RMH General Surgeon Called for Active Duty

11/10/2011

Paul Sutherland, M.D., a General Surgeon for Richland Memorial Hospital, is no stranger to serving his country. Having been with the Army Reserves since 1991, he has served three tours of duty in Iraq, and coming up in mid December he will begin his fourth, this time in the eastern part of Afghanistan.

“I’m excited, nervous, apprehensive,” laughes Sutherland. “I was to the point where I understood what to expect in Iraq, now going to Afghanistan will present a whole new challenge.”

Sutherland was last deployed in 2009. Due to the fact that the Military is short of surgeons, those enlisted are often sent more frequently for shorter periods of time. Instead of being deployed for a year at a time, they are typically gone for approximately six months. Sutherland expects to return home sometime in July 2012.

In his previous tours, he has served with a hospital unit, a medical unit called the Forward Surgical Team and his last tour was as a Flight Surgeon. This time he will be returning to serve with the Forward Surgical Team.

“The purpose for this unit is to provide acute care and resuscitative care to wounded coalition members. This includes Army, Marines, Air Force, Afghan Police and Afghan Army. The secondary part of this mission is to provide medical care to indigenous Afghan civilians.”

Although he has had just a short time at RMH and as a member of the community, he has received great support from community members.

“I’m a little sad about leaving, but I also believe the commitment to our troops and nation is important,” says Sutherland.

Dr. Sutherland will continue to see patients into December and looks forward to getting back in July to resume his regular clinic hours.

“I won’t just miss the comforts of home and family, but the camaraderie of the staff here at the hospital. I plan to hit the ground running when I get back,” smiles Sutherland.