Highlights in the History of the Army Nurse Corps, 1990 to 2000

In August 1990, Iraqi armed forces invaded and occupied the country of Kuwait. At the request of the Saudi Arabian government, the United States deployed combat troops, including U.S. Army ground forces, to aid in the defense of Saudi Arabia, which neighbors Kuwait, in an action called Desert Shield/Storm.

The campaign required 13,580 operating beds in 44 field hospitals in four countries, including 17 Army Reserve and 11 National Guard hospitals. Army nursing deployment for this conflict differed from the Vietnam War in that two of every three of the 2,200 nurses were from the guard or reserve. In this massive deployment, unprecedented for its speed, these health care professionals were instrumental in standing up the new Deployable Medical Systems (DEPMEDS) field hospitals.

Throughout this decade, Army nurses played an important role in primary care. Nurse-managed clinics and Family Nurse Practitioners had significant impact on patient care in the outpatient setting. These healthcare professionals participated in innovative remote patient monitoring via “electronic house calls” for chronic illnesses.

The talented cohort of Army Nurse Corps officers competed with other members of the Army Medical Department (AMEDD) for command positions. Selection of officers for branch immaterial command was a testament to how these nurses were leader-developed. Providing, managing, and leading in the delivery of nursing care effectively prepared Army nurses to serve at all levels of the organization.

ANC officers were active throughout the world both in armed conflicts and humanitarian, peacekeeping, and nation-building endeavors. After the fall of the Somalian government in 1991, Operation Restore Hope was mounted as a humanitarian effort in the resulting civil unrest and near-starvation of the people. Over the course of 13 months, 3 field hospitals were sequentially deployed to a mission that quickly devolved from humanitarian aid to combat. During this deployment AMEDD personnel in the African country cared for the largest single-day volume of combat casualties since the Vietnam War.

Operation Provide Promise was a humanitarian relief operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Yugoslav Wars. From 2 July 1992 to 9 January 1996 was the longest-running humanitarian airlift in history. Army nurses served in several hospitals sent consecutively to provided health care and 30-day patient holding capability for the 20,000-strong United Nations forces. Nearly 46,000 outpatient cases were treated, more than 2,000 patients admitted, and more than 1,200 surgeries performed.

As a result of instability in Haiti in September 1994, a multinational force deployed to reestablish order. Army nurses supported the mission during several field hospital rotations in Haiti as well as refugee care in Guantanamo Bay Cuba, and Suriname. They were confronted with a populace that is medically underserved. Untreated and advanced infections, broken bones that did not heal properly, and maggots in dirty wounds required their flexibility, creativity, and expert skills. The traditional use of field-expedient skills achieved many positive patient outcomes.