Every Day Hero: Sgt Jennifer Watson

Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson, non-commissioned officer-in-charge of the Casualty Liaison Team at Joint Base Balad, stands in Hero's Highway. Each patient brought via helicopter to the Air Force Theater Hospital passes through Hero's Highway. Watson, a native of Peru, Ind., is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. Photo by Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing.



‘Camouflage Angel’ Spends Last Moments With U.S. Combat Casualties


JOINT BASE BALAD — The emergency-room trauma call and the medical staff's immediate action upon his arrival is only a memory to her now; sitting quietly at the bedside of her brother-in-arms, she carefully takes his hand, thanking him for his service and promising she will not leave his side.

He is a critically injured combat casualty, and she is Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson of the Casualty Liaison Team here.

Although a somber scene, it is not an uncommon one for the Peru, Ind., native, who in addition to her primary duties throughout the last 14 months, has taken it upon herself to ensure no U.S. casualty passes away alone. Holding each of their hands, she sits with them until the end, no matter the day or the hour.

"It's unfortunate that their families can't be here," said Watson, who is deployed here from Fort Campbell, Ky. "So I took it upon myself to step up and be that family while they are here. No one asked me to do it; I just did what I felt was right in my heart. I want them to know they are heroes.

"I feel just because they are passing away does not mean they cannot hear and feel someone around them," she continued. "I talk to them, thanking them for what they have done, telling them they are a hero, they will never be forgotten, and I explain my job to them to help them be at ease knowing the family will be told the truth."

In general, Watson explains to the patients that the CLT works within the Patient Administrative Department here, acting as a liaison for all military and civilian patients in-theater and initiating the casualty-notification process to the patient's next-of-kin.

Upon their arrival at the Air Force Theater Hospital, Watson speaks with each combat casualty getting as accurate information as possible about the incident. Once the doctor gives their diagnosis and severity of the patient's injuries, Watson and her team complete and send a Defense Casualty Information Processing System folder report to the Department of the Army or the patient's respective service so that their next-of-kin can be notified.

"I make sure we tell their family everything they want to know, so they know everything that's going on," said Watson. "[Through the report], we'll tell the families everything that is going on with their family member ... so that they don't have any questions."

Furthermore, once the initial report has been sent, the CLT and Watson make hourly rounds to the intensive-care ward or unit to check on the patient's well-being, or, for the more critical patients, to check on their stability.

"We are constantly communicating and making sure the family knows everything we know," said Watson. "We want to put the families at ease and let them know that everything is being done for their loved one. From the moment a servicemember is brought in through Hero's Highway, they are never alone."

Each month, the AFTH, the equivalent of a U.S. Level-1 trauma center, treats more than 539 patients; more than 101 are trauma cases in the emergency department. Although Watson can never predict if and when her fellow brothers- or sisters- in arms may need her, she is always available here.

"The hospital staff is wonderful," said Watson. "They know how important it is for me to be there with them and if they know it's time, someone will come and get me no matter where I'm at.

"I see it as a form of closure, not just for me, but for the families so that they know that somebody was there with their son or daughter," she added. "My heart goes out to every patient that comes into the hospital, especially my wounded in action Soldiers. I feel like everyone who comes through the door is my brother or sister."

Not surprisingly, Watson's dedication to duty and her hard work have not gone unnoticed. She has touched the lives of all those who she has come in contact with, to include the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group commander, Col. Mark Mavity.

"Sgt. Watson's story is one of the most compelling here in the Med Group," said Mavity. "She is a Soldier's Soldier who combines an unparalleled level of compassion and commitment to our most grievously wounded warriors with amazing professionalism each and every day.

"What is truly incredible is that she is a personnelist by training but with the heart of a medic who has taken it upon herself to hold the hand and keep a bedside vigil with every mortally wounded Soldier who has spent their last hours within the AFTH," continued the colonel. "She will not let her brave brothers or sisters pass alone. This is a heavy burden to bear and at great personal emotional cost to Sgt. Watson, but she is unwavering in her final commitment to these Soldiers. You don't have to look any further than Sgt. Watson to find a true hero."

"Angel" and "hero" are only two of the many titles Watson has been given since arriving at JBB; although she is appreciative of the kind words, she remains humble.

"I am far from an angel," said the sergeant with a smile. "I just do what is in my heart. I guess for me, I think about the family and the closure of knowing the Soldier did not pass away alone. To say I'm a hero ... no. The heroes are my guys who come in [through Hero's Highway]."

Reflecting on her time here, Watson said she is extremely thankful for the opportunity she has had to work side-by-side with the Air Force.

"The staff of the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group has done an amazing job since I have been here," she said. "They are incredible. They have done procedures and saved the lives of the most critically injured Soldiers, and have been some of the most professional people I have ever worked with.

"I want the families to know that their servicemember was a hero," Watson concluded. "They made the ultimate sacrifice, but before they passed on, they received the best medical treatment, and the staff did everything they could -- they were not in pain and they didn't die alone."

(By Staff Sgt. Dilia Ayala, 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing)(source: MNF-Iraq here)

Thank YOU for your amazing service, Sgt Watson.

A hero's angel

A hero's angel

A hero's angel

A hero's angel

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Army Sgt. Jennifer Watson holds her identification tags, reflecting on her last 14 months of service as the NCO-in-charge of the Casualty Liaison Team here (source)

[Be sure and check out the comments on Argghhh! !! The Home of the two Jonah's here.]

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What Will Jesus Do?

Image via Wikipedia

Muslims assert that they revere Jesus Christ as a Prophet. Here is an example from islamicity.

Muslims respect and revere Jesus, and await his Second Coming. They consider him one of the greatest of God's messengers to mankind. A Muslim never refers to him simply as 'Jesus', but always adds the phrase 'upon him be peace'. The Quran confirms his virgin birth (a chapter of the Quran is entitled 'Mary'), and Mary is considered the purest woman in all creation.

So Christians and Muslims share common ground as monotheistic faiths holding Jesus Christ in high esteem. Most readers are aware of the Christian Jesus, but unaware of the Islamic concept of Jesus. Allah's book, the Qur'an, will enlighten us. The following quotes are from the Hilali & Khan translation, linked to a table of ten parallel translations. [Emphasis added.]

3:59 Verily, the likeness of 'Iesa (Jesus) before Allah is the likeness of Adam. He created him from dust, then (He) said to him: "Be!" - and he was.

3:61 Then whoever disputes with you concerning him ['Iesa (Jesus)] after (all this) knowledge that has come to you, [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus)] being a slave of Allah, and having no share in Divinity)...

4:157-158 And because of their saying (in boast), "We killed Messiah 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), the Messenger of Allah," - but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but the resemblance of 'Iesa (Jesus) was put over another man (and they killed that man), and those who differ therein are full of doubts. They have no (certain) knowledge, they follow nothing but conjecture. For surely; they killed him not [i.e. 'Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary) ]: But Allah raised him ['Iesa (Jesus)] up (with his body and soul) unto Himself (and he is in the heavens). And Allah is Ever All­Powerful, All­Wise.

4:159 ...And there is none of the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), but must believe in him ['Iesa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary), as only a Messenger of Allah and a human being]...

23:91 . No son (or offspring or children) did Allah beget, nor is there any ilah (god) along with Him; ...

Islamic scripture denies Christ's divinity, paternity, crucifixion, death & resurrection. Why do Muslims anticipate the second coming? Our first hint comes from an obscure, off topic reference in Shari'ah, Islamic law codified in Reliance of the Traveller. I have added emphasis to the crucial text.

O9.8: The Objectives of Jihad

The caliph (o25) makes war upon Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians (N: provided he has first invited them to enter Islam in faith and practice, and if they will not, then invited them to enter the social order of Islam by paying the non-Muslim poll tax (jizya, def: o11.4) -which is the significance of their paying it, not the money itself-while remaining in their ancestral religions) (O: and the war continues) until they become Muslim or else pay the non-Muslim poll tax (O: in accordance with the word of Allah Most High,

"Fight those who do not believe in Allah and the Last Day and who forbid not what Allah and His messenger have forbidden-who do not practice the religion of truth, being of those who have been given the Book-until they pay the poll tax out of hand and are humbled" (Koran 9.29),

the time and place for which is before the final descent of Jesus (upon whom be peace). After his final coming, nothing but Islam will be accepted from them, for taking the poll tax is only effective until Jesus' descent (upon him and our Prophet be peace), which is the divinely revealed law of Muhammad. The coming of Jesus does not entail a separate divinely revealed law, for he will rule by the law of Muhammad. As for the Prophet's saying (Allah bless him and give him peace),

"I am the last, there will be no prophet after me,"

this does not contradict the final coming of Jesus (upon whom be peace), since he will not rule according to the Evangel, but as a follower of our Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) ).

We learn from Shari'ah that the caliph is obligated to extend dawa to people having scriptural religions and to make war upon them if they reject Islam. We learn that he can accept extortion payments from them in lieu of conversion, but only until the second coming, after which Jizya will not be accepted. After Jesus returns, Jews, Christians & Zoroastrians must convert or die; only Islam will be accepted from them.

We learn that Jesus will be a successor to Muhammad and that he will rule by the Qur'an, not the Bible. It follows that he must make war upon Jews & Christians as all caliphs must do. For amplification we turn to one of the prophetic hadith of Muhammad which bears directly on this issue. [Emphasis added.]

Sunan Abu Dawud Book 37, Number 4310:

Narrated AbuHurayrah:

The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: There is no prophet between me and him, that is, Jesus (peace_be_upon_him). He will descent (to the earth). When you see him, recognise him: a man of medium height, reddish fair, wearing two light yellow garments, looking as if drops were falling down from his head though it will not be wet. He will fight the people for the cause of Islam. He will break the cross, kill swine, and abolish jizyah. Allah will perish all religions except Islam. He will destroy the Antichrist and will live on the earth for forty years and then he will die. The Muslims will pray over him.

Jesus will fight the people for the cause of Islam, just as Islamic law requires. Breaking the cross is an obvious reference to destroying Christianity. Killing swine is a metaphor for genocide of the remaining Christians. "As cited in Ibn Abbas: The apes are Jews, the keepers of the Sabbath; while the swine are the Christian infidels of the communion of Jesus."

Islamic prophesy depicts Jesus Christ as a genocidal warmonger, not the prince of peace. But thats not all, Islamic exegeses informs us that Jesus will lead the Muslims in exterminating the Jews. This quote is from Ibn Kathir's Tafsir of 7:167 : Eternal Humiliation Placed on the Jews.

In the future, the Jews will support the Dajjal (False Messiah); and the Muslims, along with `Isa, son of Mary, will kill the Jews. This will occur just before the end of this world.

Now you know what Jesus will do: he will wage war against and kill Christians & Jews and rule the world as caliph, a successor of and subordinate to Muhammad. Jesus Christ: genocidal warmonger. So much for the "great religion of peace". So much for "common ground" & "inter religious dialogue". We have been lied to: Islam is a war cult, not a religion of peace and it co-opts Jesus Christ as a genocidal warlord. Now that you know, what will you do about it? Will you roll over and return to sleep or will you share your new found knowledge and seek more? Copy and paste this blog post into emails to your family, friends and associates. Send a copy to the Pastor of your church or Rabbi of your synagogue. Follow the links and read the Qur'an, hadith, tafsir & Shari'ah.

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Wake Up, America!

The Obama administration, its co-conspirators in Congress and their union/special interest cronies are passing legislation unread and unexamined, under the guise of urgency. They are wasting billions of borrowed dollars, burying us in unaffordable debt, destroying industries, eliminating jobs and threatening our health and our liberty.

We absolutely must rise up and demand an immediate and permanent halt to their chicanery! The Wake Up America Movement has the right idea with their petition drive. The wording is less than perfect, but it is out there, on the record, and it is the best we have. Lets run with it! If you love liberty and prosperity and want to restore them, then sign this petition, join the movement and become an activist.

The petitions will be used to apply pressure on fence sitting legislators in swing districts, where following the left wing line is likely to be a risky career move.

PETITION TO STOP BACK DOOR DEALS IN D.C.meta

AMERICAN PEOPLE DEMAND YOU STOP BACK DOOR DEALS IN D.C. on HEALTH CARE & ENERGY POLICY

I am among millions of Americans who vehemently object to the irresponsible rushed passage of unnecessary legislation which is both unaffordable and which serves purposes other than those being purported, namely: HEALTH CARE and CAP & TRADE bills now being put forward.

I am among the growing numbers of citizen protesters who recognize there is no viable, legitimate source of funding for these programs which will burden our lives and those of our future generations for no greater purpose than providing political favors to special interests while causing a wasteful level of Federal bureaucracy to intrude on our lives.

I am among the voters of your state and neighboring states who recognize we will be adversely impacted by these bills, if made law and am appalled you have not studied these matters sufficiently to realize these same facts. The rush to spend money we do not have is shockingly irresponsible!

I, like other Americans nationwide, am appalled at the careless passage of laws by the 11th Congress without a thorough reading nor due deliberation on the immediate and long term consequences of these actions by Congress.

Therefore, I am among those putting you - as a public official sworn to represent the People -that if you support CAP & TRADE or HEALTH CARE legislation put forward by this administration I will work ceaselessly to inform the voters in your state and district of your misconduct in giving complicity to reckless Federal spending and Federal usurping of authority over our lives - which these legislations contain and misrepresent!

SIGN PETITION NOW

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Hands off My Healthcare!

Patients First sent out an email containing information about the Health Care Destruction proposal. They urge us to sign their petition and send a link to our contacts so as to exert maximum political pressure to prevent the passage of this monstrosity. [The list below is quoted directly from the email.]

This latest bill includes:

• A new government health insurance plan.
• An individual mandate that every one of us must purchase government-defined health insurance or face new taxes and fines. This is a clear breaking of the president's pledge not to raise taxes on Americans earning less than $250,000 per year – at least 8 million Americans and their families will see their taxes go up.
• An employer mandate that will make businesses either provide government-defined insurance coverage or pay a penalty tax.
• Another income tax on households and many small businesses with an annual income of $350,000 to help pay for all this. This is another broken campaign promise. The president had pledged not to increase any American's taxes above the level of the 1990s – and that is just what would happen.
• Did I mention that the government will decide what is an “adequate” health insurance package? A new bureaucracy – the Benefits Advisory Committee – and the Secretary of Health and Human Services will decide what coverage you have to pay for and what diseases and treatments will be covered.
• Another bailout that will cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars – this time to unions to bail out their retiree health care plans.
• More Comparative Effectiveness Research that could lead to government bureaucrats denying you health care treatment options.

This legislation is 1018 pages in length. Here is the first page.

H. R. ll
111TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION

To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans and reduce
the growth in health care spending, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Mr. DINGELL (for himself, Mr. RANGEL, Mr. WAXMAN, Mr. GEORGE MILLER
of California, Mr. STARK, Mr. PALLONE, and Mr. ANDREWS) introduced
the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
lllllllllllllll

A BILL
To provide affordable, quality health care for all Americans

and reduce the growth in health care spending, and

for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-

2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF DIVISIONS, TITLES,

4 AND SUBTITLES.

5 (a) SHORT TITLE.--This Act may be cited as the

6 America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009''.

Notice the high level of abstraction. Exactly what do these terms mean, and how are they to be measured?

• affordable
• quality
• choice

What the Hell is "affordable"? My gross income last year was $575.00 . Most health insurance plans would cost me more than that each month. If one of those 'crats would say that word in my presence, in the context of that legislation, I would offer to pull his head out of his ass and explain reality to him.

Quality? The difference between surgery and non-invasive treatment? The difference between chemo therapy that damn near kills you and a newer, more expensive but less toxic treatment? Accept the new flu vaccine or decline? Who makes those choices? Not some G'd bureaucrat, not for me anyway!!!

Choice? Let us choose an insurance plan? What insurance company can compete with the government's printing press? The legislation will make competing plans both impossible economically and illegal. There is a provision in the law which will forbid adding policy holders. As policy holders die or switch to the government plan, their pools will diminish, until they go out of business.

Reduce the growth in health care spending? Why do we elect Morons to govern this nation?! If the population grows, if morbidity rates increase, if the population ages, there will be more demand for medical services and for drugs. Demand pushes up prices. New technologies cost more initially at least. If you increase the numbers of "insured", and they go to the doctor for every perceived ache and illness, or seeking treatment for wrinkles, hair loss, breast enlargement, butt reduction or declining libido/virility, then costs are going to increase, as will waiting times unless you increase supply. Increase supply, and you'll need to pay the new medical professionals and their operating costs.

How are you going to increase supply when you enact laws and regulations that reduce the income and increase the expenses of doctors? Didn't Hillary want to limit admission to medical schools and control entry into specialty programs?

The bill is too large, too complex, and the time frame is too short. No Congressman is going to read it. They will depend on lies told by President Obama's shills. We are going to be screwed, and the damage will be irreversible. There is no way out of entitlement programs once they are established.

Sign the petition and urge others to sign it. Go to http://www.congress.org, enter your zip code, click the Federal link and tell your Representative and Senators to use all their health care proposals as anal suppositories. Watch how they vote, and vote against them if they vote for those bills.

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Cure For Radiation Sickness

by Findalis


What started out as a cure for radiation sickness resulting from cancer therapy, could become a weapon against the effects of a dirty bomb or nuclear weapon detonated by a terrorist group.

Medication that can protect humans against nuclear radiation has been developed by Jewish-American scientists in cooperation with a researcher and investors from Israel. The full story behind the dramatic discovery will be published in Yedioth Ahronoth's weekend edition.

The ground-breaking medication, developed by Professor Andrei Gudkov – Chief Scientific Officer at Cleveland BioLabs - may have far-reaching implications on the balance of power in the world, as states capable of providing their citizens with protection against radiation will enjoy a significant strategic advantage vis-à-vis their rivals.

For Israel, the discovery marks a particularly dramatic development that could deeply affect the main issue on the defense establishment's agenda: Protection against a nuclear attack by Iran or against "dirty bomb" attacks by terror groups.

Gudkov's discovery may also have immense implications for cancer patients by enabling doctors to better protect patients against radiation. Should the new medication enable cancer patients to be treated with more powerful radiation, our ability to fight the disease could greatly improve.

Read the full story here.

The implications for the world are enormous. Victims of a Radiological attack could be effectively treated for the effects of Radiation Sickness, thus the terror effect of such an attack would be minimized.

Countries that don't have access to this drug would be at a disadvantage. Countries that threaten nations with nuclear attack who have this drug in their possession are neutralized. In effect, this drug silences Kim Jong Il of North Korea. For although he has a nuclear weapon, with this drug available, the short and long term effects upon the human body is no longer a major worry.

The FDA is expected to approve this drug within a few years. Hope for cancer patients and for the rest of us who worry not if but when some nutcase or terror group gets a hold of nuclear material and tries to destroy a city with it.

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