July/August 2007 Issue

Is There a Doctor on the Base?

Military Physicians

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10,853 U.S. physicians and dentists served in Korea, fewer than half via the “doctor draft.”

30,000 U.S. physicians and dentists served in Vietnam. Only 100 had been drafted.

Today, the U.S. Army has 4,200 physicians on active duty worldwide.

There are 32 active U.S. military doctors serving the 25,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

There are 96 physicians, 18 general surgeons, and 9 orthopedic surgeons serving the 146,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

The U.S. Army has 2 pediatric surgeons.

20 children are seen at the Bagram Air Base hospital in Afghanistan each month.

The U.S. National Guard is offering health care professionals $30,000 in bonuses for three-year commitments.

Canada offers medical officers enlistment bonuses of up to $225,000.

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In "It's Not a Crisis. This Is the New Normal," we explain, as matter-of-factly as we can, what exactly our finances look like, how brutal it is to sustain quality journalism right now, what makes Mother Jones different than most of the news out there, and why support from readers is the only thing that keeps us going. Despite the challenges, we're optimistic we can increase the share of online readers who decide to donate—starting with hitting an ambitious $300,000 goal in just three weeks to make sure we can finish our fiscal year break-even in the coming months.

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