Dr. Eric Bowles is in the business of teeth. The Everett dentist is also a citizen soldier joining tens of thousands of others, from chefs to stockbrokers, as part of the U.S. occupation force in Iraq.
He’s at Fort Lewis this week "in process."
"They’ll poke, prod and catalog me," said Bowles, 47, a member of the Washington National Guard 81st Brigade’s 181st Support Battalion. The unit supplies infantry battalions with medical care, food and supplies.
About this time next week, he expects to leave McChord Air Force Base near Tacoma for Frankfurt, Germany, then go on to Kuwait. His destination Camp Anaconda, near Balad, Iraq, northwest of Baghdad.
Wherever it is, it’s far from Bowles’ comfortable home near Forest Park and the Everett dental office where he’s been an associate of Dr. Clarence "Bud" Osborne since 1991.
"I had been expecting it," Bowles said of the call-up. When war began in March 2003, his unit was put on alert. The group was activated in October, and Bowles has weathered harsh desert training in California.
"I got the chance to see how I can take it," he said, adding that heavy gear magnifies the hardships of high temperatures. Being older than the average soldier is a plus and a minus.
"They get people who know the system well, but we’re physically more aged," Bowles said. "I’m in good physical shape, though. I’ve been running, doing jogs through the neighborhood."
Bowles isn’t leaving a wife or children behind. Since he’s single, he only had to find a temporary home for Dee-Dee, his cairn terrier. The "Toto-type" dog will stay in Sequim with Bowles’ parents.
Once in Iraq, he’ll still be in the business of teeth.
"The aim is primarily to treat U.S. troops. I won’t be doing many normal dentistry things, but I’ll treat infections and trauma," Bowles said. Between truck accidents and combat, he expects a real need. "The model for us is to preserve the fighting strength," he said.
He looks forward to the charitable aspects of his duty. While he wasn’t sure of U.S. guidelines, he thought he’d be able to treat Iraqi children up to age 10.
"That’s really hearts and minds, showing we are a big-hearted nation. I buy into that," Bowles said. He’s glad to be entering Iraq in the rebuilding stage rather than at the start of combat. "The humanitarian capabilities of the reserves are really were what enticed me. It’s a chance to jump out of my normal existence."
For Osborne, it’s no surprise that his colleague is headed off to help people. "He’s always been that way. He’s gone with a group to Peru on a mission, he’s gone to Alaska, that’s his thing," Osborne said.
The 67-year-old dentist will come out of semiretirement to care for Bowles’ patients. Since Osborne brought Bowles, a family friend, into his practice more than a decade ago, the younger dentist has taken on increasing responsibilities. "Now I get to reciprocate," said Osborne, who will work nearly full time in Bowles’ absence.
Bowles thinks he’ll be gone four months, through the 130-degree Iraqi summer. "I’ll have an unusual suntan," he said.
As a professional pulled from his community, he is far from alone. A Los Angeles Times article on March 7 quoted Pentagon officials as saying that by April 15, about 40 percent of the 110,000-plus U.S. force in Iraq will be National Guard members or reservists.
There is irony in Bowles’ duty. After dental school, he spent four years in the Army. Where did he serve those years?
Hawaii. "I lived on Oahu," he said.
Now a weekend warrior, he’s off to a real war zone.
"I would have preferred not to have bullets flying around me," Bowles said. "But I have loyalty to the National Guard. I look forward to going with a great group of people. I didn’t object to the invasion and the overthrow of Saddam.
"The most important part is the chance to rebuild their nation."
Columnist Julie Muhlstein: 425-339-3460 or
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