DOCTORS OF INTEREST
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PHOTO PROVIDED
Racing to beat the golden hour for best outcomes, Dr. Michael Walters, right,
and his team rush a wounded American soldier to the operating room from
a “dust-off” medivac Blackhawk helicopter in Afghanistan. Surgeons usually
have 45 minutes, but sometimes as little as 20 minutes, to prepare for incoming
casualties. This soldier was treated for his shrapnel wound and back to his
unit as soon as the mandatory two-week healing period was up, Walters said.
That is why he is an avid supporter of the Wounded
Warrior program.
Walters’ father spent 28 years in the Texas National
Guard, so the decision to join the Army Reserve came easy.
“I was a little hesitant at first, but after being in for a while
and seeing what the Army is really all about, it was one of
the best decisions I have made in my life,” he said.
After the first Gulf War, Army officials realized they
couldn’t call up reservist doctors for a year at a time because
it was destroying their practices at home. Today, Army
doctors — two-thirds Reservists — have more frequent
but shorter tours. “There will be a need for Army doctors,”
Walters said. “Who knows where? Indonesia, Africa,
Honduras?”
There are military humanitarian missions planned into
2016 in Afghanistan after U.S. forces leave. “There’s a fair
amount of pessimism as to whether they will be able to
stand on their own,” said Walters. “We will have to support
them for a long time. It is going to take a significant ongoing
investment. The Taliban is looking forward to us leaving so
they can take over. People with money and education are
making arrangements to leave. What is left are people with
no means, education or prospects. It’s discouraging. Being
in Afghanistan makes me feel extremely fortunate to be an
American. People who haven’t been out of the U.S. don’t
know how good they have it,” he said.
When he is not healing people in a primitive outpost of
civilization in Afghanistan or right here on the Treasure
Coast, Walters likes to spend time at the beach with his
family or scuba diving in the Florida Keys, St. Thomas and
the Cayman Islands.
Treasure Coast Medical Report
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