Free Republic

Every single Soldier, Sailor, Airman and Marine, every man and woman who serves this great nation, deserves our eternal thanks, admiration and respect. The difference between our current engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan and the war in Vietnam is this: we, as a nation, have matured enough to recognize that we need to support our men and women in service: no matter our political position on the conflict. .....While no segment of our military population deserves more or less credit and thanks than any other, we might take a moment to recognize the valor, selfless giving and dedication exhibited by...

8/10/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq -- Airmen here supported an Army forward surgical team in providing medical treatment to detainees as they transitioned from the Abu Ghraib Theater Internment Facility to a new facility on Camp Cropper near Baghdad. Multi-National Force-Iraq officials established the new facility July 30 to replace Abu Ghraib, which is closing. "Within 72 hours we went from three to 16 hospital beds and increased our operating room tables from one to two," said Col. (Dr.) Chris Lisanti, 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron commander. Soldiers from the Army's 772nd Forward Surgical Team and the 21st Combat Support...

U.S. Air Force Maj. Kurt Workmaster, Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team physician assistant, checks the blood pressure of an elder in the Paryan District, Afghanistan, July 16, 2006. Three medics from the Panjshir PRT treated more than 200 patients during the Medical Civic Action Program, or MEDCAP, which was coordinated at the invitation of Panjshir Director of Health Dr. Jellani. U.S. Air Force photo by Air Force Tech. Sgt. John Cumper Medics Visit Remote Afghan District Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team treats more than 200 patients. By Air Force Capt. Joe Campbell Panjshir Provincial Reconstruction Team PANJSHIR PROVINCE, Afghanistan, July 25,...

KABUL, Afghanistan, June 23, 2006 — The Afghan National Army increases its capabilities every six weeks when it graduates more than 80 force multiplying medics. After graduating basic training at Kabul Military Training Center, selected soldiers attend the Combat Medic Course at the Afghan National Hospital. It is the only advanced medical training in the Afghan National Army. “The soldiers that come here to learn are among the best serving in the [Afghan National Army]. They are eager to learn and employ the knowledge and skills they have been taught.” Afghan Sgt. Jamil After graduating, combat medic soldiers report to...

IRAQI police discovered Abu Musab al-Zarqawi alive in the rubble of his bombed safe house, then watched him try to roll off a stretcher before dying, it emerged yesterday.Announcing his death, US officials said on Thursday that the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq had been found dead after two F16s dropped a pair of 500lb bombs on his safe house in Hibhib, a village in Diyala province 48km (30 miles) northeast of Baghdad. But Major-General Bill Caldwell said that he had learnt early yesterday that al-Zarqawi had survived the initial airstrikes on his two-floor breeze-block hideout. “We did, in fact,...

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, May 17, 2006) – Iraqi Army Soldiers are now bringing their own medics to the battlefield. During Operation Iron Triangle, medics from the 1st Battalion, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, were a prevalent force among detainees. “My duty is to help anyone who is sick or a casualty,” said 1st Sgt. Zaed Sudan, an Iraqi Army medic who helped check and treat detainees. “If there were casualties on any side we would work together to take care of them,” said Sudan. “We are ready at any time for what may happen.” Working with coalition...

5/8/2006 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- To say the staff at Balad’s Air Force Theater Hospital has seen everything may be an understatement. The doctors, nurses and medics here, some from McChord Air Force Base and Madigan Army Medical Center in the state of Washington, save the lives of servicemembers who are wounded while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom. From injured Soldiers rushed in by helicopter to wounded insurgents, the patients they see run the gamut. The patients are Iraqi police, military, civilians and insurgents, in-country nationals, coalition civilians and military, American civilians and, of course, American servicemembers. “We...

WASHINGTON, April 24, 2006 – Coalition forces sent medical personnel to provide emergency treatment to the victims of a plane crash in Afghanistan's Helmand province today, and Marines in Kunar province are giving villagers free medical treatment, military officials reported. Three people are confirmed dead and several people were injured in the plane crash, including six people taken to Kandahar Airfield for treatment. Initial reports indicate the plane attempted to avoid a truck and overran the airport runway, crashing into a nearby village. "When we were alerted that an airplane had crashed, the coalition immediately sent medical support to assist...

DULUIYA, Iraq (Army News Service, March 28, 2006) – Soldiers of Task Force Band of Brothers conducted medical screenings of Iraqi citizens on the Jabouri Peninsula March 27. The screenings came nine days after forces netted thousands of pounds in artillery and mortar rounds, rockets, air-defense rockets, ammunition, machine guns, materials for improvised explosive devices and other terrorist weapons along the Tigris River. Medics from the 1-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and 1st Battalion, 3rd Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division – along with civil affairs Soldiers – held the health assessment at a...

SAMARRA, Iraq (March 27, 2006) – The Army has a catchphrase; “Adapt, improvise and overcome,” and that is just what medics at Forward Operating Base Brassfield-Mora are doing. 2nd Lt. Edward C.F. Lau, Evacuation Platoon Leader, 690th Medical Company in support of the 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, FOB Brassfield-Mora in Samarra had an idea to implement the design for a new medical evacuation platform. “My chain of command gave the opportunity to implement a new ground evacuation doctrine, and depending on its success, it will be the new standard for ground patient movement in Iraq,” says...

3/9/2006 - SATHER AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- Several times a week, medics from the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron take a break from their normal “hustle and bustle” work schedule at the clinic to help local Iraqis who feel under the weather. The medics head out close to the wire to see these patients at the Radhwaniya Medical Clinic Outreach Program building. Tech. Sgt. Michelle Du Lac picked up her stethoscope to listen to a young boy’s chest who hasn’t been feeling too well lately. “Can you tell him to breathe hard again for me?” she asked the interpreter. The...

3/6/2006 - Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras (AFPN) -- Airmen and Soldiers treated five Cuban citizens when their car crashed through the base’s perimeter fence March 1. The driver lost control of the car and ran off the road at approximately 6:15 a.m., rolling the vehicle several times and ultimately crashing through Soto Cano Air Base’s perimeter fence. The victims are among 300 Cuban medical personnel assigned in Honduras and were traveling to Comayagua from Tegucigalpa at the time of the crash. Base personnel responded quickly, as joint security forces secured the scene and medical element troops triaged the patients....

TIKRIT, Iraq, Feb. 21, 2006 — Much has been said about the importance of top-tier military medicine to the survival of soldiers in combat. Regardless of which country a soldier serves, quality medics are valued by the troops. Studies show that if critically wounded soldiers receive quality health care within the first hour after the incident, they will have the best probability of survival. “[The Iraqi medics are] always excited about learning, and they know a lot more than you think.” U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Robert Stevens Medics from 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division and 3rd...

2/9/2006 - U.S. MILITARY GROUP QUITO, Ecuador (AFPN) -- It was a busy day for the 21st Medical Group -- 1,501 patients seen in eight hours during a medical readiness exercise here. The constant stream of Ecuadorians moved through the treatment areas like a quiet, but strong steam engine. There was a sense of calm and orderliness as the Ecuadorian Army security team kept the crowds in control, which helped facilitate the number of people seen Feb. 7 in the small village of Otavalo. U.S. and Ecuadorian Air Force doctors worked side-by-side to treat Ecuadorian patients. In four isolated towns,...

Soldiers training Iraqi medics in Combat Lifesaving By Staff Sgt. Jesse C. Riggin A Soldier from Company D, 1st Brigade, 4th Iraqi Army Division, practices IV therapy on his comrade as a medic from 2nd Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment guides him through the process. Photo contributed by 2-9 Medical Operations team. Printer-friendly version AD DAWR, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 7, 2006) – Eight Iraqi soldiers were recently awarded Combat Life Saver certificates after receiving training in basic medical diagnostic and treatment procedures from 2-9 Cavalry troopers. “Anything that we can do – combined operations, training them, supplying them,...

WASHINGTON — Marine medics in Iraq are more likely to face serious injury or death than are the riflemen they’re working to help, according to the assistant commandant. Gen. Robert Magnus said Tuesday that statistics from Corps health officials show that the job of the combat medic, or Navy corpsman, is among the most dangerous in the war, in large part because of the situations they put themselves in. “They’re literally moving in and moving out of the fight to get to their patients,” he said. “They’re among the first to go into battle, and they’re right in the middle...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan, Jan. 16, 2006 – Eleven people wounded during a Jan. 14 bombing attacks in Khowst, Afghanistan, were treated by U.S. medical personnel at Forward Operating Base Salerno, military officials in the Afghan capital of Kabul reported today. Two of the 11 have since been released from care, officials said; the rest were reported to be in stable condition. "The local medical facilities in Khowst were overwhelmed by the number of patients, and we were able to step in and assist with their care and treatment," said Lt. Col. Jerry O'Hara, Combined Joint Task Force 76 spokesman. "There were...

12/28/2005 - PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT, Ore. (AFPN) -- More than 50 years after it entered the Air Force, aircrews are still finding ways to increase the capabilities of the KC-135 Stratotanker. Ten reservists from the 939th Air Refueling Wing here and four the 349th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., demonstrated the airplane has valuable medical-evacuation capabilities. The team practiced transporting patients with battlefield injuries during a three-day mission to Marine Corps Base Hawaii Kaneohe Bay. The base is home to the 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force. The medevac mission is just a few years old for the...

12/27/2005 - BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) -- In a sea of tents and trailers on Balad Air Base in northern Iraq, shrapnel is being surgically removed from a limb, medics are racing to stop someone from bleeding to death and another life is being saved from wounds inflicted on the battlefield. It is that sea of tents which houses the Air Force theater hospital, where servicemembers and civilians get the most advanced medical care possible in a combat zone. Run by the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group, the hospital offers trauma and specialized medical care for people throughout Iraq and...

BAGHDAD (Army News Service, Nov. 23, 2005) -- Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 9th Field Artillery, conducted a medical capabilities assessment and clinic in Baghdad Nov. 18. Medics set up the clinic in a local school, saw more than 100 residents, and dispensed medical advice and basic treatments. “It’s basically a sick call for the people of Baghdad that we’re running here,” said Capt. Scott Baumgartner, 1st Bn., 9th FA physician’s assistant. “We saw an opportunity to do something good for the Iraqi people and followed up on it.” School workers cleaned out two classrooms and medics set up a triage...