Lucas Siegel, 91W Combat Medic

Many comic and gaming fans know Lucas Siegel from his articles on comics, technology, and gaming for Newsarama. His most recent article was a review of Tony Hawk’s video game “Ride”. What you probably don’t know is Lucas Siegel was an Army Combat Medic who was deployed for a year to Iraq in 2003-2004. Lucas was kind enough to share his story with us for our first “Interview with a Vet” feature.

Which service did you join and why?

Siegel: I joined the Army via the Iowa National Guard. I was one semester into college, and at that point hadn’t done much to better myself, to put it nicely. I was doing a little too much partying and goofing off and not enough studying.

I really needed some direction and discipline in my life. My father served in the US Army as a Doctor during Vietnam (after having also served in the Chilean Army, where he was born), and my Grandfather on my mom’s side had served during World War II, so there was a sense of legacy to it as well. Ultimately though, I wanted to find a way to be a better person, and hopefully help some others while I was at it.

What was your position/duty?

Siegel: My MOS (that’s the Army term for job) was 91W, Combat Medic. I was initially trained under the previous medic designation 91B, but they later added new training to bring us closer to Nurse-levels of training than medic, which frankly came in handy overseas.

How long have you been in the service?

Siegel: I was in the Army for 6 years, plus two years of inactive reserve service. That was my initial contract, and I felt that I got everything out of it that I wanted/could, and it was time for me to move on and try something new.

When did you deploy to Iraq/Afghanistan? How long were you there?

Siegel: I was activated on January 20th, 2003. We then prepped at Ft. McCoy in Wisconsin, in lots of snow and subzero temperatures, for about two months. At this point, they were still determining how large the initial incursion force would be. I shipped out to Kuwait right at the end of March, and was driving up into Iraq over Easter weekend, a couple weeks later.

We stayed boots-on-ground for almost exactly a year. I was back home April 1st, 2004, and released from Active Duty at the end of that month.

What was your initial thought when you arrived in country?

Siegel: Pretty much abject terror. About 4 minutes after we got off the plane, in full gear, we had our first air raid siren go off. That was a pretty brash and immediate wake-up call. Heh, I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that, actually.

Moving into Iraq was a bizarre mix of emotions and thoughts. About the first 15 kilometers past the Kuwait/Iraq border, the streets were literally lined with cheering people. Kids, adults, elders, all cheering, yelling “thank you, mister!” and holding out their hands hoping for some food, or some fresh water. One kid offered a small lizard to one of the female soldiers in our company, which she politely declined. I also distinctly remember laughing pretty hard, as a man in his mid-twenties was literally swinging a dead, de-feathered chicken around in circles over his head, like it was a party favor.

Did you feel prepared?

Siegel: Mentally, I was as prepared as you can be for that sort of experience. I was definitely and absolutely well-trained. When it came down to it, and in emergency situations I had to perform my duties as a medic, I and my fellow soldiers were able to efficiently and effectively carry out everything we had to do and help save lives, even under fire.

Unfortunately, we were also a bit under-prepared as an overall fighting force. I didn’t get the ceramic plates for my body armor issued to me until I was leaving Iraq to drive back to Kuwait. I’d been in a warzone for a year with just a flak jacket; that would stop shrapnel from a certain distance, but most rifle and stronger weapons would go straight through that without the plating. We even had some cloth doors still on our vehicles when we were driving up, during the active initial ground war.

What was your most memorable experience?

Siegel: Well, there was one battle in particular that will stay with me forever, but I’d rather not go into details on that one.

My best memory probably came from a jump mission. On Jump missions, medical personnel, usually just 2 guys in one ambulance, or two sets in two ambulances, would go out for anywhere from a day to about 2 or 3 weeks, supporting another unit in their mission. In my case, I was going out with EOD, who are some of the bravest people in the world. These soldiers go out, pick up unexploded ordinance, anything from grenades to bullets to full size mortars and larger bombs/rockets, and collect, safely disarm, then bring it all to a gigantic pit to blow up in a controlled explosion. Simply put: some of the scariest shit you can voluntarily do.

So I and my ambulance partner are out with EOD, and they’re trying to clear the ordinance out of this small village. I use that term loosely; it was essentially a few clay huts, each about the size of the average middle-class American living room, and each housing two or three families. These kids wouldn’t know better, and would be playing with the bullets and even the grenades they’d find on the ground. Many people don’t know, Saddam Hussein would frequently place ammo stores in these villages, purposely trying to literally hide behind the average people; he’d also place tanks directly next to schools, and line up infantry in front of hospitals and places of worship.

While we were out on these missions, we’d often try to run a rudimentary sick call for the villagers, especially the kids. One child, we found out was age 11 (during my time there, I built myself up to a working vocabulary of around 300 words of Arabic, so I could do basic medical care without a translator). He had a cut on his finger, as will happen to kids his age, but he didn’t have even the basics, so his finger was infected, with the infection beginning to run up his hand. We cleaned out the wound, put some antibiotic cream on it, and it was small enough that we didn’t need to wrap it. So I take out a bandaid, and open it up and the kid kinda jumps back. I tell him not to worry, reach out and put the bandaid on his finger. He just stared at it for a second, then turns around and shows it off to his friends/family.

It was the first time he’d ever seen a bandaid.

What were your thoughts as you left the theater to return home?

Siegel: Thank God, Thank God, Thank God! It really was a lot of relief at first, I don’t think there was just about any other emotion that could get through. It did wind up turning into relief mixed with anticipation for getting back and seeing my loved ones, having access to safe, running water anytime I wanted, and sleeping without explosions! I remember being really excited, and wondering if I’d be ABLE to sleep without explosions. What an odd thought to ever have.

What did you take away from your deployment?

Siegel: The biggest thing for me, is I try to remind myself to be thankful for it. Sure, I gave up a bit over 14 months of my life, but I went over there, and I know for a fact that I saved some lives. That’s a powerful thing. So I may suffer a bit, and struggle with some of the memories, but when it came down to it, I got home safe and got others home safe, too.

Did it change you in some way?

Siegel: Without question. It gave me a very different perspective on day to day life, one that I unfortunately lose sometimes, but overall, I appreciate life, privilege, and the USA more than I ever did. It also really opened my eyes to how similar we all are, all over the world, especially the children.

What do you want people to know about the War?

Siegel: The big things are these points: 1) Like I just said, we’re all the same. All over the world. Kids play soccer and throw rocks at empty cans, friends goof around together, adolescents wrestle, adults do their daily work and struggle to figure out how to properly raise the next generation.

2) While most people these days agree that we went about things the wrong way, and/or went for the wrong primary reasons, we really did a good thing. Hussein was a very, very bad man, who misspent the nation’s wealth, hurt, maimed, and killed tens of thousands yearly, and generally made life hell for a very large percentage of the population. The people literally danced and sang on the streets when we captured him. Danced and sang.

3) It’s really hard for people to come back. Look at your soldier, seaman, airman, or Marine, and really listen, really observe, and help them out however they can. There are far too many who aren’t finding the right support when they get home.

You’re active with IAVA, recently shooting a commercial for them. Would you like to tell us about your involvement with IAVA and the current initiative in need of support?

Siegel: The IAVA, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, is a fantastic organization. The new GI Bill that went into effect this fall? IAVA. The VA Health spending bill passed early? IAVA. These guys are truly out there specifically to support soldiers, and really ALL veterans.

They also have a great community online at IAVA.org. There, you can take place in discussions in the social network, learn about the latest bill they’re lobbying for, and find community events all over the US where you can meet other Veterans in your area who know exactly what you’re going through. The new campaign, which just launched on TV and Radio thanks to the Ad Council, is “We’ve got your back,” and they truly do. Anyone that wants to help support this awesome organization can just go to IAVA.org; there’re always ways to help, and there is always need.

Anything we didn’t cover that you feel readers should know?

Siegel: The biggest thing is something many may have heard before: you can support the troops without supporting the wars. I’ll just leave it at that.