M*A*S*H - mobile army surgical hospital

KABAAALM...BLAST!!!! Exploded the shells...

As the doctors sat in the mess temt they hear the PA system come to life. Crackle...crackle...incoming wounded...report to OR...I repeat...report to OR STAT!!!!

They all rush out... Vroooom...Screech.. The ambulances sped in and braked.

The OR was in full swing. Two  doctors worked on triage, outside prioritising who goes for surgery first based on how bad they are wounded.

Aaaah....owww...groaned the wounded. Nurses and orderlies ran around helping them give first aid and moving the wounded.

Clank clink clank...went the surgical instruments. Pitter patter of feet as wounded were moved in and out of the OR. There were 4 tables side by side in one tent that was the OR.

Shuffle. ..push. ..swish...as the nurses and orderlies replaced and changed sheets, bandages, gloves, instruments...as more and more fresh wounded were brought in.

BAAAM!! Another one...this one seemed closer. The tent shook and then stood still. Everyone looked up for a second while they covered up the patients on the table to prevent debris from falling on them, then back to work.

After almost 12 hours of surgery they all sat at the mess tent, exhausted.  The company clerk was filling out details of the wounded with the help of the chief surgeon.

Over 250 wounded, 10 casualties,  2 amputations, one spinal injury, 1 had shrapnel in his eyes,  2 lost their hearing in the blast, one lost his sanity. 

The injured, once better were sent back to the front.

The remaining,  obviously unfit to fight, were discharged from the army with a medal to remember. 

Thump..thump..thump...the surgeon banged his fist on the table. Each one of the wounded are brothers, husbands, fathers and sons. 

Casualties include not only soldiers but civilians too....there is absolutely no regard for human life.The pain. The suffering. 

The futility of war.

The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) refers to a United States Army medical unit serving as a fully functional hospital in a combat area of operations. The units were first established in August 1945, and were deployed during the Korean War and later conflicts.

It was an alternative to the system of portable surgical hospitals, field hospitals, and general hospitals used during World War II. It was designed to get experienced personnel closer to the front, so that the wounded could be treated sooner and with greater success.Casualties were first

treated at the point of injury through buddy aid, then routed through Battalion Aid Stations for emergency stabilizing surgery, and finally routed to the MASH for the most extensive treatment. This proved to be highly successful; during the Korean War, a seriously wounded soldier who made it to a MASH unit alive had a greater than 97% chance of survival. 

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_Army_Surgical_Hospital

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekendhttp://blog.blogadda.com/2013/10/11/wow-sound-expressions-love-of-writing, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda