Sacha Walters, Staff Reporter

Captain Joan Davis - a nurse is committed to treating the sick even when that includes the enemy. - Contributed

Mary Seacole became a nurse in war time and dedicated her life to helping soldiers. Fast-forward to the present, Joan Davis a Jamaican-born nurse in the United States army finds fulfilment in caring for the sick even when they include the enemy.

The 49-year-old army captain was deployed to Iraq in 2005, a moment she remembers right to the second. "My first real war time deployment started on February 19 when I got a call at work at 7:19 in the morning," Davis said. "Once I got the call I was ready. We always knew. So I was prepared spiritually, mentally and physically."

Born in St. Elizabeth, she was deployed a month later to Wisconsin where the group of caregivers would not be only trained to deal with war fatalities, but to kill.

"They brought in some sheriffs from Texas to train us to kill, but they couldn't break us for the first two weeks. After we realised the magnitude of our mission and who we were going to be dealing with, we had to put away what we learnt before," she said. The transformation was evident in her. "I'm telling you I was a killing machine," she said describing her skills, "I could kill you in a heartbeat with my hands, my weapon and my gear." The body armour she wore weighed approximately 40 pounds and she could use it to "break your face", if it was necessary. The group fought in mud pits until they got the technique right.

Intense training

Captain Joan Davis, a nurse in the US army says she had to be fully armed and ready for the worst when she was in Iraq. - Contributed photos

The training was intense to match the reality they would face once they hit Iraq because for the first time they would face patients who did not want their help.

"We were actually dealing with (Iraqi) detainees who were awaiting trial. Some of them didn't like us because we were dark skinned; we were females and we were telling them what to do. Some of them were hateful because we were Americans," she said, further explaining, "I've been grabbed, scratched and squeezed, kicked and cursed. You could always see the hate in some of the detainees' eyes. So you live in fear of 'what if' every day."

That 'what if' factor worried her family, particularly her two daughters. The girls then 13 and 29 had much adjusting to do. "It really impacted them terribly," she said, explaining that she had to leave her older daughter at a time when she needed her mother most. "My daughter had just been married the year before. She was seven months pregnant. My first grandchild was born when I was away."

Davis had to find her family among strangers, which worked as she found a surrogate sister in her room-mate, fellow Jamaican, Captain Mary Gordon.

"We lived in a small space. It's one door, one window and there are two beds and two wall lockers, but it was comfortable," she said. However, while basic necessities were provided, ordinary daily activities were made difficult because of the temperature. "Everything that comes from you is hot. Your urine is hot. Your period is hot. "I had my period sometimes for very long stretches at a time. The body did not get a chance to rest."

There were portable bathrooms which were not only inconvenient because they lacked the comfort of home, but you couldn't sit on the toilet seat because you'd get third degree burns around your bottom and your legs so you had to have strong legs to balance yourself."

Not all bad

Captain Joan Davis is a nurse in the United States army.

But it wasn't all bad, as they were able to have small comforts from home.

"We had music. We had food. I made ackee and saltfish for people over there. You ask for what you want and it comes in three days. God bless the air force. I cooked in the microwave or on wood fire," she said. "We had four hot meals per day and Baskin Robins ice cream twice a day."

After spending 15 months in Iraq, Davis and her group of 293 returned unharmed and she is still equally committed to her job. Presently adjusting to civilian life, she is awaiting a possible promotion to major while working as a registered nurse at the Montefiore Medical Centre. She is cherishing her time with family. But, with the possibility of being deployed again, the war is still in the forefront of her mind.

"We're going to be there for a long time. It's more intense than what we had anticipated. I don't think that a lot of homework was put into it initially but now that we're there, we can't leave," she said. Many Americans forget that they are at war, something which is impossible for her.

"There are many times here in the US when we don't even remember that the country is at war. People are free to go to the malls, to the movies, anywhere they want to," she said.

But for the Iraqi people, it's the opposite. "We have to rebuild and allow these people to go on with their lives. It's just so sad that they can't use their playgrounds because they are laced with explosives. They can't go to the market as they should. They're living the war."

In spite of all this, Davis has no reservations about entering Iraq again. Her aim will remain constant - to care for her enemy so they know that not all Americans are bad.