Young Reserve Officer goes far, but still keeps close to CIOR friends and mentors
By Lt. Col. Ann Peru Knabe, USAF

LT Kara Marr’s met dozens of young reserve officers from NATO countries at the YRO workshop in Italy in summer of 2006. The CIOR experience gave her confidence working in the international arena, which came in handy just a few months later.

The U.S. Navy officer is currently deployed to Landstuhl Army Medial Center in Landstuhl, Germany. Her unit, Fleet Hospital Great Lakes, Ill., is the first Navy unit to serve at the military hospital that specializes in treating injured Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom servicemembers.

“We care for wounded warriors who are air-evaced (aeromedically-evacuated) from the battlefield,” said the 30-year-old who works on the medical-surgical ward at Landstuhl. “Most of them come from places like Balad and Bagram (air bases) in Iraq.”

The patients arrive via military transport on U.S. Air Force C-130 Hercules and C-17 Globemaster aircraft. Most often they come directly from medical facilities close to the fighting. Their cases are serious enough that they can’t be treated at the military hospitals in the war theater.

“We see all kinds of patients,” said LT Marrs. “We take Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen, as well as civilian contractors. And we also take servicemembers from other coalition partner countries, like Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland.”

The Reservist said she sees injuries varying in severity.

“Our job is to get the servicemembers stabilized, get tests and procedures completed as needed, and send on to the United States for more specialized care,” she explained. “The average stay is two to four days. Most of the patients do not go back to the war zone.”

LT Marrs said the work can be physically and emotionally draining.

“The worst cases are patients with bilateral amputees,” she said. “They are missing limbs, and their emotions run high and low. Sometimes I feel like there isn’t much I can do to make them feel better. But at the end of the day, you stay strong just knowing you helped someone out or put a smile on someone’s face.”

LT Marrs said the hospital also treats U.S. Active Duty members serving in Germany, and dependents and retirees.

“There some major differences between my job here and civilian work back home as a pediatric home health nurse,” she said. “I had set hours back in California, and here in Germany I had to get used to shift work again. I’m also on call here, and we work nights, holidays and long hours in general.”

At any given time, LT Marrs can be responsible for seven patients, although nights usually have a lighter patient load. Back home she typically worked with only one child and one family.

“I do miss working with the children,” she said. “But I know I’ll have that option when I get back to the United States.”

LT Marrs said the toughest part of deployment is being away from home and not seeing her husband. She got married a couple months before she deployed, and her unit back home has been helpful in keeping in contact with husband.

She said she is capturing many memories during her tour, and it’s hard for her to pinpoint one particularly moving moment.

“There are so many, but I do know I will always remember the feeling I get when I am working with a wounded warrior,” she said. “They are always helping each other out, no matter how bad their own situation is, making sure their buddies are OK. Even when they are in really terrible shape, they are asking about the others. That’s amazing loyalty, and seeing that motivates me in my job.”

The Landstuhl deployment is the nurse’s second mobilization. She was also mobilized six months in 2003 and served in San Diego.

Despite being deployed, she still maintains CIOR contacts throughout NATO. In August, she took a weekend off and flew to Riga to catch-up with friends during the CIOR Congress.

“I’ve learned so much in the last year,” she said. “My colleagues from YRO, CIOR and CIOMR helped get me where I am today.”