From Afghanistan to Sebastian: What leading healthcare in a war zone taught one Orlando Health hospital president
SEBASTIAN, Fl (November 4, 2026) — The ground shook beneath Dan Bowen’s feet.
It was the Fourth of July, and Bowen was finishing his morning workout at Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan when he pulled the headphones from his ears and heard another round coming.
The incoming rocket struck the building next to the gym.
Bowen crouched along a wall and waited as indirect fire (IDF) attacks, using rockets, mortars, or rocket-propelled grenades, happened often at Bagram.
“You just hoped the next one wasn’t going to hit you, so you could eventually make it back to your family,” he recalled.
Then came the all-clear. Bowen stood up, returned to his quarters, put on his uniform, protective vest and weapon, and went to work at Craig Joint Theater Hospital.
There were patients to care for.
That day would stay with Bowen long after his 6½-month deployment ended, along with lessons about remaining calm amid chaos, trusting a team and caring for people when they need it most.
Today, Bowen is president of Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital. The surroundings are vastly different from the war zone where he served as medical logistics flight commander, but every so often, a moment inside the hospital takes him back.
During a recent emergency in the cardiac catheterization lab, Bowen watched different specialties converge around one patient with a shared purpose.
It reminded him of the “orchestra” he witnessed in Afghanistan when casualties arrived at the hospital.
“It's a chance to watch that orchestra, all the different specialties trying to take care of that one patient to save their life at the same time,” Bowen said.
An unexpected path to healthcare
Bowen enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1994 as an F-15 weapons systems specialist. After completing ROTC, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 2002 and joined the Medical Service Corps as a healthcare administrator.
That path eventually took him to Afghanistan.
He worked 12-hour days, six days a week, keeping busy to leave less time to dwell on home or the dangers surrounding him.
“Incoming fire was a reality,” said Bowen. “So were the mass casualties.”
And some memories would prove impossible to leave behind.
A little boy he still remembers
On that Fourth of July, as the base endured heavy fire, mass casualties arrived at the hospital.
Bowen was dealing with a utility problem affecting the operating room when its doors opened.
In front of him was a badly injured Afghan boy who had lost both legs.
“It was shocking,” Bowen said. “It immediately made me think of my two young children at home.”
The child wasn't an American service member. It didn't matter.
“You go there thinking, ‘I'm here for the people in uniform,’” Bowen said. “It’s just like it is in the civilian world. You care for the community, the patient, and that's it.”
The hospital team cared for the boy for roughly a month, treating his injuries while surrounding him with ice cream, toys and attention.
Bowen still thinks about him.
Eventually, the boy had to return home. Bowen wondered whether his family would have the resources to care for a child facing such profound injuries.
He still doesn't know.
He hopes they did.
For Bowen, the experience reinforced a belief that has followed him into civilian healthcare.
“Learning how to care about something bigger than yourself. Serving your community, meeting their needs, being part of something bigger than yourself,” he said. “It still drives me today. Hospitals are amazing places with talented people, and we're in the business of caring for others.”
Finding order in chaos
During mass-casualty events at Bagram, Bowen watched titles and rank fall away. One leader directed the trauma response while senior officers followed her direction without hesitation and nonclinical team members stepped in wherever needed, moving patients and getting supplies.
“You set aside those titles and work together,” Bowen said. “It becomes about the team and the patients.”
It’s a lesson that continues to shape his leadership.
“Lead with a sense of urgency, not panic,” he said. “Understand what's going on and communicate clearly to the team. Be the calm in the storm.”
Bagram also taught Bowen to look after people once the crisis had passed,
looking for the emotional “cracks” and asking: How are you doing? What did you see? How are you feeling?
His progression from enlisted airman to officer taught him the importance of listening and learning how to follow.
“Any team member, regardless of their position in the hospital, I want to make sure they have a voice because that voice could be very meaningful,” he said. “Everybody wants to be heard and valued.”
From Afghanistan to Sebastian
Bowen rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and retired from the Air Force in 2017.
The incoming IDF attacks and mass-casualty events at Bagram are behind him. But the lessons are not.
Sometimes, watching a busy Emergency Department and the different teams rally around a patient, brings back the “orchestra” he saw thousands of miles away.
It is why Bowen makes a point of being present throughout Orlando Health Sebastian River Hospital, talking with team members and observing their work.
“It's not an act,” Bowen said. “I like to see what's going on. I like to build relationships. I want that to be infectious where other leaders do it, too.”
Nearly a decade after hanging up his Air Force uniform, Bowen's surroundings are different and so is the community.
But the commitment to the people beside him, and to those depending on their care, remains.
About Orlando Health
Orlando Health is a private not-for-profit, integrated academic healthcare system with $15 billion of assets under management, that serves the southeastern United States – including Florida and Alabama – and Puerto Rico. With corporate offices in Orlando, Florida the system provides a complete continuum of care across a network of medical centers and institutes, community and specialty hospitals, physician practices, urgent care facilities, skilled nursing facilities, home healthcare, and long-term and behavioral health care services. Founded more than 100 years ago, Orlando Health’s mission is to improve the health and the quality of life of the individuals and communities we serve. The system provided nearly $1.7 billion in community impact in the form of community benefit programs and services, Medicare shortfalls, bad debt, community-building activities and capital investments in FY 23, the most recent period for which the information is available. For more information, visit orlandohealth.com, or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and X.
