MEDICAL PROCEDURES UPON RETURN

Here’s the good news on the medical front: Returning soldiers won’t be subjected to nearly as many pokes, pricks and prods as they were when they left for the combat zone a year ago.

“It will be much easier for soldiers on their way back,” said Sgt. 1st Class Kasey Schnitker, who helps manage the medical reintegration for troops returning to Heidelberg.

With anthrax and smallpox shots behind them, along with a slew of other vaccinations, most returning troops should expect only two shots. One is a tuberculosis test, the other a blood sample that will be used to screen for HIV and then be put into long-term storage.

Army officials say there have been no known cases of TB reported among troops returning from Iraq but want to test everyone coming just to be on the safe side.