IPs, MND-B Soldiers conduct MedOp in Assyria

Photo By Spc. Cal Turner | CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Spc. Seth Sutch, medic, Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, treats a local man from Assyria Village Sept. 20 during a Community Health Outreach Program conducted alongside local Iraqi Police officers.  

TAJI, IRAQ

09.30.2006

Story by Spc. Cal Turner 

1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division

by Spc. C. Terrell Turner
1st BCT PAO, 4th Inf. Div.

CAMP TAJI, Iraq—Lending a hand to their neighbors, Soldiers from 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment; the 4th Support Battalion; and Multi-National Division – Baghdad's 414th Civil Affairs Battalion, conducted a Community Health Outreach Program Sept. 20 at the Women's Center in Assyria Village located next to Camp Taji.

As medical providers from the brigade provided care alongside a local Iraqi nurse, Soldiers from the 414th CA Bn. handed out humanitarian assistance items to the people in attendance; local Iraqi police officers helped hand out supplies, provided security and maintained crowd control on site.

"The goal was to get as many people through the medical and humanitarian points as possible while assessing the needs of the community," said Maj. James Frick, plans and operations officer, HHB, 4th Bn., 42nd FA Regt. "Also, we wanted to let the people see the Iraqi police involved in providing medical and humanitarian aid."

The Women's Center in Assyria provided a centralized location to organize the event and allowed the Soldiers to provide treatment to local nationals in a timely and orderly manner. The month-old building is the culmination of a recent project designed to support the women of the Assyria community on a daily basis.

"This is the beginning of the program, but the women seem to appreciate it," said Rahman Mohammed, managing director of the center. "Right now we have sewing classes for women to help them make clothes. This event is very good for the local people here with the cooperation of Coalition Forces."

Hundreds of people moved through the Women's Center and received treatment and assistance items. The crowd, which consists of mostly women and children, seemed to appreciate the care they received from 1st Lt. Les Bartow, a physicians' assistant from 4th Bn., 42nd FA Regt., and 1st Lt. Saibatu Mansaray, from Co. C, 4th Support. Bn.

"Most of the patients were pretty jovial. They get along with us pretty well," said Spc. Seth Sutch, medic, HHB, 4th Bn., 42nd FA Regt. "We had some kids that came in with their parents for checkups, and we even had some female patients come see Lt. Bartow. It was surprising that they actually felt comfortable enough to see a male doctor during the operation."

As the deployment for 1st BCT enters its tenth month, the medical care providers are racking up quite a few missions in providing care to the Iraqi people.

"During this operation, we saw a lot of skeletal, muscular, intestinal and urinary tract problem in the patients," said Mansaray. "This is about the twelfth operation I've done, and I have two more coming up. Our unit gets tasked to provide a female health care provider, and I am one of the two in our unit."

The 414th CA Bn., which provided more than $8,000 in humanitarian and medical supplies for the event, continues to operate in the Taji and Baghdad areas.

"We've been on the ground operating since April," said Capt. Mario Tovar, interim team chief, Team 1, 414th CA Bn. "It seems like we average about one medical operation a month, but we have had three in September. Since we've been operating in the Taji area, we've helped build and refurbish schools, repaired water networks, and we are about to complete a new qada building in Taji for the local council."

The medical operations are part of an overall mission to show local Iraqis a glimpse of the future for a democratic Iraq.

"Despite the fact that this area is very pro-Coalition, we want people to see what they can gain by supporting the government and how they will personally benefit," he added.

• Date Taken: 09.30.2006
• Date Posted: 10.02.2006 14:47
• Story ID: 7891
• Location: TAJI, IQ