U.S. Army Reserve supports humanitarian exercise in Uganda

10.22.2009

Story by Maj. Corey Schultz 

U.S. Army Reserve Command

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Army Reserve Soldiers from across the U.S. are on the ground in northern Uganda, working in an exercise with U.S. Army Africa and five East African nations to improve disaster management response and provide medical care.

During this exercise, Natural Fire 10, personnel from Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda and the U.S. have set up an operating base in Kitgum, about 200 miles north of Lake Victoria, where they train and work together on a humanitarian assistance mission. The exercise includes practicing responses to disaster relief such as convoy operations, crowd control, weapons handling and vehicle checkpoints. Also, medical, civil affairs and construction personnel travel daily into the communities.

The Army Reserve is playing an important role in this exercise, providing all the aircraft as well as civil affairs, force protection and medical care for both U.S. Soldiers and Ugandan citizens.

Soldiers of the 11th Theater Aviation Command's D Company, 7-158th Aviation Regiment, primarily from Louisville, Ken., and Olathe, Kan., are providing all the air mobility for Natural Fire. They operate three CH-47 Chinooks and two C-12s.

These Army Reserve aviators have been flying personnel and cargo back and forth daily, and also conducting sling load training in Kitgum. They provide crucial rapid transit from the staging area in Entebbe out to the field. For instance, on Oct. 15, Chinooks carried about 200 personnel from Entebbe to Kitgum, saving almost 10 hours that would have otherwise been spent on the road. On Oct. 21, they were again called upon for a critical mission: medevac for a seriously injured Ugandan soldier.

The soldier had been working at a construction site when a steel beam fell 20 feet and struck him on the head. 1st. Lt. Matthew Boyer with the Army Reserve's 629th Forward Surgical team was the medical officer in charge at the scene and arranged for the injured man to be treated.

"That's what we do, save life, limb and eyesight," said Maj. Scott Armen, a surgeon from Gainesville, Fla., who led the team assessing and stabilizing the injured Ugandan. The pilots and aircrew of D Co. spun up a Chinook, and the soldier was flown to a Kampala hospital within about 90 minutes. Without the Chinook, it would have been an eight to 10 hour drive over rough dirt roads —which the patient may not have survived.

Medical personnel from the 7225th Medical Detachment (Greenville, S.C.) are also providing care for local Ugandans. They have set up at the Pajimo Medical Clinic outside of Kitgum and work side by side with their U.S. Navy, Ugandan and Tanzanian counterparts, treating more than 500 patients per day. The team includes doctors, Navy dentists, pharmacists, nurses, physician assistants and medics. They provide medical, dental, optometry and pharmacy services, and even have a psychological nurse, Lt. Col. Jimmy Paulk, who counsels victims of domestic violence and persons with psychological problems. Patients are also given medicine and vitamins to take home with them.

Though the Army Reserve medical personnel did not plan for any maternity care, they quickly made a contingency plan when a 19 year old Ugandan woman went into labor at the Pajimo Clinic's gate.

Fortunately, one of the 7225th's emergency room nurses, 1st. Lt. Victoria Lynn Watson of Lubbock, Texas, is a labor and delivery nurse in her civilian occupation. She immediately ran down to the maternity clinic.

"This is what I do back home," Watson said. "This is what I live for."

About two hours later Watson, her medic Pfc. Kendra Hinds, and the clinic's midwife staff delivered a healthy, 5.5 lb. baby boy. The 7225th adjusted their daily figure of 714 patients treated —to 715.

"It's an amazing day," Watson said.

The clinics owe the large amount of patients to the U.S. Army Reserve's 310th Psychological Operations Unit out of Atlanta, Ga. These Soldiers go out into the communities with translators to issue announcements ranging from advice on how to prevent the spread of disease to directions to the local clinics, such as Pajimo. The Psyops personnel then return to the clinic to gauge the effectiveness of their message.

As with any operation, physical security of the participants is of tantamount importance. Military Police Soldiers from the 400th MP Battalion are providing force protection: guarding the gates and patrolling the forward operating base so that all the exercise participants remain safe. They also provide escort and security for numerous distinguished visitors, such as Gen. William E. Ward, the commanding general of U.S. Africa Command and Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett, III, commander of U.S. Army Africa.

"The Ugandans have been very friendly," said Staff Sgt. Aubrey McElroy, an MP with the 304th MP Company out of Bluefield, W. Va. "On one of our Personal Security Detachment missions, we escorted a Ugandan general to a radio station for an interview. They found out we didn't have Internet back on the FOB, so they let us get on their email to tell our families we had made it OK."

Exercise Natural Fire 10 will conclude on Oct. 25. By that time, thousands of Ugandans in the Kitgum district will have interacted with Army Reserve personnel, hopefully fulfilling the intent of the exercise: to bring the U.S. and East Africa into a closer partnership.

"This exercise is an example of the U.S. Government's commitment to strengthening our relationship and increasing our ability to operate together to promote security, stability and peace in Africa," said Lt. Col. David Konop, U.S. Army Africa's spokesman.