An Interview with Army Medic, Patrick Resta

"I Will Continue to Speak Out Until the Last Soldier Leaves Iraq"
By DEREK SEIDMAN

Patrick Resta, Specialist/E4, served as an Army medic in Iraq with the 30th Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division. He was stationed in Iraq for eight months in 2004, returning home just about two months ago. He has recently begun speaking out against the war and occupation, and he is involved with Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Thank you for doing this interview Patrick. Can you begin by telling us when you were in Iraq? Where were you and what were you doing?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to have my voice heard. I think it's vital that veterans of this conflict speak out about what it's really like out there.
I was at my camp in northeastern Iraq from March 12, 2004 to November 15, 2004. My camp was located in the Diyala province, the capital of which is Baqubah. To make that a little more understandable, we were about 100 miles northeast of Baghdad and roughly 30 miles from the Iranian border.

I was a medic, so that was my main focus. I would work shifts in our 3 bed ER sometimes, where we would see everything from the common cold to gun shot wounds and shrapnel injuries. I also accompanied patrols into towns and convoys to get supplies in case anyone was injured during the accomplishment of the mission.

When did you enter the military, and why did you join? (click title for more)

Patrick Resta can be reached at eosonifilic@aol.com. The website for Iraq Veterans Against the War is www.ivaw.net.

Derek Seidman is co-editor of Left Hook. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island, and can be contacted at derekseidman@yahoo.com.

His interview with antiwar vet Jim Talib can be read here: http://lefthook.org/Interviews/SeidmanTalib112904.html


This picture was taken shortly before we left Kuwait to cross into Iraq on the way to our camp in northeastern Iraq. This vehicle was used as a troop transport during the trip. As you can plainly see the "armor" consists of nothing more than half inch thick sheets of plywood. (more)