Product Details

• Actors: Will Lyman
• Directors: Dimitri Doganis; Callum Macrae
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Letterboxed, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: WGBH BOSTON
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004
• Run Time: 60 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0000B1OG0
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #91,760 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Military Medicine on the Front Lines.

Treating patients with life-threatening injuries is always a challenge. Now imagine handling a medical emergency at the height of the Iraq War, beset by heat, sand, and frequent enemy attacks. NOVA heads into battle with the medics, nurses, doctors, and military staff of the 10th and 21st CaSH units, following them from their intense prewar preparations to their deployments in Kuwait and the desert north of Baghdad.

Shortly after their doors open, the medical and ethical dramas begin. Prepared for everything from chemical and biological attack to mass U.S. casualties, the CaSH staff quickly find that their biggest challenge is taking up the slack from devastated Iraqi hospitals. When Iraqi military and civilian victims—some of them children with horrific injuries—begin taxing supplies and manpower, heart-wrenching ethical decisions must be made.

Experience Life and Death in the War Zone, an intimate story of survival in a combat hospital.

Special DVD features include: materials and activities for educators; a link to the NOVA web site; scene selections; closed captions; and described video for the visually impaired.

On one DVD5 disc. Region coding: All regions. Audio: Dolby stereo. Screen format: Letterboxed.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Thank God for Nova, but be clear about what exactly this is , February 7, 2005

By	doppelganger "dvd-archive" (Chicago) - See all my reviews

What you can't see on the cover say's: "Inside An American Support Hospital" or CASH (just like MASH, yes the TV show). I thought I would see some 'Battle Footage' which it seems is almost IMPOSSIBLE to come by these days, and you definitely will NOT SEE ANY in this video. It IS amazing, they set up a virtual hospital in the combat zone of Iraq to perform surgeries and everything.

The troubling part is that they realize they have to turn away so many people (civilians) because they have rules of conduct; "Life-Limbs-Eyes". So if your going to die next week in a Bahgdad Hospital, so be it. They show THAT kind of trauma. The head surgeon actually makes the decision NOT to give a bomb victim a crucial drug, because Americans MAY need it later. The guy of course dies in a day or two. Really sad stuff. I never would have seen this if I knew what it was.

IRAQ COMBAT HOSPITAL DOCUMENTARY

5.0 out of 5 stars Great DVD for those wanting to see what we go through, January 24, 2009

By	R. Walters "armynurse" (WDC) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I've deployed with a combat hospital (14th CSH), and this is a very good video. I was just browsing it though, and see that there are sellers thinking they should get upwards of $27!! I don't get it... you can go to the NOVA website and purchase this from the source for $19.95

Great DVD definitely worth watching, but what's up with some of these sellers?

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The finest care in the most dangerous environments, August 25, 2007

By	Kyle Tolle (Phoenix, Arizona USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Today's saviors of injured American soldiers in Iraq are the Combat Support Hospitals known as CaSH's. These were developed from previously known Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals or MASH units. NOVA explores the activities of the 10th and 21st Combat Support Hospitals out of Fort Carson, Colorado and Fort Hood, Texas.

Beginning with logistical and training aspects in the United States and following through to a forward operating location at Balad Air Base northwest of Baghdad, a fairly comprehensive look is taken at what is seen and experienced by personnel there.

These highly trained units are comprised of physicians, nurses, and medics that have many identical skills comparable to what you would find in American hospitals. Upon reaching Iraq, soldiers are tasked with creating a medical facility out of tents and solid containers to form rooms and wards and they have only 72 hours to complete this before accepting their first casualties. Designed to accommodate the most critically injured and intensive cases, those needing even more specialized treatment lasting more than a week are airlifted to facilities in Europe or the United States.

What may be one of the more difficult aspects of dispensing care in the war zone is the treatment of enemy soldiers and Iraqi civilians. Military directives allow for emergency procedures for these individuals only if they are in immediate danger of losing life, limb, or eyesight and they can't receive services at Iraqi hospitals. Medical personnel interviewed in this program relate their feelings about the moral and ethical dilemmas faced when deciding who can and cannot receive this immediate care and the heartbreak that these tough decisions can cause.

`Life and Death in the War Zone' isn't all inclusive in its exploration of combat medicine but it is above average, in my opinion, for what you might expect from only one hour's worth of material.