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closeSaturday, Aug. 22, 2009
Kennewick doctor returns from Iraq
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
The minor injuries and illnesses Dr. Kenneth Breeden is treating these days at Kennewick General Hospital's clinic in south Richland are a far cry from the kind of medicine he practiced just a few weeks ago in Iraq.
Breeden, 55, is a member of the Army National Guard who returned Aug. 5 from his second tour as a military physician in the war-torn Middle Eastern country.
"Over there, the injuries are a little worse," he said. "Sometimes, especially if they've been hit by small arms fire or an improvised explosive device, the injuries are much more traumatic."
Breeden wasn't on the front lines of fighting. He was stationed with the First Cavalry Division, 30th Brigade Heavy Combat Team at Forward Operating Base Falcon just outside of Baghdad.
His role there was to stabilize soldiers injured in combat and then send them to a hospital. He also treated soldiers on the base for sports injuries, and saw Department of Defense personnel and civilian contractors, as well as Iraqi civilians whom he said knew they'd get better care by coming to the Americans than going to an Iraqi hospital.
"We're kind of it," he said. "The hospitals and stuff -- a lot of them don't have power supplies. They have generators but no power supplies."
During his stint from April to August, the city was relatively stable and most medical conditions were minor -- dehydration from the intense heat that hovered near 130 degrees or people sick from an outbreak of diarrhea.
But the city wasn't without danger. Breeden saw seven casualties while he was there -- three people killed by a suicide bomb vest and four by an improvised explosive device while in a Humvee.
But it was improved compared to his first trip in 2005.
"With the surge, everything calmed down considerably," he said. "Now that we've pulled out of the cities, I'm not sure it's the same."
He was glad to return to his practice in Richland, which other KGH doctors and nurse practitioners kept going while he was overseas.
But he also was glad to have served, and hoped he could inspire others to do the same since there's a shortage of doctors in the military.
"No one likes to see young soldiers or young men and women injured," he said. "But our job is to make it so hopefully they'll be back to see their kids and loved ones. ... Hopefully in the future more med students will take scholarships or get a commission in the military so the younger physicians can take over for the older physicians like myself."
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