The Blog by Ziyad Nazem

Horror: The Dawood Military Hospital

If you look at only one story about the Afghan War this year, make it this one. An explosive Congressional investigation revealed horrific new details this week about a U.S. funded military hospital in Afghanistan that kept patients in “Auschwitz-like” conditions.

The investigation also revealed that Lt. General William B. Caldwell, then commander of the $11.2 billion dollar a year Afghan training program, tried to block the probe and ordered a cover-up.

There are currently two ongoing investigations looking into the Dawood Military Hospital abuses: one centered around the Military Whistleblower Protection Act, the other concerned with Caldwell’s politically-motivated decision to delay investigations into the hospital until after the 2010 elections.

What follows is a very disturbing look inside the Dawood National Military Hospital. It was compiled with sworn eye-witness testimony from the three U.S. Army colonels who blew the whistle on the scandal, as well as never-before published photos obtained by BuzzFeed.

The photos and corresponding descriptions were collected by U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan.

The images below may be considered graphic.

Colonel Gerald Nicholas Carozza: “Patients were lying in filth, in some cases starving and with grotesque bed sores. One patient was on the brink of starving to death.”

A patient’s untreated wound.

“The Patients’ Bill of Rights posters were found ripped off the walls lying on the ground torn to pieces ‘to allow for painting of the walls.’”

This patient was not treated for three days, given no wound checks, and his dressings were soiled. He was not given any analgesics prior to his surgery, and remained conscious. U.S. military personnel in Afghanistan at the time described his surgery taking place in “semi-sterile conditions.” This patient died 4 days later of paritonitis related sepsis without ever going back to operating room for care.

“The Auschwitz like conditions at the National Military Hospital.”

Maggots began falling out of this patient’s wounds. He died a week later.

Colonel Schuyler K. Geller: “Afghan soldiers’ families have sold their farms and indentured themselves for healthcare in the US- and coalition-supported Daoud Khan Hospital.”

Gangrene set in, making this patient a candidate for amputation. The surgeon refused to “address the issue for days,” according to the investigation.

Investigators described this as “a sacral decubitus lesion with high grade tunneling.” There were no plans for surgery for this patient.

“External Fixation device. Bandages unattended for > 1 week, soiled, malodorous. Wound management team summoned on insistence of mentor(s). Maggots found among purulent draining fixation sites.”