Daily Afghan-Iraq Update/11-03
U.S. Navy Dr. Jennifer Dreiling, a medic from the PRT Nuristan, re-stitches sutures on the leg of Sayed Sharif, a native from Tupak village in Nuristan, Oct 22. Sharif was a former cmdr of an Afghan Border Police (ABP) unit who lost both of his legs by an anti-personal mine while clearing a culvert in the Kandahar prov.
In September 2009, Sharif was clearing out a culvert with his men in the Kandahar prov., when an anti-personal mine went off causing him to have his legs amputated. He quickly received medical attention and surgery from Canadian doctors in the Kandahar prov. After his surgery he relocated to his native village in eastern Afghanistan's Nuristan prov., Tupak.When asked if he regretted his return to Afghanistan, he simply replied, "I don't regret my return to my country; I'm proud to serve my country and I lost my legs serving my country. If the ABP would take me back, I would be ready to work."The PRT medics came across Sharif during a civil assessment in the Tupak Village. Once they heard his haunting experience and examined his sutures on both legs, U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Dreiling, doctor, recommended that he come to FOB Kala Gush for treatment on the wound on his left leg because it had started to open.The doctor and her staff cleaned the wound and re-stitched sutures to prevent them from coming undone in the future. "I certainly have never seen anything like this; he's lucky to be alive," Dreiling said. Sharif will come back to FOB Kala Gush in 2 weeks for a follow up appointment with Dreiling.
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Combined Joint Task Force - 82 PAO
Soldiers Provide Life-saving Treatment
Photo by Spc. Eugene Cushing
Army Pfc. Stephen Dechant, a medic assigned to 1st Bn, 32nd Inf Regt, 10th Mtn Div, treats a wounded Afghan truck driver at the aid station on COP Monti, Oct. 1. The driver was returning from the remote Nuristan prov. when insurgents attacked his convoy.
Army Spc. Daniel Sigler, a medic attached to Co C, 704th BSB, was first on the scene. Sigler raced to the first of the trucks hit and found the driver, bleeding from several shrapnel wounds. “He was just scared,” said Sigler, who treated the man and rushed him to a nearby U.S. Army armored vehicle, and raced to the next truck.
The driver of the second truck was in bad shape. “The first thing I did was look where he was bleeding from, but I couldn’t tell,” said Sigler. He grabbed the man and rushed him behind cover. Sigler put tourniquets on the man’s legs to stop the bleeding, but the man had no pulse. He died on the side of the road...another casualty of AAF violence.
The aid station at COP Monti has seen these types of incidents before. According to Army Capt. Patrick Barker, a physician’s asst for 1st Bn, 32nd Inf Regt, they treat “everything that comes through.”
At the aid station, the medics treated the first driver. He was in good condition. Outside, Sigler thought back to the man he couldn’t save, and asked himself, “What could I have done differently?” The next morning Sigler was in the truck yard checking on his patient. He smiled as Sigler checked his bandages, happy to be alive. Sigler said he felt a little angry, partly about not being able to save the other man, and partly at the insurgents who killed him.
Spc. Daniel Sigler checks an Afghan truck driver's bandages. Sigler was on scene, treated the man before helping him to an armored vehicle, and getting him to safety.
KUNAR PROVINCE (28 October 2009) – Two anonymous local nationals took a step forward in attempting to keep their district safer by turning in a weapons cache to their district sub-gov. The weapons were then handed over to authorities at FOB Blessing. The cache consisted of 6 rockets, 5 mines, 13 recoilless rifle rounds, and an IED. The IED was the second device turned in by concerned local nationals in the past month.
"I was given the opportunity to teach the local nationals what we could with the jobs that we're assigned, and educate them in relation to these jobs," said Master Sgt. Carl Hayden, 506th Expeditionary Civil Engr Sqdrn (ECES), labor pool superintendent. Hayden reviews the work orders and coordinates between the Airmen and the Iraqi worker's supervisor to determine what jobs provide the best possibilities to broaden the Iraqi's skills.
A current project has an Iraqi team building benches, tables, bookcases and other classroom furniture to be utilized by an IP counter explosive team who are working with EOD Airmen as well. "I figured in the next couple of months we'll be able to broaden their knowledge of carpentry with the jobs that come down,” Hayden said. “For instance, we have a crew assisting with putting in a deck for Special Forces. They can handle the concrete jobs with no problem. Although the majority of the concrete work is done, we're doing jobs here and there as they come up."
A local Iraqi contractor has built a working relationship with various deployed Airmen from the 506th ECES since Sept. 2005, and has since seen his workforce increase from 7 to 28 workers. He said he noticed the progress his laborers have made in their abilities from training with the Airmen. "They do a good job now," said Murtatda Shukor, Iraqi lead supervisor. "Every rotation, with new CE guys, they learn something ... even me, I learn from you guys ... They don't need me to teach them or to show them anything, they're doing very well, so they learn everything from CE," he said.
"I appreciate the CE guys, Sgt. Hayden, and most of the guys I worked with before for their help. Always they take care of my guys," Shukor said. "I appreciate them because they're going to teach me something, and I'm going to do it in my country ... they're going to teach us something I'm going to do at home to rebuild Iraq."
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MNF-I
BAGHDAD — Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre and Command Sgt. Maj. Mitch Prater cased the colors of the Gulf Region Div, USACE at the majestic Al Faw Palace, Oct. 23.
The event didn’t just mark the end of the div’s tour; it signified the end of reconstruction efforts under combat ops, and the beginning of reconstruction under stability ops.
Earlier this year, as U.S. Forces began leaving Iraqi cities and towns in accordance with the U.S.–Iraqi Security Agreement, the transition to responsible drawdown mode began. A wide variety of troops and units have already started returning to their home stations, but the Gulf Region Div is the first Corps of Engineers’ division to leave the Iraqi theater as part of the drawdown.
MNF-I Cmdr, Gen. Ray Odierno, stressed that the accomplishments of the GRD extended far beyond the visible brick and mortar construction projects. “Your efforts haven't been limited to the development of physical infrastructures, but also have included partnerships with the Ministries of Electricity, Housing, Construction, Municipalities, Public Works, Water Resources and Oil. You have vigorously shared your expertise, and have helped Iraq make tremendous progress in developing human capital and the technical skills necessary to continue to move forward, and build a more vibrant and modern state.”
Odierno told the audience that although the inactivation ceremony was a step toward the responsible drawdown of U.S. forces, there was still much work to be done. “We're not yet finished. Our mission still continues,’ said Odierno. “We're on a road to success, but we still have much work to do to attain that success. Therefore, we'll still have a significant engineering presence, and a mission here in Iraq.”
As of Oct. 1, GRD had completed nearly 5,300 projects. In fiscal year 2009 alone, it completed 325 projects consisting of 41 school projects, 20 village road projects, 25 water distribution projects, 21 electric distribution projects, 12 police stations, 7 court projects, 2 military command centers and numerous other projects aimed at improving the infrastructure and providing vital services for the people of Iraq.
According to Maj. Gen. Michael Eyre, cmdr of the GRD, the number of projects is not the true measure of the work that was accomplished by the GRD. “This HQ team is leaving this land, the Cradle of Civilization, with something that's so much bigger than any dollar value that we can place on projects,” said Eyre. “For this nation and its citizens now have hope. These projects are providing electricity, clean water, transportation, police and fire stations, medical care and educational opportunities to the people of Iraq, things many of us take for granted.
Addressing the remaining members of the GRD team, Eyre reassured them that their hard work and sacrifices enabled the change of their mission to stability ops. “I'm inactivating the div today knowing that this is absolutely the right thing to do, and the right time to do it,” he said. “What we're witnessing this morning is transformation, and the responsible drawdown, before our very eyes. Our work here is something we can all be extremely proud of not only today, but forever. The work that each of you performed individually and collectively, has played an important role in building strong foundations yesterday and today for a secure, stable, sovereign and self-reliant Iraq well into the future.”
With the inactivation of the GRD, 2 Corps of Engrs units will remain in Iraq to finish the reconstruction mission; the Gulf Region South District HQd in Tallil and the GRD HQd in Baghdad. These districts now come under the command and control of the Corps of Engrs’ newly established Transatlantic Div, HQd in Winchester, VA. The new div unifies all Corps of Engrs’ programs in the U.S. Central Command ops area, which covers 20 countries from Egypt through the Arabian Gulf to Central Asia.
Since January, Raia has served as a door gunner on a CH-47 Chinook helicopter with Co B, 2nd Bn, 104th Aviation Regt. “I felt that after 7 years in the Guard, it was my turn to do my part overseas,” he said.
“Our job in the band is unique in that we're in the public eye often, and we often get thanked for our service by people in our audiences,” Raia said. “I would find myself conflicted, because while it is true that we, as a unit, were serving our country in the way in which we were meant to serve, I also felt as if I should be doing more.”
Raia had several friends in the Guard who deployed overseas at least once in their careers. He said he felt those were the Soldiers who truly deserved to be thanked. His final decision to deploy was met by his unit with unwavering support. “My unit couldn't have been more supportive of my decision,” he recalled. “They helped me get everything on the military side of the house in order prior to my deployment, and have made it a point to ensure it would not affect me negatively upon my return.”
However, his transition from band member and college student to door gunner presented difficulties training could not help. “It was a decision that I struggled with for a while,” he said. “It’s one thing to tell your loved ones you're being ordered to leave, and a totally different animal entirely when you're trying to explain to them that you are voluntarily leaving.”
Raia said his civilian friends did not understand his desire to volunteer for combat in the way his military friends did. “People in the military think a little differently than those who aren't, and most of the Soldiers in the military today could probably easily understand the feeling of responsibility that compelled me to deploy.”
His family also wasn’t happy with his decision, but has since become very supportive, he said. “My family worried about me and they were not real thrilled that I would volunteer to leave them for a year to go to a combat zone.” he said, but added, “Any previous uncertainty or worries has given way to pride in what I am doing.”
Before deployment, Raia completed all the requirements for a bachelor’s degree at Penn State with a double major in criminal justice and psychology. He plans to become a police officer after deployment — except on NG weekends when he'll be back on stage or in formation at ceremonies with the 28th ID Band.
KIRKUK REGIONAL AIR BASE – The IqAF advanced its monitoring capabilities for air defense with its acceptance of a digital air surveillance radar, or DASR, Oct. 26 in a ceremony held here.
The DASR system, which includes the radar and the radar control facility, gives Iraqi air traffic controllers the capability to monitor aircraft up to 120 nautical miles away. This permits them to detect aircraft along their borders with Syria, Turkey, and Iran. “Today, another historical day added to our brothers and the IqAF,” said Brig. Gen. Ahmed Ghani, communications dir. “Through that system, we will identify more … aircraft entering our sovereignty.”
The DASR signal will eventually be remotely accessible from Baghdad Int'l Airport, so air traffic controllers can see all the airspace in Iraq. The system also brings the Kirkuk airfield up to int'l civil aviation and surveillance standards, giving it the potential for future commercial airline use.
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MNF-I
Soldiers with the 6th Iraqi Div, Civil Affairs MiTT, take a moment to pose for a photo with children at the Walla'a Elementary School in Hurriyah, where they were distributing supplies along with IA Soldiers, Oct. 25.
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