Published Tuesday, April 1, 2003
in Army Reserves
Herald Staff Writer
An unexpected trip to Kuwait came quickly for Dr. Robert Hawkins, who had a chance to serve his country by taking care of American troops in the Middle East.
Hawkins, a radiologist with UPMC Horizon, Farrell, is in the Army Reserves. "The trip to Kuwait just kind of came out of the blue," he said.
Just before Thanksgiving, Hawkins got a call from the Army telling him to expect orders. He was told he would go to Kuwait at the end of December or early in January. A short time later, he got another call saying he was to leave Dec. 1.
Hawkins returned from Kuwait to Fort Benning, Ga., on March 14 and made it back to the Shenango Valley six days later.
He took care of American troops in an Armed Forces hospital in Kuwait.
"It was strange to watch it (the situation in the Middle East) from the inside," Hawkins said.
The majority of injuries he dealt with were twisted ankles and knees from recreational activities and injuries involving the unloading and testing of heavy equipment. The surgeons there had to perform a lot of appendectomies and hernia operations, he said.
"I think everyone knew the war was going to start sometime ... Everyone over there felt it was all predetermined," Hawkins said.
He said the general feeling of the troops was that they wished the war would start because they were bored. He said some troops wished the war wouldn't start until they left for home.
The day-to-day work atmosphere was not frightening, Hawkins said.
"Occasionally it got tense," he said, citing a time when contractors were shot on a road the doctors traveled each day to get to the hospital. "There were little incidents that reminded us of how much jeopardy we were really in."
Hawkins said he was issued a gas mask and chemical suit, and during his last week in Kuwait he had to carry it with him at all times.
"We didn't get to see much of Kuwait," Hawkins said. He said they were locked down at the Army base and allowed to travel only to the hospital.
"The sandstorms are as bad, if not worse, than anyone makes them out to be," Hawkins said. He was caught in a sandstorm while waiting for a bus. "We were absolutely miserable. We had sand everywhere."
Hawkins said he was glad to get home before the war started. So were his wife, Terri, and their 3-year-old daughter, Libby.
When asked what her initial reaction was when she learned that her husband had to go to Kuwait, Mrs. Hawkins laughed and said, "It was unprintable." She said she wanted to know how long he was going to be gone and when he had to go.
Mrs. Hawkins said she knew it was better for him to go before the war started, and she knew he was in a safe place "relatively speaking for over there."
Libby just knows her dad was at work -- for a long time.
"At one point, Libby decided he was walking home and that's why it was taking so long," Mrs. Hawkins said.
Employees at UPMC Horizon welcomed Hawkins home with a party at the Farrell hospital on Monday. There will be a party at the Greenville hospital today.
You can e-mail Herald Staff Writer Kristen Garrett at:
kgarrett@sharonherald.com