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Dear Interested Reader,
Iraqi doctors participate in Medical Symposium and joint surgery. Combined forces protect Eastern Baghdad Hwy. Sgt. 1st Class Victor Orozco brings "Woody" to life. New playground offers safe play time. In Afghanistan, Panjshir's Empowerment Program helps educate community. The 527th MP Co visit Afghan NP station in Nishagam, while Charlie Troop conduct test live-fire.
Joanna
_____________________________

April 3, 2009

Multi-National Corps - Iraq
Public Affairs Office, Camp Victory
APO AE 09342

Iraqi doctors practice modern medical techniques

Col. John P. Schriver examines an X-ray of a patient's chest to determine possible candidates for a joint surgery to be performed by Iraqi and U.S. doctors.
(Army photos by Pfc. Bethany L. Little)

KARBALA - Iraqi medical staff participated in applied techniques and medical discussions with a team of 10 U.S. doctors, during a medical symposium held at the Al-Hussein General Hospital, March 22-25.
Col. John Schriver, 10th Combat Support Hospital Chief Surgeon, has been working with the Iraqi doctors to modernize their medical procedures. Schriver walked with them through patient wards at the hospital,
discussing the best candidates for a joint surgery to be performed by Iraqi and American surgeons. "By examining each patient's case, I am able to listen to what the staff here has diagnosed a patient with, and then we can design a care plan for those patients," Schriver said.
The Iraqi doctors and Schriver considered several candidates for the joint surgery. After discussing the candidates' cases, Schriver and the Iraqi doctors decided to perform the surgery on the stomach and esophagus.
The symposium also included classes taught by U.S. doctors to help advance the techniques and procedures used by the medical staff. "The goal is to help improve the medical care here in Karbala, and the staff has been very receptive of the info we're providing them," said Capt. Michael Cahill, 172nd Inf Bde Surgeon.
According to the medical staff here, Cahill's goals were achieved and the medical symposium was a success. "I think this symposium was a good way to communicate with medical staff here," said Dr. Ihsan Musa, a physician at the hospital. "The training we received will help improve the health care provided here and, in the future, improve the health care in all of Iraq."

Col. Schriver examines a magnetic resonance image with Iraqi doctors to determine surgery and post-surgery care needed by a patient

Iraqi surgeons apply learned techniques while performing a lower abdomen surgery to repair a hernia.

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American Forces Press Service

U.S., Iraqi Soldiers Protect Eastern Baghdad Highway

By Army Staff Sgt. Alex Licea

Army 1st Lt. Logan Cole relays instructions during a foot patrol March 28, 2009, in eastern Baghdad’s 9 Nissan district.

BAGHDAD – Traffic is common in a city of 7 million people. With the lingering threat of roadside bombs at any turn, U.S. paratroopers here work daily with their Iraqi counterparts to ensure the people of Baghdad are safe on the highway.
Walking alongside a busy road here is no easy task. CF and their Iraqi partners have to contend with the dangers of IEDs and speeding motorists on the roadway. But despite the dangers of this foot patrol, it’s a mission that MND-Baghdad paratroopers assigned to the 82nd Abn Div’s Co C, 2nd Bn, 505th PIR, 3rd BCT, take very seriously.
“This is one of the main roads into Baghdad, and if it's not clear, then people will be scared to drive on it, and it can affect commerce, daily life and security as a whole,” Army 1st Lt. Logan Cole, plt leader for Co C, said. Cole said the frequent patrols have given his soldiers a good perspective of the roadway, and help them identify anything new or suspicious on the road. “The good thing about doing this every day is that we get to know what the terrain looks like and familiarize ourselves with the area. When we see something new in the area, we can recognize it right away and look into it.”
Iraqi army officials have credited the combined efforts in keeping this once violent stretch of highway safe.
“Because of these patrols, this area is safe and secure,” said Iraqi Maj. Abd Jaber said. “These efforts have helped reduce the threat of IEDs, and attacks have gone down significantly in this area.”
Army Sgt. Robert Durst said the efforts of his unit and their Iraqi partners have led to lasting peace and safety in this region of eastern Baghdad. “This is a very busy and important road, and we save a lot of lives, because we patrol this area every day looking for anything that can endanger the area and the people,” he said.

Army Sgt. Gary Baugh calls out instructions during a foot patrol.

Army Sgt. Baugh checks a piece of debris on the side of a main highway during a route-clearance op.

Army Sgt. Nicholas Cottrill communicates during a route-clearance op.

Army Spc. Douglas Cook checks his surroundings.

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Multi-National Division Baghdad RSS

Military Transition Team Soldier Makes Something From Nothing

Story by Sgt. Joshua Risner

Sgt. 1st Class Victor Orozco (left), Karkh Area Command liaison, 6th IA MiTT, discusses the capabilities of “Woody,” his home-made medical training dummy.

BAGHDAD – Meet “Woody,” the newest member of the 6th IA MiTT. He doesn’t say much, but he makes a big contribution to the MiTT Team in the form of medical training. Woody is, in fact, a medical dummy. His arms and legs can bend naturally. He can bleed from 6 different areas. His chest can even be decompressed with a needle.
It may sound like this dummy is a high-dollar item normally found in medical schools, but Woody has much humbler origins. He was built right here out of scrap wood, discarded uniforms and a few odds and ends by Sgt. 1st Class Victor Orozco, medical advisor, 6th IA Div. MiTT. The idea sprouted from Orozco’s mind when he came to Iraq to assist Iraqi Soldiers with medical training. He found himself giving classroom instruction with very little effective hands-on training.
“I wanted to create a more interactive training environment,” he said. “The more you show someone hands-on, the more they participate.” Luckily, contractors were doing some construction projects around the MiTT's living area, which provided raw materials and tools to get the job underway. From there, Orozco’s original idea of a stick man mushroomed into something much more. “That’s how we basically came up with the dummy. Little by little, we came up with new ideas,” Orozco explained. “We got excited and just kept adding different things. One of the main ideas I had was to make sure that it could move like a person, to make it realistic,” he said. “I realized I can make a joint; I can make knees and little by little, I started creating.” He added joints at the shoulders and hips to enhance the functionality of the dummy’s limbs. “I’ve never done this kind of stuff,” he said, shrugging. “So if you look, you’re going to see some rough joints, but they work.”
A major aspect of Orozco’s medical training is controlling bleeding, so he brainstormed. He took intravenous tubing and ran it down the arms and legs to 6 places: the arms, the upper legs and the lower legs to form bleeding points. “Each line is like a vein,” he said. “Add a little red Gatorade and the dummy bleeds.” Creating a bleeding arm or leg was easy enough he explained, but being able to stop the bleeding required some ingenuity. He added padding in the arms and legs, using old uniforms and bandages to give the arms a more natural feel and enable a tourniquet to work.
“It created a tourniquet effect to these parts, so Soldiers can apply a tourniquet and stop the bleeding,” he said. “It’s great to watch a Soldier see what happens when you put on a tourniquet to let them know that it stops the bleeding. You can apply a tourniquet to the dummy and you won’t hurt anything.”
Like a modern-day Geppetto, Orozco continued to perfect his creation, making it increasingly more complex. He built a torso to connect his newly perfected arms and legs. “The stomach, I didn’t know what to do with it, so I added some mole skin to simulate guts,” he said. “Basically, it’s just a box, so we can add things to it if we need or want.”
Woody’s chest is a unique display of form and function. “What I wanted to do was create an area where you can actually do a needle decompression,” he explained. “I used empty bottles to simulate lungs. You can do CPR on it; you can stab it. One good thing about the bottles is when they go bad, all you have to do is take them out and replace them.”
Despite Woody’s complexities, it took a mere 2 days to build, according to Orozco. “The reason for that is that I’ve never done something like this before,” he said with unadulterated modesty. “I can’t cut wood; my wife doesn’t let me do projects like this around the house because I mess it up.” Woody may not be as advanced as his pre-manufactured brethren in the U.S., but he definitely has his advantages, according to Orozco. “There's a dummy that’s connected to a computer that can cost up to $10,000,” he said. “You can listen to the heart with a stethoscope, it can breathe and do all sorts of weird stuff; it does practically everything. All that aside, it’s not something we need to be able to do in this environment. You’re not going to listen to someone’s heart while bullets are flying.”

IA Soldiers prepare to treat wounds on a medical dummy.

IA soldiers gather round “Woody.”

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50th Infantry Brigade Combat Team Public Affairs RSS

New Playground Offers Safe Venue for Generations of Iraqi Children to Enjoy

Story by Spc. William Addison

BAGHDAD - An empty dirt lot transformed into a children’s paradise when the Joint Area Support Group - Central’s Directorate of Public Works (DPW) completed a playground at the 215 Apts in Baghdad’s Int'l Zone (IZ).
The new playground, equipped with play sets, swings, monkey bars and even a fountain, filled the need for a safe playing environment for the apartment complexes.
“There are about 4-to-500 kids that go to the school right down the way,” said AF Capt. Michelle Sterling, project mgr. “It’s colorful, it’s safe, you’ve got equipment, and you just see the kids coming against the fence ‘when is it going to be open, when is it going to be ready?’”
“This was something we were able to do to fill an immediate need in a relatively short period of time,” said Sterling. But what is the price of building a playground in the developing areas of Baghdad’s “Green Zone?” If you're the American taxpayer, the answer is zilch, nada, nothing. “The GoI came to us and said, ‘Here’s this money; we need a playground; we’d like you to do this project for us,’” said Sterling.
While this was Sterling’s first project for DPW since arriving in the IZ 2 months ago, it's hardly her first foray into construction. Sterling is a civil engr, and came to the JASG-C from Lingham AF Base, Va., where she oversaw ops in maintenance and repair across about 16 AF bases. “My whole background is being a civil engr, doing construction projects, so this is right up my alley,” she said.
Overseeing the day-to-day ops fell to Spc. Sanjiv Joshi, DPW’s contract officer rep. He's in charge of quality control, and works closely with the contractors hired to complete the job. “I’m a customer; I demand a lot of the contractors. I want them to finish everything on time. I try to save money as much as I can,” he said. One way he saved money was on the sidewalk that surrounds the playground. Joshi suggested using paving stones from other demolition projects around the IZ, which provided a significant savings on the project, costing less than 1/10th of the originally quoted price. Joshi said that he’s proud to be working on projects like the playground.
Joshi said that one of the most rewarding things about this project is to see the reaction of the Iraqi children. “When we were bringing in the equipment, there were kids waiting for us to put the playground in so that they could use it. So they were very excited, and seeing that makes me very happy for what I’m doing here, and what I’m contributing to the Iraqi people.”
According to Joshi, this project means something to more than just the inhabitants of the 215 Apartments; it means a lot to his twin 9-year-old daughters as well. “I send them e-mails, and pictures. I say, ‘Hey look, I’m building a park,’ and they’re very excited. They always want to see new pictures they always want to see how the playground is coming along,” he said. In fact, the other students at their school, as well as teachers are taking an interest as well. I’m getting positive e-mails from my kids and their classmates, saying how wonderful it is to hear that we are building a playground for the Iraqi people.”

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CJTF-101 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Cente

Panjshir Empowerment Program helps educate community

By AF Capt. Stacie N. Shafran

During a lesson about numbers, a woman (left) asks her colleague to write the number 100.
(Army photos by Sgt. Amanda Cutler)

BAGRAM AIR FIELD - In Panjshir's Anaba District, a classroom of 10 women, all teachers, practiced a lesson plan to teach their future students about numbers. The women are enrolled in a 2-year U.S. Agency for Int'l Development (USAID)-funded program called "Learning for Community Empowerment."
The program is designed to increase literacy and numeracy education, while also providing vocational training. Currently more than 5,700 of the Panjshir Valley's men and women participate. "The goal is to educate and provide vocational skills to those who have not previously had the chance to attend school because of social reasons, or because of the war-time environment," said Jeremy Richart, the USAID field officer assigned to the Panjshir PRT. As such, students tend to be older, ranging in age from high teens to 30 years old.
During the first six months of the training, the students are provided with literacy and numeracy training. Then, they select their vocational tract and ultimately become more competitive in the job market. After villages are identified for the program, up to 25 men and 25 women are selected as students. Additionally, the program trains the teachers who will go on to teach the students selected for the program around Panjshir.
During a visit on March 24 to the Anaba classroom, Army Sgt. Amanda Cutler, a member of the PRT's civil affairs team and also a women's affairs liaison, visited with the female students. Cultural sensitivity prevented Richart, the overall activity mgr, from checking the women's classroom progress, but it allowed Cutler the opportunity to interact with and learn more about the Afghan women.
"The class was an extraordinary site. The women were so happy about being in the class, and it was obvious in their eyes and the way they took in the info," said Cutler. The women were also excited to talk about the program. When one woman stopped talking, the next woman started, explained Cutler. "The women are ready and enthusiastic to start teaching others," she said.
As students graduate from the program, their success is shared through word of mouth, encouraging others to participate. "At first we had problems getting women to the classes, because the families were scared that the women becoming educated might hurt the family," said Roh Afza, the female student's trainer. "Now that the families are seeing the benefits to the class, there are women waiting left and right for the classes. The support from the villages is growing at a rapid rate."
On her own time, Afza also travels to the village of Tawakh to train a woman who can't leave the village, because her family does not permit her too. Afza says she does this so the women in that village are able to receive the same opportunities the other villages receive.

During a student participation exercise, the woman standing assigned her colleague to complete a lesson in their workbook while the trainer (sitting) supervised. The trainer provided mentorship and feedback to better prepare the teachers for their own students.

Two students work together to complete a lesson in their workbook, March 23.

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CJTF-101 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center

MP visit ANP station

Army Spc. W. Eric Mraz, 3rd Plt, 527th MP Co, visits members of the Afghan NP at their station in Nishagam, Konar province, March 18. Mraz is part of a 3-person team tasked with mentoring ANP officers in parts of Konar and Nuristan provinces.
(Army photo by Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller)

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CJTF-101 in Afghanistan, Bagram Media Center

6th Sqdn., 4th Cav. conduct test live-fire

Army Spc. Andrew Soria, forward observer, Charlie Troop, 6th Sqdrn, 4th Cav Regt, points out the position of a mortar strike to Army SSgt. Eddie Adradi, C. Troop's fire support NCO., during a live-fire exercise at Nishagam District Center in Konar province, March 17.
(Army photos by Sgt. Matthew C. Moeller)