Photo By Staff Sgt. Matthew Roberts | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ellen Cordova, a physician associate and a medical advisor with the...... read more read more
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ERBIL, Iraq – Meet U.S. Army 1st Lt. Ellen Cordova, a physician associate and a medical advisor with the 54th Security Force Assistance Brigade, out of Indiana, assigned to the 3rd Security Force Assistance Brigade Medical Advising Team. Currently deployed to Iraq as part of Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, Cordova speaks upon her experience in the medical field in the United States military.
“Before I joined the Army, I had no idea what being a medic would entail other than old war movies from Vietnam or World War II,” Cordova said. “And just that you are on the front lines with your brothers and sisters and you are fighting right alongside them.”
The medical field is challenging in the civilian world as well as on the military side. In this hard field, it often gives a new perspective and various opportunities for those who follow this path.
“I think being medical in general allows me to be a better soldier by understanding what soldiers’ injuries are and illnesses and what it takes for them to get back into the fight,” Cordova said. “And the opportunities that I have in the military to take additional courses and classes that on the civilian side you would never have the opportunity to do a lot of one-on-one training.”
Trying to complete this task is daunting, and many fail or drop out. However, knowing what to expect and being given guidance can help make the transition easier for those pursuing a life as a medic. Cordova reflects on how the military has helped push her career further.
“Advice that I would give someone who wants to be a medic is just do it. It's one of the incredible career opportunities in the military that allows you to get a civilian certification so you won’t be stuck whenever you’re trying to go back to the civilian side at some point in your life,” Cordova reflected. “It also gives you an opportunity to interact with Soldiers from different occupations, you can be with an infantry unit, or engineer unit, or artillery unit. You can learn all of the things that they do and you can work alongside them or you can strictly be part of a medical detachment. Where you’re more involved in hospital care or learning how to do medicine and be part of a hospital structure in an austere environment.”
Despite the hardships and unexpected events that come with this career field, the necessity of medics is never undervalued. Though focused on the Operation Inherent Resolve mission, Cordova still makes time to get to know people on a personal level.
“My favorite part was, and still is, getting to meet people from all over and getting to have the ear of leadership. So you become part of either a company staff or a battalion staff when you are a medic because you are caring for all of the individuals to include all of the leadership. You aren’t just somebody who’s in a shop, but you get to be very intentional with how you care for people and I think you can’t care for people well unless you know them well,” Cordova said. “And so if you know what their normal is then you’re able to identify whenever they’re not doing well one day.”
“So I think being able to be that intentional about caring for people and knowing their story helps build your character and helps with endurance and perseverance to get to know people and build relationships, which isn’t easy but the better you are at it, just like with anything in life, I think the better you can physically care for someone.”
| Date Taken: | 10.08.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 11.25.2025 06:21 |
| Story ID: | 551315 |
| Location: | ERBIL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, IQ |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 14 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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