Free Republic

Marion Kleinfeld got up one Sunday morning, picked up the newspaper, settled down to read it, and couldn't see the words. Kleinfeld, 79, of Delray Beach, Fla., already blind in her right eye, lost sight in her other eye because of a condition called wet age-related macular degeneration, AMD, the leading cause of blindness in people over 55. Leaking blood vessels in the back of the eye cause a large black spot in the center of vision. "I could not see at all. It was very frightening," she said. After years of having to tell patients losing their eyesight to...

If U.S. and coalition forces here are going to be successful in their quest to kill, capture and deny sanctuary to al Qaeda and Taliban militants, they must first be able to see their nemesis. And with the help of the 452nd Combat Support Hospital's ophthalmology unit, troops in the Afghanistan theater will never have to go into a combat operation with "blind" ambition. They'll see the big picture clearly – an Afghan nation rid of unwanted oppressors. "Our role is to provide eye care for the U.S. troops in the theater and to provide emergency eye care for the...