Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 31
By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan
2026-05-24
Third Regiment: Memoirs of an Iraqi Prisoner of War Doctor – 31
By Mojtaba al-Hosseini
Translated into Farsi by: Mohammad Hossein Zavar Kabeh
Translated into English by: M.B. Khoshnevisan
***
Of course. Here is the translation from Persian to American English, rendered in a formal, analytical tone suitable for a historical or political context.
***
The third regiment, which was the mechanized regiment, consisted of 50 Russian-made armored personnel carriers of the PTR60 type. This time, the situation was different from previous missions, because this was the front line, and I could easily observe the movements and transfers of Iranian forces. This time, they were shooting at us with various weapons, even simple ones, whereas previously we had only been targeted by artillery.
The first few days were very difficult for me, as I was not familiar with the area, the people, or the mechanized infantry regiment's setup. Four long and exhausting days passed. On the fifth day, I was sitting in a bunker when suddenly the telephone rang. I picked up the receiver: 'Hello, yes? Go ahead!'
It was Lieutenant Colonel 'Abd-al Karim,' who, after returning my greeting, said: 'Come to me!'
I asked: 'Where are you right now?'
He replied: 'At your regiment's headquarters.'
I said: 'Are you joking?'
He said: 'No, I have come here as the regiment commander.'
I was delighted and immediately went to the headquarters. I saw that the headquarters officers had gathered around him. After a brief meeting, he went to his bunker, and a few minutes later, he called for me. He said to me: 'Don't worry! I will support you.'
I told him: 'When you come here, many things get easier for me.'
This person was one of the operations officers at the brigade headquarters of the 20th Brigade; I had gotten to know him when I would go to the brigade headquarters for missions. In the first meeting he held with the regiment's officers, he praised me in front of them. Because of this, everyone was obligated to respect me and help me with my work. This led some naïve individuals to think that I held a position in the party and that the commander was afraid of me. They were unaware that he was simply my friend, nothing more.
I decided to organize the regiment's mobile medical unit to provide medical services to the personnel. So I gathered the unit's staff around me, and after procuring the necessary medicines and medical equipment, I built a large bunker in the basement to treat the wounded and the sick. I also set up a bunker for physician assistants, a small bunker specifically for cooking and eating, and finally a simple bathroom, along with a few treatment units. Our work took over two weeks. During this period, we worked day and night until the mobile medical unit was ready for operation.
One day, I invited the regiment commander to visit the mobile medical unit. During his tour of the unit, he praised my efforts and those of my colleagues, and granted me the authority to approve leave for my personnel.
Two weeks later, as I and the other members of the medical unit were sitting under the shade of a small summer shelter made of reed mats and tree branches, a senior lieutenant from the communications branch came to see us, carrying a large notebook. After offering his greetings, he sat down beside us. A few moments later, he turned to one of the medical assistants and, under the pretext of completing personal information about him, began asking him questions. These questions were a prelude to obtaining information from me, and he immediately turned to me and said: "Doctor! You have recently joined our unit. I must open a section for your personal information in this notebook."
In response, I said: "I am not part of your unit and my file is in the field medical unit."
He said: "That doesn't matter. It's better for us to create another information file for you. You might be martyred or wounded."
I realized that he was from the political indoctrination office and that making excuses would be useless. I said: "Very well... write down whatever you want."
He opened his notebook and dedicated an entire page to recording information about me. As he was writing, my colleagues' eyes were fixed on the Ba'athist official's notebook, hoping to gather more information about me. When that person asked about my political leanings, I noticed a look of anxiety on my assistants' faces. I told him: "I am independent and have no affiliation with any party."
After the interview ended and the man left, I turned to my friends and colleagues and asked them: "What was the reason for this anxiety?"
They said: "All this time, we thought you might be a Ba'athist!"
I asked: "Why did you think that?"
They replied: "Because the regiment commander shows you so much respect."
I laughed and said: "I got to know him at the brigade headquarters early in the war, and our relationship does not go beyond friendship."
They were very happy to hear this. A few moments later, I heard the voice of Radio Tehran. I said to them: "The voice of Radio Tehran is coming through."
They said: "Yes... now we are no longer afraid of you. Previously, we used to listen to Radio Tehran in secret."
Very soon, I became aware of the problems and issues of the personnel in the mobile medical unit. The most important issue was the influence that non-commissioned officers exerted over the soldiers—namely, the conscript physician assistants—as well as the pressure they applied to Staff Sergeant "Khamis Abd-al Mohsen," who was considered a devout person. I did my utmost to eliminate the injustices against my assistants and to Khamis, and I supported them.
After the problems were resolved and a balance was established in relationships, the mobile medical unit turned into a united and cohesive family, and I was able to provide medical services to the regiment in the best possible way. In return, I arranged facilities for the personnel of the mobile medical unit to take regular leaves and provided them with the supplies they needed. Throughout my cooperation with them, I tried to rely on honesty, trustworthiness, and sincerity in work.
After the morning prayer, the Iranians carried out mortar fire until sunrise. First they targeted the front-line companies, then the regiment headquarters, and sometimes our positions. Every other day, a few artillery shells were fired at our positions, but the positions of the second company, which were parallel to the first regiment, sometimes came under intense artillery and mortar fire.
To be continued …
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