Basrah, Iraq
Kabul, Afghanistan
Col. Chet Wernicki, second from right, and his colleagues provide humanitarian services in Iraq. (Courtesy of National Iraqi Assistance Center)
Serving as a lifeline in war-torn Iraq
BY ARNOLD ABRAMS STAFF WRITER
June 5, 2005
The two young boys had terrible medical problems.
They urgently needed heart surgery, which requires skilled surgeons with modern technology in a sterile hospital setting. But such things are not available in Baghdad, where they live.
So their sorrowful families watched in despair and frustration as both boys -- Fadi, 3, and Sajab, 9 -- began turning blue because of inadequate blood circulation in their small bodies. They were dying and there seemingly was nothing to do.
Until Col. Chet Wernicki stepped in.
He arranged to have them bused last month to Amman in neighboring Jordan, where doctors donated their services, a hospital charged minimal fees and several wealthy Iraqi businessmen handled the bills.
"They are recovering at home now," Wernicki, 52, said about the kids, whose treatment required months of planning and bargaining. "And my people couldn't be happier. Not much publicity comes from these cases, which is understandable because there's so much violence and tragedy in Iraq, but this is what we do."
What Wernicki and his 45-member Army civil affairs unit do is wage peace in a war-torn country.
All the unit members are reservists, attached to the 353rd Civil Affairs Command on Staten Island. Since being deployed in September, they have run the National Iraqi Assistance Center in the capital, where foreign charitable private and public organizations work with local leaders to provide a wide range of humanitarian assistance for about 5,000 clients per month.
The center offers medical care, clothing, school materials, prosthetics and compensation for war damage or injuries. It also locates jobs, educates people about human rights and establishes safe houses for battered women and children.
"These are not blood-and-guts issues," said Wernicki, a Commack resident who is an executive with the New York City Transit Authority. "But the war here will not be won if we cannot solve such problems."
Although helping the two boys involved high drama, the colonel, who is the center's director, said most projects are more mundane.
"The key element is assistance," said Wernicki, a Queens native who was a supply officer on active duty for seven years before leaving the Army and joining the reserves in 1986. "We try to meet the needs, wants and desires of the Iraqi people."
Such work can be as frustrating as it is fulfilling, Wernicki said, because it involves much planning, finagling and worry.
Those who know Wernicki say he can deal with the difficulties. "He is as caring and giving as he is dedicated," said his wife, Barbara Wernicki, an administrative worker at LaGuardia Airport. "He is perfectly suited for the job."
But not everything gets done, Wernicki admitted.
"There are plenty of foul-ups on all sides every day," said Lt. Col. William Woods, 48, a Manhattan resident who is Wernicki's deputy. "But when things work out, we get a wonderful feeling."
"These kids have nothing when compared with most American children," he explained. "So when we can give them anything -- even something as simple as candy -- it makes my day."
Typical of the many problems his unit handles, Woods noted, is the plight of about 200 Iraqi citizens who, because of the damage or danger produced by war and insurgency, live in what once was Iraq's national theater.
"It's a very delicate situation," Woods said. "These people are squatters living on government property. They have no right to be there. We're trying to work with various ministries -- including police, health and displacement -- and it's far from settled."
As, Wernicki readily concedes, is the question of whether Iraq can be transformed into a democratic society.
Many of the difficulties were summed up by what happened to a safe house for battered wives and their children that the Americans established in the Green Zone, a heavily fortified Baghdad area that houses top U.S. and Iraqi officials.
"It took a long time to set it up and get the proper people into it," he said. "Then an Iraqi minister learned about it, maneuvered to take it over, threw out the women and children and now uses it as his home." That development, Wernicki said, represents much of what the U.S. is trying to change in Iraq. "We see this as corruption and want it eliminated," he explained. "But for most of the world -- and certainly here -- it simply is how things are."
The colonel decided not to name the minister.
"That would be foolish," he explained. "This guy could close my operation down."
Sunday, June 05, 2005
By TOM BONNETTE
HOUMA (AP) - When the heat of a south Louisiana summer becomes too much, air conditioners can be turned on or activity scaled back. But for soldiers serving in Iraq, refuge from the oppressive heat of summer in the Arabian Desert will be hard to find.
That's why Linda Tabor of Houma is aligning herself with Operation Cool Our Troops. Her son, Pfc. Jon-Ray Falgout, is serving in Iraq with the Third Infantry Division of Fort Benning, Ga.
''Heat stroke is real there,'' Tabor said. ''They are on foot for the most part and carry between 60 to 100 pounds of gear with them.''
To make things a little better for the troops, she is trying to raise $1,500 to send 150 portable Misty Mate personal coolers to her son's platoon.
''It's just $10 per cooler to help a soldier survive that heat in Iraq,'' she said. ''They are away from home, without air conditioning. I can make sure that my son will get one, but there are plenty of soldiers who are counting on the generosity of Americans.''
Two Arizona women who, like Tabor, had relatives serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom started Operation Cool Our Troops in July 2003.
Learning that temperatures in Iraq and Afghanistan could exceed 130 degrees during summer months was all it took for Sue McCormick and Susan Czubek to set up a nonprofit organization to raise the money needed to buy and ship personal coolers, called misters, to troops overseas.
Misty Mate, a Gilbert, Ariz. company, makes the misters, which are 10-ounce water bottles that spray a thin cloud of water with the press of a button. The water is dispensed by air pressure generated by a hand pump.
The misters can be clipped to soldiers' uniforms, require no batteries and can cool temperatures 20 to 30 degrees. Tabor said it's hard to think about how much her son has to endure while serving his country.
''The first time that I got a picture of him from Iraq, I didn't even recognize him because he was dressed in all of his gear,'' she said. ''I cried and cried; it's sad when a mother doesn't know her own son.''
Falgout hasn't complained about conditions in Iraq since being deployed there in January, but Tabor worries about him anyway.
''He hasn't complained to me about how hot it is there,'' she said. ''He calls and asks me, 'How are y'all doing?' I tell him that I am doing fine, I might have had someone cut me off in traffic that day, but no one is shooting at me.''
Tabor feels confident that she will be able to raise the money she needs for Operation Cool Our Troops from her community.
''It's a good way to show patriotism by sending them a piece of equipment that they can use every day,'' she said. ''These guys are just doing their job, but it's a 24-7 job. Anything that can be done to make them more comfortable would be great.''
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On the Net:
Operation Cool Our Troops, http://www.coolourtroops.com