Month: June 2013

Suffering and the Book of Job

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We all suffer, and many of us suffer most of the time. How can we live despite the pain?

By Mark D. Harris

The Background of the Book of Job

Uz was the first born of Nahor, brother of Abram (Genesis 22:20-21). Since Terah, the father of Abram, Nahor and Haran, lived near Ur of the Chaldeans, it is likely that Uz did as well. Job was probably a child of Uz, living in the lands of his father. Alternatively, the “Land of Uz” could have been near ancient Edom in modern day Jordan. Notably, Genesis 31:53 refers to God as “the God of Abraham and the God of Nahor.” Since Job was not a child of Abraham he was by definition a Gentile, and the Book of Job is therefore the only Gentile book in the Old Testament. Given the timing it is likely that Job was a contemporary of Jacob, Abraham’s grandson.

Some argue that Job is not history but rather a fable. Bible writers treat Job as history (Ezekiel 14:14, James 5:11) and there is no reason for modern readers to behave differently. Job may have been written by Job in his later years. If so, it is the only Old Testament book written by a Gentile.

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The Future of the Military Health System

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What will the Military Health System look like in the future? The operational forces will be more military, and the CONUS facilities will be more civilian. 

In the book Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944-1945, Max Hastings described how ships’ crews took on the characteristics of their commanders. One captain was not well liked but was respected because “he had a mind like a slide rule.” Most good commanders took care of their sailors.

One characteristic of all effective commanders was that they communicated all that they knew about the strategic situation to their crews. In December 1944 the US Navy had 1100 warships and 5000 support ships. Most sailors never saw the big battles and instead spent the war shipping cargo between ports. For example, it is 5100 nautical miles from Honolulu, Hawaii to Darwin, Australia. Cargo ships took 21 days each way to make the trip. Temperatures in these all-metal ships reached 110 degrees, the odor of fuel and sweat was ubiquitous, and the noise was deafening. Men swabbed, repaired, ate, slept and repeated the process endlessly. They saw nothing but the sea, the sky, their ship, and each other. Few knew how their part, no matter how small, fit into the overall plan for victory.

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Jonathan Potts – American Revolutionary Physician

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Military physicians, just like all soldiers and military officers, should read military history. We will be better if we do.

By Mark D. Harris

Napoleon suggested “Read over and over again the campaigns of Alexander, Hannibal, Caesar, Gustavus, Turenne, Eugene and Frederic. … This is the only way to become a great general and master the secrets of the art of war. …” As true as this maxim is for line officers, it is also true for leaders in the Army medical department. By studying the struggles, victories and defeats of our forebears we can better surmount the obstacles we face today.

Dr. Jonathan Potts is a medical officer worth studying. He was born in Popodickon, Pennsylvania in 1747 and, with Dr. Benjamin Rush, attended the famous medical school in Edinburgh, Scotland. He returned to the colonies on learning of the illness of his fiancé, Miss Grace Richardson. Potts married her in May 1767 and completed his Doctor of Medicine at the College of Philadelphia, the first institution to grant medical degrees in America, in 1771. He began a private practice in Reading, PA, but responded to the call of independence, seeking assignment with the Continental Hospital Department, comprised of Northern, Middle and Eastern Departments.

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Diversity – Promises Kept and Promises Broken

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Diversity with underlying unity of purpose works. Diversity with fundamental division of purpose does not.

As chief medical officer for the DeWitt Health Care Network in 2009, I interviewed all physicians assigned to our hospital who were planning to leave the Army. During a conversation with a young pediatrician, I inquired about her reasons for going. She was born in America of Indian parents in New York and was a practicing Hindu, and she had been unhappy in her recent assignment in Fort Polk, Louisiana. When I asked why, she said “I just want to go to a place with more diversity.” I was puzzled, because while she may not have considered Fort Polk adequately diverse, the assignment she was completing was in Northern Virginia, one of the most diverse places in the country. I said “we have hundreds of people groups, varied restaurants and cultural facilities, and unending opportunities here. What are you looking for?” She replied “I want to be around Indians and Indian culture. I noted “the Durga Hindu temple is not far from here, and there are Indian restaurants, Indian culture, and a large Indian population nearby. Are you involved with those? Wouldn’t that be enough to make you want to stay in uniform?” She replied, “I like the Army, but I just want to be with my people. I want to go home.”

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