Medicine and War

To the Editor: The article by Annas (March 12 issue),* “Changing the Consent Rules for Desert Storm,” touched some deeply felt emotions. When I read that the military physician “must subordinate the medical interests of soldier-patients to the military mission” and that “there is no written policy or standard view on this question in the military,” I was reminded of my own experience. I was a soldier-doctor in 1969 through 1970 and struggled with this very conflict en route to my discharge as a conscientious objector. At the time, the U.S. Navy's position on this issue did not seem to…