Brig. Gen. Kristine Campbell, on being an Army nurse

November 13, 2001

How did you come to choose military nursing?
In 1972, I joined the Army Student Nurse Program. It was during the Vietnam era and the program paid for the last two years of school. I joined because I wanted to travel. After graduating, I was committed to spend three years on active duty, but I absolutely did not plan to spend my career in the military.

What happened to redirect your career?
I did my three years and did my traveling. But I found out that the military is a very professional environment. Many more nurses have master's and Ph.D.-level preparation here, so it's a much more professionally oriented group of practitioners. I liked what I was doing and decided to stay with it. After 8½ years on active duty, I joined the Army Reserve. I've had the chance to do collaborative research with those I've worked with. Nursing in the Army provides great educational opportunities.

As a reservist, you've been called to active service and sent overseas twice. What stands out about those episodes?
I was in Germany during Desert Storm, working as a nursing supervisor at a primary evacuation hospital for those evacuated from Saudi Arabia. I got to Landstuhl [on] Christmas Day. We were there before the ground war started, and initially it was an interesting process. I was in on all the planning to take care of patients evacuated from Saudi Arabia. We were planning for a huge war; the casualty estimates were enormous. The hospital went from 250 beds to 1,000 beds in one week. I was part of the planning and execution of that. Our staff included people who had experience in mass casualties from the air show at Ramstein Air Base the year before and surgeons who had come from major U.S. trauma centers.

Then I was in Bosnia for a longer deployment-eight months. I went in as commander of a hospital. There was a change of commanders going on when I was being deployed, and it was recommended I go in that role to provide continuity.

I was the first nurse and first woman to serve in the role of combat support hospital commander. It was an all-encompassing position. I was responsible for all the people under me and their families-about 450 people. Until then, I had been chief nurse and knew how to be in charge of nursing care and staff. But as a commander I had the responsibility to keep everyone safe.

Because of the dangerous situation, everyone carried weapons. This was in addition to all the other leadership responsibilities-creating a good work environment, facilitating people's work situations, providing resources for them to do their jobs. It was challenging. I handled it by concentrating on what I knew I was good at. I knew how to take care of patients and so I focused on things I could do well.

How has military service affected your family?
My husband has always been supportive. When I was deployed to Germany, my children were 5 and 8 years old. My husband was always involved in their care, and our neighbors were wonderful. But it was hard. I was homesick. My work was so busy and challenging and we worked every day, all day long. But I really missed my family. When I went to Bosnia, my kids were teen-agers and more self-sufficient, so it wasn't quite as hard.

Elaborate on your role in the Army.
Right now, I'm in a different category of the Army Reserve as an individual mobilization augmentee. I'm assigned as a reserve person to an active-duty unit, which is the office of the Army's Surgeon General. I represent the Army Reserve in all the decisions made in all Army medical departments. I make sure the policies we make fit all the reserves and that the soldiers and families are taken care of as we deploy so many reservists right now. This assignment is a four-year position, two of which I've already completed.

It's a busy job with lots of travel. The job is part time; I've woked 120 to 130 days per year for the past two years. Part of the time I'm in Washington, D.C., and I visit reserve units and hospitals all over the country.

What do you foresee in your future with nursing and the military?
With the U.S. Army War College, military schooling and my Ph.D., I've been taking advantage of every leadership and educational opportunity that I'm offered. In the next two years, I want to contribute as much as I can in this position. I feel like I've been offered so much that it's my turn to give back.

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