The Foreign Service Journal, January 2004

J A N U A R Y 2 0 0 4 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 49 his morning (Oct. 31) in the wonder- ful city of Baghdad, I woke up at 6:00 and made some coffee. Sitting out in front of the Convention Center and listening to the birds, I watched the tail end of the sunrise and felt almost normal. This week was a little more exciting than even I would like. Sunday morning (Oct. 26), I had just woken up to the Muslim call to prayer and was lying in bed thinking about getting up and starting anoth- er day. I’d had a really nice Friday off and Saturday was very produc- tive, so the week had started out well. Suddenly there were huge explosions and my room was filled with smoke — the Hotel al-Rashid was under attack again, and this was a big one. I rolled out of bed, grabbed my sandals and phone (we’ll leave the analysis of why I grabbed sandals and a phone until later — a friend grabbed her contacts and makeup case!) — and was instantly out of my room. The hallway was filled with smoke and I had almost reached the stairs when I heard an American woman screaming for help — she’d lost her arm. I ran back and immediately put pressure on her wound (thanks to State Department training on emergency medical assistance when I was in Kuwait). I yelled for assistance and after ordering several guys with tourniquets away (she could have lost her arm if we’d tied a tourniquet), I found sev- eral men to help carry her down the three flights of stairs. I remember calling for a medic once we got to the lobby of the hotel, which was already filled with people. Unfortunately, no medic had been stationed at the hotel, but a former South African special forces officer came to help (he’s doing private security here, the most popular job in town) and helped somewhat while I continued to keep pressure on the arm. After what seemed like forever (but probably was 15-20 minutes), the army ambulance arrived. Because there weren’t many medics, I stayed with the woman in the ambulance continuing to keep pressure on her arm, using my other hand to call the State Department and tell them of the attack. We arrived at the hospital and she was immediately taken into surgery for two or three hours. The doctors saved her arm and she is doing very well. So, there I was at the 28th Combat Surgical Hospital in my green PJs (my favorite PJs!) and sandals, clutching my cell phone! I was covered in blood and still somewhat in shock, but I called mom and dad and told them I was all right. I then started counting the casualties as they were brought into the hospital. Someone gave me a hospital gown, so I could take off my top — but the gown kept opening and here I was, clutching the front of my gown, still wearing my PJ bottoms, carrying a phone covered in blood. I must have looked like a madwoman! L ETTER FROM B AGHDAD A N FSO RECOUNTS A MEMORABLE RECENT WEEK IN B AGHDAD . B Y B ETH A. P AYNE T Beth Payne is the U.S. consul in Baghdad. An FSO since 1993, she has served in Kuwait, Tel Aviv and Kigali. On Nov. 24, she received a Superior Honor Award and an Award for Heroism for her service in Iraq. I called mom and dad and told them I was all right. I then started counting the casualties as they were brought into the hospital.