WASHINGTON, D.C. - While Third District Congressman Jon Porter leads a Congressional delegation traveling to Germany, Kuwait, Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan, he will provide periodic e-mail updates describing his experiences.  The following is the first update:

Tuesday, December, 27, 2005: Ramstein Air Base and Landstuhl Regional Medical Center

We arrived in Ramstein Air Base (RAB) in Germany this morning to snow and 30 degree temperatures.  We were warmly greeted by the men and women serving our wounded service members from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom.  We learned that Germany is just one stop on a long road to recovery for our troops as they leave the combat theater, returning to the comfort and care of their loved ones back in the United States.  As we stepped off the plane, we followed the same route that too many of our injured and wounded have followed.

Starting with world class health care in theater, they arrive at Ramstein where they are reevaluated and prepared for further care at Landstuhl Medical Center.  Even with the latest advances in medical technology, the six hour flight from Iraq is a grueling ordeal, requiring a brief stop to gain strength for the journey home.  At Landstuhl, we discovered many patients are only on the ground for three days.  The good news is that they are quickly repatriated to their families, however, the downside is that many medical professionals suffer compassion fatigue, being unable to see their grievously injured patients recover and reintegrate with their families.  I was impressed with the insurmountable courage that these medical professionals are showing our service members on a daily basis.

One important purpose of our trip is to meet and interact with medical personnel, of which we anticipate an acute shortage, especially in the nursing field.  One of my goals as Chairman of the Federal Workforce Subcommittee is to explore ways to alleviate these expected shortages.  I have placed a particular emphasis on nursing, as we expect to see a nationwide shortage of 800,000 nurses by 2020.  I believe that our highly-trained military nursing personnel could help meet a significant portion of this shortage if we break down currently established boundaries preventing this from happening.  Every nurse we spoke with shared with us their concerns about such issues they may face in the private sector, including legal liability protection, low pay, an overall lack of strategic direction for health care, the need for medical insurance portability, a need to elevate the status of the nursing profession in the public's eye, training, transition to the private sector, recruiting men and minorities to the profession, and added bonus incentives for working in critical need areas.  Many nurses are concerned about regaining their positions upon retuning to civilian life and I am disappointed that a few businesses have allowed this perception to persist in the nursing community.  Despite these concerns, every active duty and reservist nurse we spoke with relayed to us the pride they take in their mission and the training they've received in their specialty while serving their country. 

A highlight of the day was our opportunity to meet with various injured service members recently returned from battle in Iraq.  They shared with us their personal stories about the situation on the ground and the dangers they face on a daily basis.  I was inspired by their courageous acts of heroism and their strong love for the cause of freedom.  Far away from the halls of power these men and women fight for their friends, families and fellow soldiers.

I was particularly honored to meet with several Nevada residents stationed in Germany, working on the front lines of our military health care system.  They included Dr. Warren Dorlac, Chief of Trauma and Critical Care, from Carson City, Captain Cameron Oliver, from Reno, and Major Insel Angus, a reservist nurse from Reno.

I look forward to departing tomorrow for the second leg of our journey to Kuwait, where we will continue to examine these important issues.

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