Urgent Request

I know this rather unusual, but this site has more readers than most of my others. Please forgive my indulgence.

I have just found out that a couple of days ago a very good friend of mine was hospitalized and had triple by-pass surgery on his heart. I am begging for everyone who reads this to please pray for John Darby's speedy recovery. This means I expect him to recover.

Dear Heavenly Father,

You are the Supreme Doctor. You can hear our prayers, and You can Heal anyone of anything. Please hear my petition for John Darby. God, I know I've been away far too long, but please do not punish John for my sins. Please Heal him, Lord. Hear our prayers. I love you, Lord. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen.

Preventive Medicine Techs Keep Troops Mission-Ready

30-May-07
By Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs.

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti — Personnel deployed to Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa’s Camp Lemonier can rest easy knowing that Petty Officer 2nd Class Abran Gonzales and Petty Officer 3rd Class Steven Ashe of the Seth Michaud Expeditionary Medical Force, are doing routine health and sanitation inspections around camp to keep them healthy and happy.

Gonzalez and Ashe, preventive medicine technicians, took a break from their corpsman responsibilities May 16 to do a monthly inspection of the dining facility. The inspection consisted of looking for sanitation and hygiene concerns, proper food handling and correct food temperatures.

“Food is a big part of our daily lives here, so it’s important the personnel are getting the best food possible so they can remain healthy, happy and mission ready,” said Gonzales. Their attention to this matter gives personnel piece of mind, he said. “When they go into the dining facility the only thing they need to worry about is what they want to eat, not whether the food was prepared, cooked or stored properly. … We do what we do because their health is what matters most to us,” he said.

Their diligence in this matter keeps customers mission-ready. “We want to reduce the risk of serious diseases from making their way into the human body and establishments, so if our efforts are making a difference then we’re doing something great, and I am proud to be a part such an important mission,” said Ashe.

The inspections also help the dining facility staff see the little things that sometimes get lost in the shuffle during a 23-hour day. “The knowledge we have and the knowledge they have help us better serve the customers here,” said Alaa Hassan, food service area supervisor.

The PMTs conduct health and sanitation checks at the camp Burger King, the latrines, showers, beauty and barber shop, The Post and Base Exchange, laundry rooms, swimming pool, tents and the Coffee Cafe. They also conduct bacteria and E.coli testing, and water surveillance on the wells both on base and in town.

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is a unit of U.S. Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,800 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, Coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Photo - Petty Officer 2nd Class Abran Gonzalez, a preventive medicine technician, inspects food containers inside the Bob Hope Dining Facility, Djibouti, Africa, to ensure they are not dented or expired, and that they are being stored at the correct temperature, May 16, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy.

Teamwork brings humanitarian aid to Paruns

21 May 2007
By Army Pfc. Daniel M. Rangel
22nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment.

PARUNS, Afghanistan - Servicemembers of Operation Ice Axe conducted a medical engagement in the remote Paruni village of Mondi May 4-5.

Operation Ice Axe included units from the Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team; Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment; U.S. Special Forces Soldiers and the Asadabad PRT.

“Our mission here in Nuristan is to extend the reach of Coalition forces,” said Army Maj. Thomas B. Gukeisen, 1-32 Inf. Regt. executive officer.

“We’re establishing a provincial development council for the first time in Nuristan with assistance from the Nuristan PRT,” Gukeisen said.

The medical engagement is seen as part of a larger effort to gain popular support and to assist Tamim Nouristani, governor of Nuristan province.

Gukeisen said the engagement treated approximately 300 people the first day, to include 75 women and children.

“Our mission here is to give medical assistance to the women and children and win the hearts and minds of the local people,” said Spc. Ashley Brown, a medic based out of Camp Blessing.

Scores of Paruni people stood patiently in line to get medical care as their children played with the toys from the Humanitarian Aid packages that were handed out at the site.

“They were really appreciative,” said a U.S. interpreter originally from Kandahar who called herself Farita. “They really needed a lot of help. All the people I spoke to want us to come back. They’re really looking forward to having Coalition forces here.”

Supplies were delivered using Containerized Delivery System drops. Two such drops were conducted during Operation Ice Axe.

“We did a drop the other day that ended up in the mountains,” said Sgt. 1st Class John P. Rome, mortar platoon sergeant and one of six pathfinder-qualified individuals in the battalion.

Rome and 2nd Platoon Charlie Company, 1-32 Inf., led the community-wide effort to recover the lost pallets of HA supplies.

“The interesting thing about it is all the towns and all the locals came forward with donkeys and horses and it was a community effort to come together to recover the CDS,” Gukeisen said.

The pallets dropped from the C-130 were difficult to find in the heavily-wooded mountains at 8,000 feet above sea level where oxygen is thin. Fatigue slowed down the entire process. The amount of effort taken to get the packages to their intended destination was considerable, but the teamwork between the local community, the Soldiers of 1-32 Inf. Regt. and the Air Force made the mission a success.

Photo: Navy Lt. Cmdr. William C. Ashby, physicians assistant and medical officer for Nuristan PRT, treats a local Afghan May 4 in the Mondi village during the medical engagement.

Joint Task Force Showers Orphans With Supplies and Smiles

African babies, patients receive clothing, crutches, companionship.

By Petty Officer 1st Class Mary Popejoy
Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa Public Affairs.

DJIBOUTI CITY, Djibouti, May 17, 2007 — An Army general and personnel from Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa visited a local baby orphanage and hospital in Djibouti City, May 5, 2007, to donate 28 boxes of baby clothes and hospital equipment.

At the orphanage, Army Brig. Gen. Keith Thurgood, 337th Theater Support Command deputy commanding general, and the other military personnel held, fed and played with the 50 babies who live there.

The babies enjoy the attention, the nurses appreciate the help, and the HOA personnel enjoy being able to provide some tender loving care to even the littlest people of Djibouti.

“This is a great opportunity for us to take a break from our daily commitments and give a little bit of ourselves to the babies of the orphanage, whether it’s feeding, holding or simply making the little ones smile,” said CJTF-HOA Command Chief Master Sgt. John Harris.

And it’s the smiles on their small faces that keep Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Rivera proud to be a part of this mission.

“These children are great and they really enjoy it when we come by and spend some time with them,” he said. “They may not be able to tell us how grateful they are, but the smiles on their faces say it for them.”

According to Army Brig. Gen. Sanford Holman, CJTF-HOA deputy commander, the future impact of this small gesture could be enormous.

“The future of Djibouti is right in my arms,” he said. “How well we take care of Djibouti and its neighbors today will determine the future of this area.

“In 10-20 years, this gesture and the ones to follow will be remembered and they will know the U.S. cares about what happens to them,” said Holman.

And even though 10-20 years is a long way off, the caregivers at the orphanage are grateful today for the outpouring of generosity the U.S. military continues to show the orphanage.

“We are very thankful to the U.S. military for the amount of clothes they brought with them today,” said Delphine Cey, French nurse at the orphanage. “With so many children, we go through a lot of clothes, so it’s better to have too many clothes than not enough.”

Donating clothes to the orphanage wasn’t the only good deed of the day, the military members also donated some much-needed supplies to a local hospital. Some of the items donated were walkers, crutches and chair commodes.

“These items will help sustain their hospital and give patients exactly what they need to get back on their feet after an illness or injury,” said Army Master Sgt. Ethan Hughes, 377 Theater Security Cooperation’s Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Center.

According to Army Lt. Col. Paul VanBreemen, Bravo Company, 489th Civil Affairs, the best part about doing good deeds is the message it sends to the community at large.

“Today we made a positive impact on the baby orphanage and hospital, but our gesture will soon spread throughout this community reminding the Djiboutians that as a military force we are doing positive things for this area,” he said. “Every donation we do, big or small, is one step closer to helping Africans help Africa.”

Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa is a unit of United States Central Command. The organization conducts operations and training to assist partner nations to combat terrorism in order to establish a secure environment and enable regional stability. More than 1,800 people from each branch of the U.S. military, civilian employees, Coalition forces and partner nations make up the CJTF-HOA organization. The area of responsibility for CJTF-HOA includes the countries of Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Seychelles, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.

Photo Caption: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Brandon Rivera, Combined Joint Task Force Horn of Africa, has his hands full during a visit to a Djiboutian orphanage, May 5, 2007. Several military members brought boxes of clothing and medical equipment to the orphans. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Carrie Bernard.

Dhi Qar PRT successes showing through

14 May 2007
Spc. Chris Erickson
U.S. Central Command Public Affairs.

Security authority for Dhi Qar has been under Provincial Iraqi Control for almost six months now, and many successes in the province are starting to show through.

The Iraqis who live in Dhi Qar province are now finding opportunities they never had under Saddam. The Provincial Reconstruction Team, which was set up last year, has been acting as advisers to the Iraqis, helping them determine which steps will best suit them to get Iraq to stand up on its own. To accomplish that goal, the PRT has been working with many different groups in the area, from U.S. and Coalition military to foreign civilian and Iraqi nationals.

Dhi Qar PRT team leader Dr. Anna Prouse, who has been in Iraq since 2003, spoke about what her team was doing to help ensure the Iraqis have a better future.

"'Reconstruction' is sort of [a] misleading word, because I'm not actually here to rebuild," she said. "I'm not here to do the 'brick and mortar' thing. Iraqis can do it, and they probably can do it much better than I. I'm here to build capacity, build this country from the roots, and the roots is the minds, the roots is the education, the health system. Not just put in a clinic, and don't care whether doctors, whether nurses exist, [but] whether they actually know how to maintain a hospital.

"The same thing could be adopted for the education system," she continued. "No one can ever complain or criticize us for building schools. They're not expensive. My point is I build the schools and now I go for the educational system. Now I start checking out 'Do girls go to school? Do girls go to school with boys? And OK, now I gave you the school but now you have to listen to me and have my advisers come in there and advise you on how to have a school running.'"

Richard Riley, the deputy team leader of Dhi Qar PRT, said there were four areas in particular from the President's New Way Forward plan that the PRTs were focusing on to establish capacity within the Iraqis themselves.

"[We need to] bolster the moderates in government of the provinces where we work," he said. "Another is foster reconciliation across the political lines around the province. Develop the economy to the degree that we can by advising the government in economic development. The fourth is to develop the capacity of the government in the province to perform its functions as a government.

"We accomplish those four key objectives in two main programatic ways," Riley continued. "The first is through capacity building programs. The second is with reconstruction programs.

"We are advising the government in drafting their provincial development strategy, which is the comprehensive strategy that will guide this province for the next three years, to decide what are the reconstruction priorities for the government, where should they put their money that they're getting from Baghdad, [and] helping them organize their thoughts around what this program should consist of," he said. "We're also helping to build the capacity to execute their budget. Governments run on budgets, they need the money to get the jobs done, to deliver services to the people of the province. We are helping to build the architecture of their budgeting process, getting them connected with Baghdad, getting them to use the money appropriately."

Riley added that they were also getting a web site built that will connect public administration groups from around the province, to make it easier for those groups to communicate. In addition, there are also a lot of different training programs springing up that will help train Iraqis.

"They do not know how to use computers, let's teach them how to use computers," said Prouse. "They have good engineers, but they do not have good architectural skills. Let's bring in advisers who are architects and teach those engineers how to bring in architectural skills, together with their engineering skills. Doctors are pretty good, but they're not updated. So, how to update doctors? Nurses don't even exist, so we train nurses here on the field."

She explained that, until now, they did a lot of training in Italy. She felt that to really achieve progress, Iraqis had to be trained in Iraq.

"I have a good province, a safe province, still Iraq ... but its' a safer Iraq, so I want Italian experts, American experts to come over here and teach the Iraqis on how to do it. So the first big project we are doing on that, the first capacity building project is we're building a ward, a theater, an operation theater at Camp Ur," she said "They already have a clinic, so we put in a ward, and that's where ... they will go in there and have surgery for two weeks, and have surgeries on facial reconstruction, on Iraqi children," she continued. "Iraqi doctors will assist in the surgeries, learn from those surgeries and then go out there and do the same thing on their patients in Iraqi hospitals."

Prouse spoke about the PRTs main role as advisers.

"The Iraqi government should start seeing us as good advisers, advisers with huge skills," she said. "My team, they have been all over the world. They know what they are talking about. Right now I have two agriculture advisers who are doing an assessment of the entire province."

"It absolutely adds a diversity of ideas," Riley added. "We have a lot of people here with a lot of experience," he said, referring to engineers, architects, water resource managers, and the different specialists who worked with the PRTs to help accomplish their goals.

"The last year, the province only spent 20 percent of its budget. This year they received $140 million," said Prouse. "I'm here to help you decide where best to spend your money, how to set up a budget. Last years budget looked like a high school budget. And it's not because they are incapable. They have never ever done it before. We have done it for centuries, so we know what we're talking about. This starts being accepted in their mentality," she said, referring to how her team now had a very good relationship with the Iraqi authorities and members of the local government.

Prouse said to accomplish her team's goals, they worked closely with the other groups in the area: the U.S., Australian and Romanian militaries. She said for Iraq to succeed in the end, all groups must maintain a joint effort, and that was something which was being achieved, as every group benefited from the experiences of the others.

"We have a different goal, but in the end we both want the same thing," she said. "It's fantastic group work. I haven't seen this anywhere else, it's not all about Coalition, it's about civilians and military just getting along together."

Prouse said it was challenging at first when no one from the provincial government wanted to meet. She said that as time went on, however, the local officials began to trust them and now they were having the Provincial Reconstruction Development Council at least once a week.

"Iraq is small steps, it's relationships," she said. "If the governor does not believe in me, if the chief of police tries to blow me up every time I get out of that gate, then I will never be able to build anything. So the first months were just, work hard and show them that you really have enthusiasm, and that the whole team really believes in this."

Prouse said it was important for PRT members to believe in a better future for Iraq so much that they would be willing to work here for more than half a year.

"Iraqis need one face, they can't have too many people running around them, and they can't have people who come in for six months and then leave," she said. "Because after six months, you don't even understand what's going on here. So six months gives you the idea of what's going on, you start building relationships, and then you leave. And then there's a new face coming in? And that's what I asked my government: not less than one year. I don't want anyone to show up and leave after a few months."

"It takes time to build trust and engagement with the Iraqi provincial governments," Riley said. "There are two things happening at one time. First, they themselves are building up their own capacity to be a government, and do the things they're meant to do under the Iraqi constitution. Second, we as the Coalition are attempting, at the same time they are building up, we are trying to integrate and become trusted advisers in that process.

"You cannot do a reconstruction, you cannot carry forward the president's program in this country, unless you have that level of trust," he added.

Prouse said that the PRT program was good in certain places, but it wasn't something that could work everywhere, for different reasons.

"This is a successful PRT, the team is very good, but there is a combination of factors [that] helps it being a good place to work," said Prouse. "There are other places in the country where it is impossible to get out, if you get out you get killed. PRT is all about interacting with Iraqis, if you don't meet the Iraqis honestly you might as well go home.

"I don't think we should just keep on perceiving it stubbornly in every single province thinking that it is a success story," she said. "Here, my goal, my long term goal, is making it a small success so that private investors come in, the UN comes in.

"I want this to be a place where the UN starts thinking 'lets start putting a couple of our people embedded in the PRT'," she continued. "I asked for a private investment expert, just come here and analyze what companies are around, what SOEs are around, and then I can start calling up companies and saying 'Listen, come over here and look at this company, I will make sure that you get there safely, [and] come back safely'," she said. "People have to start coming out here and seeing Iraq is not the same all over the place, it changes a lot."

"They are getting excited," said Prouse, referring to the Iraqis. "There is a big difference between Baghdad and here. It's hard to ask them to be enthusiastic when the main goal is to stay alive until the end of the day. Asking them to fight for capacity building programs is a little far-fetched," she continued. "When I said that in Baghdad, I could see people rolling their eyes. Here, it clicked. I told them what it was about, and they are an enthusiastic bunch. That makes my life, our life, that much easier to go out there and have an enthusiastic PRDC. Have people who actually want to see us because they believe that we could make the difference together with them."

Coalition, Afghan Forces Counter Taliban Offensive

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2007 – Coalition and Afghan National Army operations have blunted the Taliban spring offensive in eastern Afghanistan, Army Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel said at a Pentagon news conference today.

Votel, the deputy commanding general for operations for Combined Joint Task Force 82, spoke to reporters via a video hook-up.

Votel said coalition operations seem to have countered the long-anticipated Taliban spring offensive.

“We have been more offensive than I think they have in our posturing and in our ability to dominate areas on the battlefield,” Votel said. “As a result of that, I think we've seen a decrease in activities along the border. And our ability to be in more places, along with our Afghan national security force partners, has enabled us to address a broader area across Regional Command East.”

Coalition and Afghan leaders began preparing to counter the Taliban offensive over the winter. More NATO and U.S. troops are in the country, there is closer cooperation with Pakistani forces, and more Afghan forces moved to the border area to stop Taliban infiltration. This seems to have paid off, Votel said.

“So I would not necessarily characterize it as any kind of offensive,” he said. “We certainly haven't seen it manifest itself to any great degree.”

There have been attacks, the general said, “but we have not seen what I would describe as a spring offensive by the Taliban.”

Regional Command East is part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. U.S., NATO and Afghan forces continue to hunt Taliban and al Qaeda terrorists. The command helps train Afghan soldiers, police and border patrol personnel. It also helps extend the influence and control of the central and provincial governments.

The command is in the midst of Operation Eagle Teamwork, which builds on the counterinsurgency strategy of clear, hold and build.

“In the clear phase, we are focusing on separating the insurgents from the population,” Votel said. “This requires the Afghan national security forces' participation at all levels to kill or capture the enemy and disrupt his command and control capability. To this end, we are conducting military operations in the interior of the country and along the border area with Pakistan.”

In the hold phase, the command helps the Afghan government establish a permanent presence in the region. In the build phase, the command invests in developing and expanding government capabilities into these provincial and district areas, the general said.

“We are working very closely with the U.S. Agency for International Development and other national and international non-governmental organizations to ensure our military operations are quickly followed by reconstruction and development activities that extend the reach and influence of the district, provincial and national governments,” he said.

Regional Command East has spent more than $125 million of the Commanders Emergency Response Program funds to make a difference in the lives of Afghans in the region, Votel said.

“Our top development efforts are focused on provincial coordination centers, district coordination centers, the development and capacity building within the Afghan national security forces, roads, agriculture, border security, education and health care,” he said.

In the past three months, the command has funded 14 agricultural projects, more than 60 educational projects, about 20 electricity projects and more than 40 health care projects. “Water is a key aspect here in Afghanistan, and as a result, we've worked 25 irrigation projects, repairing dams, water systems, flood walls and canals,” Votel said.

Roads are key in the landlocked country. The command has nearly 65 transportation projects -- roads, bridges, and retaining walls -- under way, the general said.

U.S. soldiers have taken the news that they must serve 15-month tours in Afghanistan in stride, Votel said. “Nobody wants to stay any longer than they're required to stay here in Afghanistan,” he said. “But that said, you know, we are relatively early on in our deployment here. It was not unexpected completely that we might be extended.

“I think in talking to most soldiers out there – and I do have a pretty good opportunity to get around and visit with them and talk to them – they are glad to be here participating in this mission,” he continued. “They believe in it. And I think they're committed to stay and accomplish the mission. And we will trust that our leaders will be taking care of our families and get us back as soon as we can and when we've completed our portion of the mission.”

Combined Task Force Ensures Recovery for Burn Victim

By Army Capt. Jerord E. Wilson
Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa.

RIBTA, Djibouti, April 2, 2007 — A 6-year-old Djiboutian girl is doing well after being treated by members of the Combined Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa for burns to her hands.

The girl was initially treated March 8, by members of the North Carolina-based 1132nd Engineer Detachment (Well Drillers) attached to the task force. Army Staff Sgt. William Brown, the team medic, was among the first to assess and treat her. According to Brown, the severity of the burn and the appearance of infection were of primary concern.

“My initial concern was the size of her arm and the severity of the burns to her entire arm. She felt no pain, and it looked severely infected,” said Brown.

The North Carolina Guard members promised Ribta villagers they would return with a doctor to check on the girl’s progress. About a week later, they brought Navy Lt. Cmdr. Samantha Grillo, an orthopedic surgeon from the task force’s Expeditionary Medical Force to check on their patient.

Grillo was happy with what she saw. “Because the well-drillers were able to provide the initial cleaning, bandaging, and transport to the hospital in Obock, Djibouti, for antibiotics, the girl’s injuries did not progress to anything that was a life- or limb-threatening injury.”

“She looks like a happy, healthy little girl, quite different from the photos. I was happy to see that the condition of her hand was healing so well,” said Grillo. The surgeon conducted some hand-gripping tests for strength and gave some additional medications to ensure the healing process continues.

The mother of the little girl was overjoyed to see the level of care and speed of recovery to her daughter’s hand. The area on her left hand that had been burned is completely healed, with a slight difference in the pigmentation of the skin.

“Smiles and giggles were the show of the day, and to see the appreciation from the villagers made it all worth it,” said Sgt. 1st Class Danny Hunter.

Sgt. Phillip Lawing and Sgt. 1st Class William Brown were part of the team that initially provided first aid to the little girl’s hand, along with transporting her and her family to the hospital in Obock.

“It’s simply amazing the speed in which her hand healed,” Lawing said, “because it was swollen and stiff with infection the first time I saw her.”

The mission of CJTF-HOA is to prevent conflict, promote regional stability and protect coalition interests in order to prevail against extremism. The CJTF-HOA organization began operations at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti, on May 13, 2003. It works with partner nations on humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, consequence management, civic action programs to include medical and veterinary care, school and medical clinic construction and water development projects.

Photo: A 6-year-old girl moves her arm that is healing from a burn, to show its range of motion and motor skills in Ribta, Djibouti, March 19. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jerord E. Wilson.

Black Jack Performs Medical Mission in Baghdad

By Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim
2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Calvary Division

BAGHDAD, March 30, 2007 — As Haifa Street residents begin coming back out into the streets that were once too dangerous to step into, coalition and Iraqi security forces are beginning to lend a much needed hand in many of the basic needs.

So, with hundreds of medical supplies, a few Army medical soldiers and an Iraqi doctor and nurse on hand, the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, used an elementary school to perform examinations on hundreds of local citizens during a medical mission in the Haifa Street district of Baghdad, March 24.

"It's really good that they are doing this," said a man who brought his daughter to the clinic. "With the security plan working now, we can come out again."

According to Maj. Bruce Rivers, the 2nd Brigade's surgeon, there hasn't been a medical mission such as this in the Karkh District in a long time. Due to the violence there during the last two years, most of the hospitals and clinics were closed. So, many of the people there have had to do without, said Rivers.

"The goal of this medical mission was to improve on the confidence of the Iraqi people of their medical system," he said. "What I envisioned was both the Iraqi doctors and ISF medical personnel being here."

Within a five-hour period, the team saw more than 230 patients, who were mostly women and children, according to Rivers.

"We treated anything from high blood pressure and diabetes, to respiratory infections and urinary tract infections," he said. Yet, there were many cases that the medical team could not help with. "There were people we could not help," he said sadly. "Their problems were beyond the scope of what we can do."

He said his plan is to work with the National Iraqi Assistance Center and other organizations to seek further care for the people they couldn't help. With hundreds of people waiting in line, a team of medics from Troop B, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, worked with interpreters to screen patients. Spc. Marc Allen, a 4th Battalion, 9th Cavalry Regiment medic from Federal Way, Wash., personally screened more than 100 patients before sending them to one of the rooms inside the makeshift exam area.

Capt. Christopher Dawson, commander, Troop B, 4-9 Calvary Regiment, said missions like this are extremely important because it should be used as a model for future operations.

"The bottom line is that we are (eventually) going away," said the Lima, Ohio native. "We are here supplementing what the (ISF) will plan in the future." According to Dawson, the medical mission wasn't designed to treat everyone.

It was to treat those who could be treated, and for the rest, it was supposed to get them by until they could seek proper medical attention.

His troop[s], along with the local Iraqi National Police, provides security to the hundreds of residents who came to seek medical attention.

"We've been doing a few humanitarian missions with the security being better," Dawson said. "And in the past couple of months, it's gotten better ... they are thirsting for security here. We started the constant presence - day-to-day you can see the little stuff, but that little stuff adds up."

Capt. Gene Palka, the 4-9 Operations officer, said the medical mission went well. In the future, Rivers said he hopes that hospitals and clinics will eventually start opening up in that area because the people there really need the medical attention. "

The people really like us being there," he said. "Every time we go, we get a really warm reception."

Photo: U.S. Army Pfc. Roxanne Nissen, a 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Brigade Combat Team medic, shows a little patient where the surgeon wants to look during the medical mission in Baghdad, Iraq, March 24, 2007. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Kap Kim.