A member of the 416th Engineer Command, checks a shot grouping at Range 33, an M-16 sight-in range. The 416th, an Army Reserve unit from Darien, Ill., was conducting mobilization training at Ft. McCoy. (Photo by Rob Schuette)
Solerno, Afghanistan -- "When we come in here we emphasize that we're here to help them help themselves," said Army Reserve Sgt. John Ammermann. "The biggest thing we reinforce is that the children are their future and education is important." (Photo by Sgt. Edward Zink)
Reserve Soldiers Aid Afghan Hospital"
SOLERNO, Afghanistan -- Officials here are calling it the largest humanitarian mission in this area to date. The originator of the mission is calling it a small step in what he hopes will become a lot more.
A convoy of soldiers from Forward Operating Base Solerno, rolled into Khowst Feb. 8 in a surprise visit to deliver 5,340 humanitarian daily rations as well as 16 boxes of medical supplies, warm clothes and shoes to the Civilian Hospital of Khowst.
Soldiers from the Army Reserve's 450th Civil Affairs, 909th Forward Surgical Team, and the 3rd Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment,spent the better part of their day unloading the supplies into the hospital and holding back the throngs of local people who gathered to watch.
The 100-bed hospital was built by the Germans in the 1920’s and provides medical services to the 150,000 Afghans in the Khowst province. It is staffed by seven doctors, two of them female, and all of whom work with the barest of equipment and are rarely paid for their services, said Col. John Wassner, commander of the 909th FST.
Wassner originated the idea for the mission following two prior visits to the hospital. He said his team spoke with Dr. Noor Bashah, the minister of public health in the region and identified some of the needs of the hospital. On his second visit Wassner performed surgery to repair a hernia on an elderly Afghan man.
“I think that primarily our mission over here is to show the Afghan people that we are not the enemy. We are here to help them and make Afghanistan a safer place for them while we are trying to root out the terrorists who have taken up residence here,” said Wassner. “One of the ways I think we can do that is to provide better health care for this country."
The convoy left for the hospital in the early morning hours just as the sun was coming up and was kept secret from the hospital for security reasons. The whole thing came as quite a surprise to the staff and patients.
“We are very happy and desire that every week we have this kind of visit because this way the relationship between us will be further strengthened,” said Dr. Anayetullah, a pediatric doctor at the hospital. “This kind of assistance has a good effect on the treatment of our people and also our people will be assured and certain that the American people really want to help our people in every kind of process.”
The visit to the hospital included another tour of the facilities for Wassner, his newest staff of surgeons and Lt. Col. Richard Clarke, commander of 3rd Bn., 504th PIR.
The clothing and shoes were donated by family members of the 909th FST from Fort Sheridan, Ill., and the food and medical supplies, including two boxes of antibiotics, were coordinated through the civil affairs team, who are involved in every humanitarian mission.
“When we come in here we emphasize … that we’re here to help them help themselves,” said Sgt. John Ammermann, a member of the CA team. “The biggest thing we reinforce is that the children are their future and education is important.”
Wassner said the doctors at the hospital are very eager to learn from American doctors and have accepted medical books and requested other medical supplies and teaching materials. However, he added, current situations in the area make that very hard to do.
“It’s very difficult for us to reach out and provide a helping hand to these people because even though we are here, the enemy is still here also,” said Wassner. “Al-Qaida elements are still just across the border in Pakistan and there are Afghans here who still look at Americans as the enemy and that’s really an unfortunate thing. But, we are making every effort we can and we are starting out with some small steps and I hope that as peace comes to the country we can begin to do a lot more for these unfortunate people.”