Female combat doctor becomes an Israeli legend

By Elad Shalev

JERUSALEM (Press Release)—Dr. Captain Kaminski was amongst the thousands of IDF combat soldiers fighting in the Lebanese town of Bint Jbeil and while under fire worked to save the lives of those same soldiers.   "This is how the battalion becomes part of your family," she said, discussing her time served as the unit's combat doctor in the "Bukaim" Battalion of the Armor Corps during the Second Lebanon War.
 
Lieutenant Ariel Gino, team commander in the Egoz Battalion of the Golani Brigade and one of the prominent heroes of the Second Lebanon war, was shot in the face by a Hezbollah sniper during combat.   The troops under his command placed him in a tank-bulance (a tank fitted as an ambulance for evacuating and treating wounded troops during combat operations) and transported him to the Rambam hospital in Haifa.   Dr. Kaminski treated Gino while inside the tank-bulance.  Her patient was close to death.  She immediately administered an oxygen mask and morphine drip and dressed the wounds.   "A doctor is not a god, he just tries to do what he knows, but he cannot do everything," said Marina.   She returned to the battlefield in Bint Jbeil that same day, after completing the evacuation and care of Lieutenant Gino by helicopter, thereby saving his life.
 
Six years ago, when Marina Kaminski was in Russia, her country of origin, she decided to follow her family and immigrate to Israel.   Following her emigration she volunteered to serve the IDF as a combat doctor.   She quickly went from being a talented doctor in the Russian military hospitals to becoming a renowned doctor in the Israel Defense Forces.   "I don't see how being a woman changes anything.   I am a combat soldier
Marina Kaminsky

like every other combat doctor.  Obviously, I don't have a high physical fitness as a Paratroop Corps doctor, but I am sure I am as strong as some of them," added Kaminski.   Following completion of the Medical Officers' Course with honors, Kaminski fought her way into becoming the highest ranking female doctor in the IDF.   In 2005, Kaminski took part in combat operations on the axis routes in the Palestinians territories.   In a number of instances, she treated both Israeli soldiers and Palestinian civilians injured in the field.   These incidents present only further proof of the great work she has done in her position as combat doctor.  
 
Kaminski's moment of truth came in July of last year, a year and two months after beginning her duty as combat doctor.   The Bokim Battalion entered Lebanese territory on the first day of the war and was involved in combat operations in Kanatra, Maroun-A-Ras  and the town of Bint Jbeil.  Her entrance into Lebanon, with the troops of the battalion, signaled an anomaly Kaminsky never thought would occur.   "There is a law that states that women are not allowed to enter Lebanese territory during war.   When my entrance into Lebanon was first forbidden, I informed my commanders that if I took upon myself a position in the battalion, my gender should not play a role.    There would be no way I would leave my soldiers behind," she stressed.  In the end Marina received permission to enter Lebanon and to accompany her battalion in a tank-bulance.   Marina came very close to getting injured during combat, after Hezbollah operatives fired AT-3 Sagar anti- tank guided missiles at the building her battalion was using as a stronghold.   The destruction was catastrophic; two soldiers were killed and more were wounded; many were in