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Posted on 10/07/2002 8:11:47 AM PDT by robowombat
Fayetteville (NC) Observer October 5, 2002
Injuries To 82nd Division Soldiers Increase
By J.S. Newton, Correspondent
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - As the U.S. military steps up combat operations in the frontier regions of eastern Afghanistan, injuries among American troops are increasing.
Several 82nd Airborne Division soldiers have been among those recently hurt in accidents and combat operations.
Military officials say casualties are a part of war.
"We are operating in a very dangerous place,'' said Maj. Rich Patterson, the division's top spokesman. "Very austere. The bottom line is military operations are hazardous by nature.''
Since the division's arrival earlier this year, soldiers have been involved in Operation Mountain Sweep and a sweep of Afghanistan's rugged Bermel Valley.
Two battalions from the 82nd Airborne participated in each mission.
In September, there were four division soldiers injured compared to only one in August, according to division statistics.
Vehicle wreck
On Sept. 26, two division soldiers suffered minor leg injuries when their vehicle rolled over while crossing a ditch near Kandahar. The men were treated and released.
That night, an 82nd Airborne Division soldier near Orgun-E drove over a land mine.
Patterson said his injuries were not life-threatening, but the soldier was evacuated by helicopter and will receive treatment for hearing damage.
On Sept. 24, a division soldier operating near Lwara received minor leg wounds after being hit by shrapnel from a detonation of unexploded ordnance.
Military officials have not said how the accident happened. The soldier was sent to a surgical team in Orgun-E and then to Bagram Air Base, officials said.
Injuries on patrol
On Aug. 8, a division soldier was shot in the chest near Lwara while on a reconnaissance patrol. He was sent to Germany for medical treatment.
Patterson said he was not sure about the soldier's condition.
In July, a division soldier was shot while on a patrol near Kandahar.
A rifle round bounced off the helmet of Sgt. 1st Class Roderick Morgan. He was treated at Bagram Air Base for a concussion before being released.
Patterson said the division does what it can to minimize battlefield injuries and combat casualties, including training, conducting risk assessments and planning.
The injuries have not been limited to Fort Bragg troops.
On Sept. 28, a soldier from 339th Combat Support Hospital in Pennsylvania was shot while driving a Humvee. He was a mile and a half outside the Afghan capital, Kabul.
The soldier was the lead driver in a two-vehicle convoy. The doors of the Humvee had been removed.
The soldiers were going to a training center for the Afghan National Army, which is just outside Kabul, to conduct routine health inspections on Afghan army recruits.
The soldier did not see the enemy shooter or hear the round, said Col. Roger King, spokesman for all U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan.
The bullet grazed the soldier's left leg, but he continued with the mission.
On Sept. 24, a soldier was injured when an all-terrain vehicle he was in flipped. The accident happened near Lwara.
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