A new foundation has been founded to provide free cosmetic surgery to wounded war veterans and provide them with the same kind of “rock star” treatment that is normally afforded to A-list celebrities.

Iraqstar is a California non-for-profit organisation that was founded by Maggie Lockridge, a retired Vietnam-era Air Force nurse. Lockridge left the Air Force to marry a fighter pilot and spent the next 18 years focusing on plastic surgery. In 1987, she moved to LA and became a cosmetic surgery consultant to many movie stars, powerful business people, and movers and shakers in Hollywood. Thanks to her contacts, she has been able to enlist the help of many top surgeons who are donating their time and expertise to IraqStar veterans.

Lockridge cites her inspiration as a TV special she saw in about ABS anchorman Bob Woodruff who was nearly killed when a roadside bomb exploded in Iraq in January 2006. She realised that although the Veteran’s Administration does fantastic work, there was a need for top cosmetic surgeons and she decided she would fill this gap.

The aim of her work is not to make the VA look bad – she acknowledges that they do fantastic work but that her organisation can help. “We need the VA to refer people to us,” she explained.

IraqStar has already started treating veterans including victims of roadside bombs and those who have significant scarring.

You can visit IraqStar’s website here.