6/29/2004 » Profiles

Salon covers a desi surgeon in Iraq, 30-year-old Dr. Sudip Bose (via Anna’s diary). A bright guy:

Bose... seems detached at times, slightly dorky. But in five days, I never saw him hesitate over the name of a nerve, small bone or drug...When Bose took his medical board examinations, he won the highest score in the country.

Why he enlisted: med school debt.

"I could have ended up with about $200,000 of debt... You don't know what's going to happen so you don't know if it's a good decision or a bad decision. If you lose an arm or a leg it's a bad decision..."

Very cautious:

Bose had put on his flak jacket, goggles and helmet to walk back from the Internet cafe when everyone else was wearing shorts and T-shirts in the heat. Bose looked like an astronaut...

A better doctor than a warrior:

[E]veryone is supposed to qualify on at least one weapons system. “I think he went out with the M16 and finally qualified after seven attempts. They might have said, 'OK, he passed.' I told Bose that I heard he couldn't shoot. He thought it was incredibly funny, and he laughed. ‘Yeah, you know, if I have to start fighting, we're going to be in a lot of trouble.’ ”

A while ago, and somewhat unrelated (I’m sure Dr. Bose will come home safely!), I pointed y’all to the first South Asian American casualty in Iraq.