Good ​Medicine, Hard Times is the moving memoir of one of the most senior-ranking combat physicians to have served on the battlefields of the second Iraq war. Former US Army Colonel Edward P. Horvath, MD, brings readers through the intricacies of war as he relates stories of working to save the lives of soldiers, enemies, and civilians alike and shares the moral dilemmas faced by medical professionals during war. Enlisting in the Army as a fifty-nine-year-old physician, Dr. Horvath knew that he had a greater calling in life: to save the “neighbor’s kid”—no matter who that neighbor or the kid might be. Over his three deployments, he strived to do that amid cultural clashes, insurgent attacks, military controversy, and the suffering of children caught in the crossfire. In his clear-eyed, empathetic, and unforgettable account, he shows what it means to provide compassionate care in the most trying of circumstances, always keeping in mind that every person he cares for is someone’s child.

Edward P. Horvath, MD, is a veteran of the US Army Reserve Medical Corps. In 2011, he was Task Force Deputy Commander and Chief of Clinical Services for a combat support hospital near Tikrit, Iraq. Previously, he staffed the emergency room and outpatient clinic at the same base. Colonel Horvath was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and later received one of the nation’s highest military honors, the Legion of Merit. In 2013, he received the American Red Cross Hero Award for extraordinary courage in saving lives. He is a primary care physician at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction to War
Chapter 1 Where It Begins
Chapter 2 Operation Bright Star
Chapter 3 Christmas in Kuwait
Chapter 4 Heading Downrange
Chapter 5 Abu Ghraib Prison
Chapter 6 Goodbye, Abu Ghraib
Chapter 7 I Wonder Who You'd Be Today
Chapter 8 The Chicken Demon
Chapter 9 Troop Medical Clinic
Chapter 10 Back to Baghdad
Chapter 11 Camp Bucca
Chapter 12 An Appeal
Chapter 13 Caring for the Enemy
Chapter 14 The Long Road Home
Chapter 15 I'm Here Again
Chapter 16 Unblinded
Chapter 17 MASCAL
Chapter 18 The Neighbor's Kid
Chapter 19 The Terrorist and the Solider
Chapter 20 COB Speicher
Chapter 21 Getting Checked Out
Chapter 22 Operation Iron Triangle
Chapter 23 One More Time
Chapter 24 Training without End
Chapter 25 The War Resumes
Chapter 26 Suicide
Chapter 27 Burdens of Command
Chapter 28 Rockets-The War Heats Up
Chapter 29 Fathers and Sons
Chapter 30 Going Home for Good
Chapter 31 The Final Mission
Epilogue
Index