Hawkeye

In this chapter, the author talks about a general surgeon he calls Hawkeye, whom he met during a weeklong surgical training course at the Royal College of Surgeons in London. Pre-deployment training involved five days practicing on human cadavers made up to resemble recipients of the war's signature wounds. The author describes Hawkeye as someone who has genuine concern for those put in his care, particularly the Royal Marines. He also discusses the three of four required pre-deployment courses: MOST, targeted specifically at surgeons and anesthetists, a Hospital Exercise (Hospex) staged in a near-perfect replica of the Role 3 hospital in Camp Bastion, but on a military base outside York, and designed to bring the entire hospital staff together; and a ten-day Operational Test and Evaluation Command (OPTEC) hosted at the Royal Navy base in Portsmouth and required for everyone about to deploy regardless of specialty or rank.