The war within (English version)

The U.S. Army's Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in the district of Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate, is the largest American hospital outside the U.S. It is located close to the U.S. Army's Ramstein Air base, which serves as the U.S. Air Forces European Headquarters as well as the NATO Allied Air Command (AIRCOM). In 2008, when this film was shot, the majority of soldier patients treated in Landstuhl served in Iraq or Afghanistan. Other patients belonged to the U.S. troops stationed in Germany. The film chronicles everyday life in the hospital as well as in Fisher House, a "home away from home," where soldiers are housed in treatment breaks and family members of injured army personnel are also welcome. The film observes how soldiers and their familes try to find a way back to normality. Some of the veterans treated in Landstuhl are not U.S. citizens - like Ugandan Gilbert Jefferson Okumo, who lost two hands and one leg while on duty for the U.S. military. German and American spouses of service personnel alike are afraid of losing their husbands. In hindsight, some of the veterans have a hard time to make sense of their military mission. The film also shows a slice of German-American life that takes place behind high fences and military barriers. Seen with the changing realities of the 2nd Trump administration, the film seems like a glimpse into another era.