CAMP McGOVERN, Bosnia -- When Robert Broody,DC, got the call, the last thing in the world he expected to hear was, "You're going to Bosnia." After fighting in Iraq with the U.S. Army Special Forces during the Gulf War and 1994 peacekeeping duty in Haiti, this Glenmoore, Pennsylvania native and 16-year military veteran was hoping he would finally have the time to concentrate on running his practice.
But duty called. Last May, he packed his bags to join his Army Reserve unit for a nine-month tour in Bosnia, part of what used to be called Yugoslavia. As a civil affairs officer, Major Broody works as a liaison for the military with the local Bosnian government to help coordinate rebuilding projects for the war-ravaged infrastructure.
"It's been a great experience and I can honestly say that I've accomplished a lot here. It's not every day you can play a part in rebuilding a nation," said Broody. "I'm really proud of what I've been a part of in Bosnia."
Dr. Broody initially entered the army as an enlisted medic and served four years before entering the special forces and becoming a green beret. After five years with the elite unit, he decided to further his medical training and enrolled at Pennsylvania College of Chiropractic. Despite a six-month break from school for service in the Gulf War, Dr. Broody graduated as a doctor of chiropractic in the summer of 1993. He opened a practice in March 1994, and six months later was deployed again, this time as a peacekeeper in Haiti.
"That deployment was rough. I had just started my practice and didn't have much of a customer base. I wasn't sure if the office would survive."
However, rather than worry about his personal security, Dr. Broody got right to work helping the starving citizens of Haiti. He helped coordinate the delivery of supplies from all over the world to feed the hungry masses. He also offered chiropractic care to the deployed soldiers during his off hours, earning the moniker "Doc" along the way.
"Everyone thinks we just treat whiplash, but that's not true," Dr. Broody explained. "Doctors of chiropractic handle everything from headaches to lower back pain. There's a lot of aches and pains that chiropractic can help the average person eliminate."
After returning home from Haiti, Dr. Broody's practice recovered and began to expand. After three years, his practice was large enough to warrant hiring an associate. Shortly thereafter came the call to go to Bosnia. Dr. Broody could now go abroad with the peace of mind that his patients were being taken care of. "Some of my patients have been with me since I opened," he explained. "I didn't want them to have to go elsewhere."
Once in Bosnia, "Doc" again offered his services to the deployed troops and became so popular that he had a special chiropractic table constructed in his office. Private Louis Sardinha of Fall River, Massachusetts is one of the many soldiers in Bosnia who took advantage of the free care. "Major Broody is a really great guy.
I think it's great he was willing to spend his personal time helping out the troops."
Now that Dr. Broody's tour in Bosnia is winding down, once again his thoughts are on his practice in Glenmoore. It's the close of another chapter in his long career of military service. Dr. Broody plans to retake the reigns of his practice upon his return. He hopes the nine-month absence won't have negatively affected his practice.
"May patients have been very supportive of what I've been trying to do. I'm sure they'll realize that sometimes you have to make a personal sacrifice for the good of others and understand that's why I left. I know those patients will be there when I return. That means a lot to me."
