I Didn't Want to Be Part of This Insane Mission-SPIEGEL Interview w/Former Army Doctor Afghanistan

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Heike Groos, 49, served several tours as a military physician with the German army in Afghanistan. In an interview with SPIEGEL, she speaks about how the situation deteriorated to the point of paranoia, her feelings of helplessness in the face of utter destruction and her eventual retirement and nervous breakdown.

SPIEGEL: Dr. Groos, you've said that, during your first deployment to Afghanistan, in 2002, it felt like you were at a Boy Scout camp. When did things start getting a bit less carefree?

Heike Groos: The first death destroyed the atmosphere for me. It happened during my second deployment to Kabul. I'd been expecting everything to be like it had been the first time -- lots of sun, beautiful landscapes, nice colleagues and a friendly local population. Then one of our all-terrain vehicles ran over a mine and was blown up, killing a young soldier instantly. He was brought into the camp and handed over to us for a medical examination. It was when I was alone in the armored field ambulance with this dead boy -- a kid who reminded me of my oldest son -- that I realized where I was and what I was going to have to deal with.

SPIEGEL: The longer you were there, the more doubts you had about the logic behind the mission. How did they arise?

Groos: We underwent a significant change after experiencing the first terrorist attack aimed directly at us. A suicide bomber blew up one of our buses, killing four of our soldiers and seriously wounding many more. After that, we were more careful, more nervous, more wary. Later, when new soldiers arrived from Germany, it seemed like they had been trained somewhat differently for their assignment. The first thing they said when they got off the plane was: "Where are the Taliban? We want to fight them!"

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http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,647751,00.html#ref=rss