed the bandage. Wearing the Ilizarov apparatus, according to the correction of doctors, independently, having mastered this technique, they tightened the knitting needles on the discs with their own hands and changed the gauze balls.

The operating rooms and dressing rooms of the hospital functioned smoothly, like a well-tuned clockwork. The principle of the conveyor belt was ensured by regular adjustments to the schedule of surgical operations, and clearly structured ongoing activities - timely delivery and rollback of gurneys with the wounded. Two wounded people brought in on a gurney were waiting for their turn to be on one of 3 surgical tables, on which, at the same time, full swing The operations were carried out by aces of Afghan field surgery and nurses, skilled in the experience of uninterrupted flows.

A special category among the wounded were considered to be warriors who received shrapnel or bullet wounds to the spine. Physical pain in such cases classified them as exceptional. Even the most powerful painkiller was often useless for its intended purpose. Unable to withstand hellish pain, such people are “heavy” without looking back at military rank, age, shame and reproach, they screamed all night long, terrifying everyone else.

The daily treatment of large open areas of wounds and amputated limbs, in a series of daily dressings, resulting in extreme pain and difficulty coping with emotions, was often accompanied by loud screams with angry profanity directed at the medical fraternity. To localize this noise, wounded soldiers, sophisticated with experience in dressings, used an ordinary hospital pillow. Lying on the operating table, squeezing it tightly with their hands, they stuffed it tightly into their mouths, causing the inhuman scream to give way to a booming groan.

The morning of an ordinary day began with a morning round of doctors, an important component of organizing the treatment process. During this event, a group of doctors, together with the head of the department, walked around the ward, stopping in front of each of the wounded soldiers. The responsible officer on duty read out to his colleagues the medical history, the nature of the injury, showed X-rays, commented on the chosen course and the results of the completed stage of treatment. In the intervals between professional discussions, the doctors always found a minute to explain to the wounded warrior the essence of the course of treatment they had chosen, to ask about his internal volitional state, about everyday problems and plans in civilian life. These were constant, mutually respectful and friendly contacts.

Military doctors have always enjoyed great respect from wounded soldiers. Reciprocating their feelings, the medical officers also paid tribute to their perseverance, will and spirit. Faithful military regulations and the Hippocratic Oath, they combined official subordination and human humanity, allowing subordinates a little more than a field officer could allow.

In the long evenings, in the moments free from operations, junior medical officers often sat down by hospital beds, in the circle of wounded soldiers, telling some story, a fresh anecdote or a bright life story. The unity of the soldiers, both on the scale of a close circle of those lying nearby, and on the scale of the entire ward, invariably helped to overcome the hardships of hospital life. All upcoming surgical operations, from simple to the most complex, became the subject of general discussion in advance.

Seeing off a comrade to the operation was truly solemn. Each one considered it his duty to support his comrade, to give words of encouragement, and to seal sincere wishes with a brotherly handshake.

The procession's departure from the ward was accompanied by whistling, shouting, clapping, clattering of crutches and other signs of noise support.

Sometimes, exhausted by troublesome hospital service, an orderly, carried away by his thoughts and forgetting about folk superstitions, unforeseenly will begin to roll out a warrior lying on a gurney, “feet first”, to the upcoming operation. He instantly became a dangerous target, shot at in a volley of crutches, canes, vessels, decanters and other improvised means and objects flying from all the beds.

Returning from the operation was an absolute fireworks display and a highlight. The end of the operation was announced by a loudly singing voice, occasionally interrupted by a verbal altercation between the newly minted maestro and indignant orderlies pushing the gurney. Using the entire available arsenal of uncensored language, in the rich traditions of the Russian army, it was heard far from the confines of the ward, when leaving the operating room - in a remote part of the hospital corridor.

The chamber froze in anticipation of the upcoming show. The impromptu performance of hits and loudly sung vocals gained collective support from amused comrades who were carried away by the tomfoolery. Regardless of the genre of the free program, everyone had a lot of fun. Therefore, on the eve of seeing off a friend for surgery, his preferred concert repertoire was pre-ordered.

However, anesthesia, which fruitfully enriches the free artist, often a modest person in life, with energy, talent and uncompromisingness, gradually waned. It was replaced by withdrawal, depression and physical pain.

The most cherished memories of every warrior deprived of the ability to move for a long time will remain his first steps, dizziness, weakness and rapid loss of strength.

Not confidently, taking step by step, slowly - moving on crutches, with a cane or leaning on the shoulders of nurses, driven by faith, mobilizing strength and overcoming pain, he confidently moves towards his cherished goal. The goal is to get home.

Not along the front corridor, but with a “cargo-300” in the “rescuer” Il-76, at the appointed time, lying on a stretcher - covered with soldiers’ greatcoats, they will, for the “last time”, rise into the Afghan sky and, heading towards their native lightning, will fly towards a new destiny.

Hero of Russia Ilyas Daudi

This is not an ordinary ambulance“. This is MERT - Medical Rapid Response Team. It is extremely difficult to distinguish military paramedics from soldiers - they wear the same uniform and weapons. Their only task is to save lives. They meet with those who take it away on board the helicopter.

It is impossible to speak inside the helicopter due to the roar of the engines and the noise of the air accelerated by the blades. They have their own signs - if they point to the British flag patch, it means a British soldier is wounded, if they put their hands on their hips, it means a child is wounded, if they bring their hand to their head (as if saluting) it means an American soldier. They do not have patients with colds, runny nose or hypertension; their patients are on the verge of life and death.

Returning from the mission, MERT (medical emergency response team) transfers its patients to the hands of doctors of the mobile hospital MASH (Mobile Army Surgical Hospital) with a multinational contingent.

According to the US and UK Departments of Defense, as well as the independent website iCasualties.org, as of April 27, 2012, the international coalition's casualties during Operation Enduring Freedom (mainly in Afghanistan) amounted to 2,958 military personnel killed. The greatest losses were suffered by the USA (1,943), Great Britain (410), Canada (158), France (82).

Most NATO troops are killed by improvised explosive devices (IED). According to the website iCasualties.org, in Afghanistan, losses from the use of mine explosive devices by the enemy in 2010 amounted to 58% (368 out of 630 military personnel) of total losses from hostile enemy actions, in 2011 - 51% (252 out of 492 military personnel).

The exact number of killed and wounded militants remains unknown, although, according to Western military experts, only during the fighting of the Northern Alliance and armed forces The USA and Great Britain fought against the Islamic Taliban movement in the fall of 2001, up to 5,000-6,000 militants were killed. In March 2002, the magazine “Foreign military review“claimed, according to Western military experts, that out of 35-40 thousand Taliban, from 5 to 10 thousand were killed, wounded or captured by the Northern Alliance and Anglo-American coalition forces during the fighting in the fall of 2001.

Official data regarding losses civilian population in Afghanistan, no, and estimates from independent organizations vary greatly.

During the nine years of the war in Iraq from 2003 to 2012, coalition forces lost 4,804 soldiers killed, including 18 Ukrainians.

MERT Sister Fiona McGlynn from Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, on board a Chinook CH-47 helicopter. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

A MERT team carries a stretcher carrying a wounded British soldier from a helicopter to Camp Bastion Hospital. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

An Afghan child covers his ears from the noise of a helicopter. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

A group of surgeons prepares for an operation, an American soldier with multiple wounds and a severed arm. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Transporting a wounded person from an ambulance to a hospital. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Fiona McGlynn checks her pistol. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Conversation aboard the CH-47 Chinook between members of the MERT team. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Transporting the wounded from the ambulance to the hospital. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Doctors treat a nine-year-old wounded Afghan boy. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

MERT saves the life of a Taliban fighter. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Medical personnel carry a stretcher with a wounded British soldier from a helicopter. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Behind the screen, surgeons are assembling the pieces of a wounded Danish soldier. The photographer did not take pictures of him out of respect. The soldier lost both legs and his left arm. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Wounded British soldier. Before serving in the army, he actively participated in the Forex forum and was a good trader. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Bloody stretcher. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

New challenge received. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Cardiac arrest...Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

Nurse Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

A British Army soldier clutches the bleeding wounds of a Danish soldier who lost his genitals in the explosion. Photo (C) Getty Images/Marco Di Lauro

US Marines comfort fellow Lance Corporal W.H. Salgado by transferring him to a medical helicopter after he was shot in the leg in Sangin, Helmand Province. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

Afghan National Police officers and U.S. Marines carrying a critically wounded Afghan police officer run toward a Dust Off medical helicopter after a firefight on the outskirts of Sangin. The medical helicopter was fired upon as it landed to pick up the wounded, resulting in damage to the windshield and blades.

Lance Corporal Blas Trevino of the 1st Battalion shouts from the helicopter. Blas was shot in the stomach near Sangin. It took the helicopter's medics two attempts to pull him out from under the gunmen's bullets.

Seven-year-old Afghan girl Persia aboard a medical helicopter on her way to a field hospital near Sangin in Helmand province. Persia suffered a head injury after falling from a truck, and her father carried her to a nearby US military base to seek medical attention.

Provisions for Marines are parachuted from an airplane near Operational Base Edi in Helmand Province.

Lance Corporal Blas Trevino (left) holds his stomach on the way to the medical helicopter. Trevino was shot in the abdomen.

Marines carry wounded comrade Lance Corporal V.H. Salgado to a waiting medical helicopter after being shot in the leg near Sangin.

Lance Corporal David Richwaslki aboard a helicopter after Sangin was hit in the head by grenade shrapnel.

Medical Sergeant Jose Rivera treats two seriously wounded Afghan police officers aboard a helicopter after being attacked on the outskirts of Sangin. The medical helicopter was fired upon as it landed to pick up the wounded.

Wounded Marine Joshua Barron aboard a medical helicopter near Sangin.

Medic Sergeant Jose Rivera waves to an ambulance at Camp Bastion after rescuing Lance Corporal David Richwaslka from the Sanguin battlefield.

Lance Corporal Blas Trevino (center) boards a medical helicopter after being shot in the abdomen during a firefight in Sanguin.

Wounded Lance Corporal V.H. Salgado shows the Victory sign aboard a medical helicopter after being shot in the leg in Sanguin.

Marines evacuate a wounded comrade to a helicopter near Sangin after he stepped on an improvised explosive device.

Chief Military Specialist Jenny Martinez (left) speaks with wounded Lance Corporal David Richwaslki aboard a helicopter en route to the hospital. David was shot in the head.

Lance Corporal Blas Trevino does not let go of his rosary during the flight to a field hospital after being wounded in the stomach in Sanguin. Trevino suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and it took two visits by the medical crew to remove him from the battlefield under fire.

Medical Specialist Jenny Martinez, center, and Medical Sergeant Jose Rivera treat two wounded Marines aboard a helicopter near Sanguin. On the right is Marine Washington Bradley, who was also slightly wounded.

Black Hawk helicopter pilot Robert A. Campbell successfully landed at a post near Sangin, under fire from militants.

A dog handler with a wounded sniffer dog rescued by helicopter near Sangin.

A helicopter with American Marines is trying to land during sandstorm not far from the medical helicopter near Sangin.

A bullet hole near the fuel tank in the tail of a Black Hawk helicopter. after the helicopter was shot at during a rescue mission for Lance Corporal Blas Trevino.

Military doctor Captain John Woods, sitting in a helicopter, squeezes an IV. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

One of the soldiers hides from the sand that rose during the takeoff of a medical helicopter with wounded on board. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

American soldiers carry a wounded Afghan on a stretcher to a waiting helicopter. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sergeant Jonathan Duralde (right) and Sergeant Luis Gamarra hold each other's hands and try to fight the pain of their injuries from the explosion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sergeant Cole Rees wipes sweat from his brow after administering first aid to Sergeant Jonathan Duralda, who was injured in an explosion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Sergeant Chad Orozco had a moment to rest after helicoptered a wounded man to the hospital. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

One of the orderlies cleans the floor from blood and medical supplies in the operating room. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

After surgery was performed on one of the hospital's seriously wounded soldiers, Canadian Army Capt. Mikila Klepac (left) and U.S. Army physician Officer Roger Nottingham clean up the operating room. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Canadian Forces Captain David Coker examines a soldier seriously wounded in an explosion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

US Navy Commander Joseph Strauss (left) and Major Anton Lekap perform surgery on the leg of an Afghan who was injured in the attack. car accident. The Red Cross calls on the armed opposition, the Afghan National Army, the police and international military forces to take all measures to combat operations did not interfere with civilians' access to medical care. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Captain navy US Anne Lear (left) assists Sergeant James Shields, who showed signs of heatstroke after rushing a wounded man to hospital. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Hospital doctor David Cobery sleeps right at his desk between operations. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Dutch Army Corporal Anita Van Grestein oversees the operation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Canadian Army Captain Mikila Klepac stands next to a board showing the names of two soldiers who were injured and taken to hospital after the explosion. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Officer Patrick Guillard (left) and Officer Sharni Anderson (center) look outside the emergency room as they wait for new patients. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Canadian Army Captain Mikila Klepac awaits the arrival of new patients. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

One of the military doctors stands in a pool of blood formed during the operation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

US Navy Commander Kevin Beasley rushes with necessary medical supplies to the operating room where his team is performing the operation. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

US Navy Lt. Rodolfo Madrid rushes to treat a patient who was maimed in the explosion (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Officer Corianne Manwaring watches over a wounded soldier who has just been wheeled into the operating room. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

A nurse uses surgical scissors to cut the laces and remove the boots of a wounded soldier admitted to the operating room. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Captain Anne Lear (center), the hospital's head nurse, supports one of the wounded soldiers who has just been brought to the hospital. (Photo by Chris Hondros/Getty Images)

1. American soldiers help a wounded man get to a helicopter, where he receives first aid medical care.

2. Evacuation of the wounded in almost all cases is carried out by helicopter.

3. John Woods - a military doctor with the rank of captain, holding an IV.

4. US Army soldiers carry a wounded man on a stretcher to a helicopter.

5. He is given first aid in the helicopter.

6. The wounded man looks at his burnt hand.

7. A wounded Afghan army soldier is helped to a helicopter.

8. A military helicopter that makes emergency flights for wounded soldiers.

9. The soldier turned away from the sand flying towards him.

10. A military soldier provides first aid to a wounded man.

11. Soldiers carry a wounded man to the helicopter.

12. The wounded man is given first aid on the way to the hospital, which is located on the territory of the NATO base.

13. Two soldiers hold on to each other trying to endure the pain.

14. A military doctor wipes away sweat after providing medical care.

15. Chad Orozco before flying out to another call.

16. Blood on the floor in the hospital operating room.

17. After the wounded person undergoes surgery, order is restored in the operating room.

18. A doctor examines a soldier who was wounded in an explosion.

19.

20. Doctors during surgery on the leg of an Afghan soldier.

21. A woman tries to help a soldier who has all the signs of heatstroke.

22. The tired doctor lay down to sleep.

23. A soldier looks into the operating room.

24. Anita Van Grestein from the Netherlands watches the operation.

25. A girl against the background of a board on which the names of the wounded and those recently taken to the hospital are written.

26. Doctors are taking a wounded man to the operating room who was injured in an explosion.

27. US Army soldiers look outside the door of the emergency room.

28. Mikila Klepac is waiting for new wounded who were recently taken to the hospital.

29. A pool of blood on the floor formed as a result of the operation.

30.

31. The orderly carries the medications necessary for the operation.

32. Doctors took Rodolfo Madrid to the hospital, who was seriously injured as a result of the explosion.

33. Women serving in the Canadian army clean the operating room.

34. Soldiers help a wounded man get off the car.

35. Coriann Manwaring, a US Army officer, looks after a wounded man.

36. A wounded soldier is placed on the operating table.

37. An orderly cuts a soldier’s boots with special scissors.

38. Another wounded man was taken to the hospital.

39. Anne Lear, a senior nurse with the rank of captain, tries to support a wounded soldier.

40. Medics surrounded the wounded soldier.

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