For Col. Maureen McCarthy, coming back to work after deployment in Iraq was a breeze.
"It's like I never left," said McCarthy, a Topsfield resident and family nurse practitioner at Family Medicine Associates in Manchester.
But this isn't always the case for citizens returning to work after active duty. By law, organizations are required to keep the job open, but sometimes the rules are bent, hours are changed or cut back, or offices are relocated.
McCarthy has been in the military on reserve for 26 years, but she hadn't been called upon to leave the country until 2008, when she learned that she would be placed in Baghdad from April until September the following year.
"To do that, I needed to get out of my civilian job," McCarthy said. "They 100 percent supported me."
For his support, Dr. Gregory Bazylewicz, who lives in Manchester, was recently recognized as a Patriotic Employer by George Charos of the Massachusetts Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve.
"When she was gone, we had to scramble, but it was well worth it," Bazylewicz said. "I think she should get the award."
McCarthy was the first nurse-commander and the first woman to be placed in charge of the 447th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron in Baghdad, where she oversaw the medical care of the Air Force.
Though the hospital did not see Iraqi citizens, McCarthy did take steps to provide the services she could, such as health education packets printed in Arabic.
"I was walking a political fine line," McCarthy said. "But I'm always out to help."
Though an educational pamphlet may sound simple, creating one provided unique challenges. Due to Islamic custom, for an at-home fitness pamphlet McCarthy had to find photos of women demonstrating exercises with their skin fully covered.
What McCarthy missed the most while abroad was the color green — the area where she was has been suffering a drought for years — but a close second was the camaraderie of friends, as officers aren't allowed to socialize with non-officers.
But her friends and co-workers at home made sure to keep in touch, sending care packages filled with Dunkin' Donuts coffee.
"My employees organized ways of communicating with her," Bazylewicz said. "She brought a lot of honor to us."
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