Surgeons work to remove shrapnel from a hospital corpsman’s knee at Fleet Hospital Three (FH-3) in southern Iraq during Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. FH-3 became part of Navy history as the first Expeditionary Medical Facility deployed to a war zone. During OIF, the staff took care of over 1,110 patients (coalition forces, displaced civilians and enemy prisoners of war) and performed over 620 surgical procedures.

The artist reflects on the subject: “Watching these people work under such harsh conditions, in the heat and during sand storms, treating the wounded and the sick, combatants and noncombatants alike, is an experience that I will keep with me for the rest of my life. I just hope my painting reflects what really went on there.”