Photo: Chuck Thomas St. Ambrose University nursing student Chris Sellevold, right, Pleasant Valley, practices giving an injection in the university's nursing lab Tuesday morning. Mr. Sellevold is a corpdman who is currently inactive, but if the conflicts around the world continue for a length of time, he could be called up. More Quad Citians in Kuwait Photos

St. Ambrose University nursing student Christopher Sellevold probably won't be called to serve in Iraq, but he's ready just in case.

``I'd probably welcome it,'' said the 32-year-old Pleasant Valley native, who spent about a decade as a medical corpsman for the Coast Guard. ``I miss doing it.''

Mr. Sellevold graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 1989 and enlisted in the Coast Guard in 1990. He was interested in military service, but didn't want to be part of destruction. ``I wanted to do more of a humanitarian service,'' he said.

After about 18 months of duty, he attended corpsman school, ``the Coast Guard version of nursing,'' before flying in medical evacuation helicopters along the Oregon coast, assisting in rescues at sea and on land.

Four years later, Mr. Sellevold was transferred to the northeast coast, where he became the crew medic for a ship of 100 people. The ship patrolled from the north Atlantic Sea to the Caribbean.

``We were the police of the sea,'' he said, with duties ranging from regulating fishing boats to catching drug smugglers.

Taking care of the crew in such tight quarters could be tricky, Mr. Sellevold said. ``If somebody comes aboard with a cold, it spreads throughout the ship.''

With the ship at sea for three months at a time, people aboard could become homesick and despondent, so Mr. Sellevold often served as a makeshift counselor. He said his biggest strength is ``compassion for patients.''

When his active enlistment ended, Mr. Sellevold enrolled in an East Coast college, then returned to the Midwest and enrolled in St. Ambrose's nursing program. ``My grandmother was a nurse,'' he said. ``My mom's a nurse. It's where I feel I belong.''

Mr. Sellevold started the program last fall and, with credits transferred from his previous school, will complete the four-year training in three years.

Until his enlistment contract expires in August, Mr. Sellevold is considered an inactive reservist. Although his chances of being called to active duty are slim, he'd be willing to serve.

At this point in combat, troops in Iraq are most endangered by dehydration and fatigue, Mr. Sellevold said. He also guesses they're dealing with anxiety from the prospect of biological warfare and separation issues from being away from home.

In intense combat, he said, medics have to be prepared for mass casualties and for ``packaging and transport'' of wounded soldiers to safer areas. While his experience has been limited to three or fewer people at a time, his training has prepared him for battlefield situations, he said.

In addition to studies at St. Ambrose, Mr. Sellevold is beginning a part-time job in the surgical department at the east campus of Genesis Medical Center.

After he gets his nursing degree, Mr. Sellevold hopes to work a few years then go to graduate school to become a nurse anesthetist. Some day, he plans to pursue a doctorate and go into teaching.

As a nurse and military person, ``I'm not scared to do what needs to be done,'' Mr. Sellevold said. ``I basically tackle any challenge.''

Staff writer Stephanie Massick can be reached at (309) 786-6441, Ext. 206, or by e-mail at smassick@qconline.com.

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