Capt Norman Dupuis, a Physician’s Asst, attached to Co A, 3rd Bn of the 172nd Inf Regt, treats a one-year-old Afghan girl, May 21st whose feet were so severely burned 2 weeks ago, after stepping on hot coals, that she was in danger of losing her feet. Since then, Dupuis and his medical team have been treating the girl at COP Hererra, where they are stationed.
Her father brought her in from a village outside the outpost. “When she first came to us, she didn’t even have bandages on her feet,” Ayer said. “The wounds were just open to the air. She had 3rd degree burns on one foot and 2nd degree burns on the other."
Before coming to the gate of COP Hererra, her father had taken her to 3 different clinics, but she was denied treatment, because they didn't have any money, and because the clinics were ill equipped, the man told Ayer. The father knew the Soldiers were the only hope for his daughter’s recovery.
They've been cleaning, bandaging, and applying burn cream to the wounds to help them heal. “We’ve seen a dramatic change in her injuries. We’ve been taking our time and she's been doing very well,” said Army Capt. Norman Dupuis. “It’s pretty safe to say that she's probably over the hump. She's so young that she will be able to regenerate all that skin.”
They've treated her about 5 times since her injury, but unfortunately, her father is only able to bring her periodically because he fears retaliation from insurgents, he said through a translator. “We know that the village they're from has a lot of insurgents from Pakistan,” said Ayer. “It's definitely frustrating, because we’ve started care and we need to continue it,” he added.
“Several people say that they heard we are infidels. However, after being treated at the clinic, they say that their family wouldn’t even help them as much as we did,” said Dupuis. During their time at Hererra, the Soldiers have treated 9 major trauma cases, of which they were able to save all but 3 patients’ lives. “We’ve had some decent victories. Once they come here they see that we’re not infidels. We’re good people, and we’re here to do whatever we can to help,” Dupuis.
The father of the little girl was a first hand witness to this as he saw the diligence and compassion with which the Soldiers treated his daughter. As the Soldiers worked, the girl’s father watched them intently, as he held her in a gentle embrace, kissing her forehead as she whimpered at the more painful parts of the treatment. When the Soldiers were done, he spoke to them through a translator thanking them profusely for their help and promised to return the next day for treatment.
Staff Sgt. Dominc Ayer, the senior medic, is shown treating the child.
Capt. Norman Dupuis, a physician’s asst, tenderly treats the young child.
Army Sgt. Theodore Sweet, a welder with Co E, 3rd Bn of the 172nd Inf Regt, welds an improved ammo box for a Mark 19 automatic grenade launcher, May 18. The ammo box will be mounted on the crew serve weapon, and allows the turret gunner to triple the amount of ammo that is readily available to them.
Sweet is a welder whose inventions and repairs have been integral to the success of not only the Soldiers in his bn, but also the ANA and special ops Soldiers. “It seems like every day I make a new creation,” Sweet said. “Sometimes it seems like they’re looking for miracles, but in the end it always works out.”
One of his more famous inventions includes a mount for an M-240B machine gun that he engineered for an all-terrain vehicle for SF soldiers. The vehicle, similar to a common 4-wheeler, had no weapon system before Sweet got his hands on it, and turned out to be an effective tool aiding special ops soldiers during a fire fight. “It definitely enhanced our capability to maneuver on the enemy,” said one Soldier, who didn’t give his name for security reasons.
Another of Sweet’s inventions include an improved amm box for an Mark 19 Automatic Grenade Launcher. The weapon is mounted in the turret on top of MRAP vehicles, which Soldiers use every day to travel around Afghanistan, and is one of their first lines of defense against attacks on their convoys.
Normally, the Soldiers can expend about 50 rounds of ammo before they have to reload. With Sweet’s invention mounted in the turret, they can fire 3 times as many rounds before having to reload. This invention has also been tested and proven in combat by Soldiers, Sweet said.
Sweet is also asked daily to invent or replicate tools and hardware that are normally made by industrial machines. “I just give him a drawing and he makes it work,” said Gerard Pantin, a civilian contractor. “Any type of welding we want, he comes up with the design and executes.”
“It’s like molding clay,” Sweet said. Sweet has only been a certified military welder for about 2 years. As a traditional NG Soldier, this is not his full-time occupation. Sweet is a corrections officer. His background in welding came from growing up on a farm, restoring old Mustangs, and working in a junkyard.
Sweet also knows first-hand the importance of effective equipment in combat. In addition to his civilian experience, he also draws on his combat experience from his first deployment, where he served as a tanker in Ramadi, from 2005 to 2006. “There’s not much we can give him that he can’t fix,” said Chief Warrant Officer Larry Grace, the support maintenance tech supervisor for Co E.
Through his ingenuity, Sweet has proven that it's possible to not only think outside the box, but take that box and weld it into a life-saving innovation.
Sgt. Sweet holds a piece of hardware that he welded, May 18. Sweet welds this and many other pieces of hardware from scrap metal that would normally be made by industrial machinery, at his metal shop.
Sweet stands behind a mount for an M240B that he created for an all-terrain vehicle, May 18. The mount was used during a fire fight by SF Soldiers recently.
FOB SALERNO – Embodying the warrior spirit, an ANA Soldier showed the lengths some men will go to put duty before self, May 20. In Zormat, Paktya Prov., Said Abrahim’s 203rd ANA Corps' element came under heavy fire from insurgents at an ANA checkpoint.
“This soldier embodies the warrior spirit that we seek to help the ANA instill in all of their soldiers," said Army Capt. Daniel Newman, cmdr for Co C, 3rd Bn, 172nd Inf Regt. After being wounded again, he was finally disabled from being able to fight. However, upon his medical evacuation, and sitting on a stretcher fully concious, the only question Abrahim had was how his fellow Soldiers had fared in the encounter.
The action demonstrated the ability of the ANA to repel an attack by insurgents, said Army 1st. Lt. Mark Fazio, fire support officer with Co. C. Fazio said the event also showed that rather than run, the Afghan Army is willing to stay and fight a determined enemy, even in the absence of CF.
“This soldier's actions make me proud to serve with these Afghan warriors," said Army Sgt. Corey Joyal, team leader with Co. C. Abrahim was evacuated to the FOB Sharana where he received treatment at the urgent care center. He is expected to make a full recovery.
A view from a firing point at COP Hererra overlooking the village of Ali Kheyl. Soldiers with Co A, 3rd Bn of the 172nd Inf Regt use the firing point to monitor activity in the village.
Just 3 weeks into their mission, they found that they'd already begun to gain the trust of the local people, which lead to their first major victory against invading insurgents. During a joint op between the company’s 1st and 3rd plts, the ABP, police and the Soldiers acted on a tip from a local boy, and found an enormous cache.
“We were providing security on the outer cordon, and a boy walked up and pointed at a house and said ‘Taliban.’ So, we alerted the ABP and assisted them in searching it. What we found was basically a bomb-making factory. There was everything from Sodium Nitrate to claymore mines,” said Army Staff Sgt. Jon Carbonneau, a squad leader with the 3rd plt.
During another recent combined op, May 22, they searched a local village near where an IED had been set off. The ANP, and Co A Soldiers found several pairs of military uniforms. This was another important discovery.
In order to help the police become professional, one that the civilian population can rely upon, they're working on setting up standard operating procedures, and learn from not only the Co A Soldiers’ example, but also from veteran ANP units outside the area, said Army Sgt. Nick Ash, a squad leader.
In Ash’s plt, he has 3 civilian policemen, and their knowledge and experience is a critical tool in helping develop the fledgling police force into a professional one, Ash said. “We all work together and we draw off our experiences,” said Army Sgt. Scott McCullough, a fire team leader and civilian patrol officer.
Overall, one of the biggest achievements that the Soldiers have accomplished with their Afghan counterparts is the camaraderie they have built. “We've seen they're willing to lay everything down for their country. That isn’t something that we expected when we first got here. We've learned that they've a lot in common with American Soldiers,” Kidney said.
A Soldier from the 3rd Bn pats the back of an ANP as their joint patrol enters a village, May 22. The group was on their way to search a village, where they later found military uniforms, which they believed were used by insurgents to disguise themselves as ANSF.
An ANP and Army 2nd Lt. Sabin Clark, a plt leader, shake hands before they conduct a joint patrol.
Army Spc. David Neidlinger, an infantryman, observes as an ANP uses his binoculars to scan a ridge for insurgents. Neidlinger and the policeman were looking for insurgents who had engaged their convoy earlier that day.
A CAB attached to the 2nd HBCT is teaching Iraqi farmers to adopt efficient grow methods, and providing feed pens for livestock as well, according to Sgt. Charles Schoenen, 422nd CAB. To begin the cycle of a fully functional agricultural economic system, 2 seed purification sites were built, one by the GoI, and another from U.S. CERP funds. From the 2 locations, the seed purification sites will supply wheat and vegetable seeds for all of Ninewa prov.Also benefiting from the seed purification sights are newly built Drip Farms, which are given to individual farming families. The Drip Farms greatly alter the way Iraqi farmers grow their crops because they use less resources, but yield a greater production from a single growing season. Previously farmers would flood their fields to keep their crops fed. This would cost the farmers greatly, because of the water used, and it yielded more potential for damaging crops."The Drip Farms have running pipes that slowly drop a small amount of water directly to the crops," said 1st Sgt. Thomas Watts, 422nd Civil Affairs. In addition to the Drip Farms, local farming families received hoop houses, similar to a green house. This allows farmers to have 3 growing seasons instead of the current 1 per year. About 62 hoop houses have been provided to local farmers throughout Ninewa prov.To complete the agricultural system emplaced by U.S. and Iraqi funds, local livestock farmers received 75,000 chickens and 4,500 sheep. This livestock then in turn is fed at feed lots, which receives grain from feed mills. The feed lots provide a central location for local populace to feed their livestock, without needing to travel great distances with their livestock to graze on limited grazing fields, said Watts."The system which has been emplaced is truly a fully functioning agricultural economic system, from seeds, to the farms, to the markets. This has been one of the grandest and long-term projects to date," said Schoenen. "The long-term success of this project has the potential to greatly improve the agricultural infrastructure of the country, and in turn, the overall economy of the country."
