Capt. Patrick O’Shea, a N.Y. native, speaks to an Afghan man, via an interpreter. (Marine Corps Photo by Lance Cpl. Kowshon Ye)
Sgt. Michael Segaline, a team leader in 81 mm Mortar Plt, greets an Afghan compound owner.
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Providing Better Care for the Community
BALKH PROVINCE – The hospital renovations are being completed by a local workforce, and will enhance the staff’s ability to care for Afghans in the area. “This is the only free hospital around, so a lot of people come from the villages around here,” said Dr. Khaleque, the hospital administrator.
Nearly 100,000 villagers receive their medical care from the clinic. The hospital specializes in children’s medicine, by helping women through pregnancy and childbirth. “The hospital performs births, surgeries, everything just like a normal hospital,” said Capt. Sherman Pinckney, the officer-in-charge of the Cmdr’s Emergency Response Program (CERP), 530th CSSB, located at FOB Dehdadi II.“This hospital was talked about when we first had our monthly shuras,” Pinckney said. “This project was on Gen. David Petraeus’s project list. He set aside some funds when he was in charge to make sure it got done.”Brigade medical ops officer Maj. Deidre Lockhart said that the 530th CSSB picked up where their predecessor left off.The Afghans working the improvements to the hospital are hired from the same local community that will benefit from the refurbished hospital. The local crew will spend the next few months refitting the existing space with new tiles, doors and windows. The power grid and water system will also be upgraded. Air conditioning units for the hot summer days, and heaters for the cold winter nights will also be added. A new building is being constructed to provide more space for the patients in the area. “As things develop and they improve the electrical grid, they’re going to add new equipment,” Lockhart said. “This is where we came in, by researching the background and finding equipment they can easily maintain.”The new resources will replace the outdated equipment throughout the hospital, and bring the staff up to speed with new technologies to treat their patients. The improvements are scheduled for completion within the next 4 months; all the while, the hospital will still care for the local population’s medical needs.The local leaders and village elders have worked with the bn. from the start and anticipate the addition. “They’re excited that their community will be provided with a better hospital,” Pinckney said.
South Carolina Corpsman Supports ‘Bad Company’
PATROL BASE PASERLAY, Helmand province — The Marine Corps is quite frequently referred to as a brotherhood. Marines spend months on end training for and executing deployments. They form unforgettable memories during this time, and forge relationships which can last a lifetime. The sailors attached to Marine units may not carry the eagle, globe and anchor, but one corpsman with Bravo Co said he feels just as much a part of his unit, as the Marines he serves beside.
Petty Officer 3rd Class Kareen Busbee is the only sailor with the company’s mobile unit, which travels through its area of ops (AO) in vehicles rather than on foot. His Marine Corps peers view him as a huge contributor to the unit, known as “Bad Mobile.” He's trained to provide basic medical care for the Marines on his team, a vital asset that can save Marines’ lives on the battle field.He said that he enjoys being with the Marine Corps, because he's able to employ a unique component of his medical skills, which is field medicine. He said field medicine requires improvisation, and with limited medical supplies in a combat environment, he has learned to use anything around him to care for injured patients, such as using a tree branch and a rope as a tourniquet.“Doc Busbee,” as the Marines with Bad Mobile refer to him, has made a lasting impression on the Marines he serves with, and his senior leadership. 1st Lt. Justin Tabaka, a N.M., native and Busbee’s plt. cmdr., said that he views Busbee as a workhorse, someone who's always on the move and looking for something to do. Tabaka knows that when a good situation turns bad, Busbee will be there to see his plt. through.“Doc does everything for Mobile. It doesn’t matter what it is, he gives the Marines what they need to keep them going. He goes out on every run — he's in the trucks, and he's on foot patrols,” said Tabaka. “He’s our doc. We can rely on him, and we know if anything happens to any of us, he’ll be there to take care of us.”The tight-knit group of Marines with Bad Mobile does not just look to Busbee to patch them up, when they are sick or injured. They also rely on his quirky sense of humor and positive outlook as a stress relief, when the workdays can stretch well past 16 hours.“He's a great guy to have around. He lightens the mood — he’s a real personable guy, and he's always upbeat. He's never negative about anything. He likes to joke around, same as any of us — he fits in,” said Tabaka. “We have great docs in the company, don’t get me wrong, but they aren’t the same. I’m extremely fortunate to have him in my plt.”“Before I joined the military I didn’t really respect the small things in life, and joining the military has given me a whole new perspective on life; in the sense that it's fragile; how many freedoms we have as Americans, and the idea that anything is possible,” said Busbee. “In Afghanistan you’ll see people who seem to have nothing, and they get by with what they’ve got. It makes me respect life a lot more.”
Mutual respect and understanding are just a couple of the reasons why Busbee enjoys being attached to Bad Co. He said that he sees the Marines of Bad Mobile not just as his fellow service members, but also his brothers. “I like being with the Marine Corps. I’ve spent more time with Mobile, than my wife since I’ve been in the military; it's a family,” said Busbee.
TREK NAWA, Helmand province — Petty Officer 3rd Class Kareen Busbee (right), performs a post-blast exam on LCpl. Paul Slater, a Fla., native, after his MRAP vehicle struck an IED.
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Texas Native Survives Head Shot, Continues Mission
NAWA DISTRICT — The Marines with 2nd Plt, Bravo Co, are all too familiar with the reality of war, but they can honestly say that they've been fortunate in not taking any casualties, during their deployment. The co., also known as “Bad Company,” was on a mission to clear and secure approx 20 compounds in southern Trek Nawa, and to disrupt any enemy ops within their area. Hatley, a point man, was responsible for scanning and clearing a safe path for his fellow Marines to follow, while they were carrying out the mission called Op Hammer Fist. Hatley used his metal detector to ensure that there were no IEDs between his brothers-in-arms and their objectives.
According to 1st Lt. Brendan Nobel, an Ill. native and Hatley’s plt. cmdr., his Marines staged against a wall, waiting to clear another compound, when it happened. “Some Marines and I were going to check on a compound about 100 meters away,” said Hatley. “I was standing there, and as soon I was about to start walking, I heard machine gun fire take off.”“POP, POP, POP!” Two rounds from a machine gun impacted the wall directly behind Hatley’s head, and the last shot struck his helmet just above the ear. “I turned my head right and saw the rounds hit; then it felt like I got hit with a big rock. I didn’t think I got shot. I just thought a big rock hit my head, because there was a big wall next to me,” explained Hatley.
“When it happened I took a knee, and a friend asked me, ‘Are you alright?’ I got a big headache. My buddy said, ‘I think you got shot.’ Right where my hand was, there was a small hole. I started feeling my helmet and there was a round in there.”Nobel recalled when his Marine was struck with the bullet. “I was a couple of guys back from him, and we started taking fire from a tree line. When I first heard he got hit in the head, we had the Navy corpsman take a look at him. We did a full check to make sure he was ok,” said Nobel. “Just from looking at the Kevlar helmet, it didn’t look like he got hit with a round; it appeared that it had been a ricochet that had just cut the fabric on his helmet.”The round was lodged between the digital camouflage fabric cover, and the hardened, life-saving material of Hatley’s helmet. The 7.62 mm bullet could possibly have penetrated his helmet if he hadn't turned his head. The round struck his helmet at just the right angle to give him a massive headache, but not go all the way through. Hatley pushed on to finish out the op, despite his throbbing head. “I think it speaks a lot about the Marines. Despite the contact they have taken — they know they're going to take contact -- and they continue to push out here everyday into dangerous areas, trying to take the fight to the insurgents. Even when rounds hit right next to you, or in the case with Hatley who took one in the helmet, they still want to push on to find the enemy in order to keep the pressure on them,” said Nobel.LCpl. Christopher Hatley Jr., takes time before a patrol for a photo.
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New Beginning with Patrol Base Jersey
NAWA DISTRICT, Helmand province — In the past several years, Nawa has become the hallmark of what the GoA is striving to achieve within Helmand prov. The ANSF and the Marines of Bravo Co have moved into a new PB within the district, to further promote peace, and limit the movement of what is left of insurgent fighters operating in the area.
Marines with the nicknamed “Bad Company,” packed their sea bags recently to move to a location in the SE portion of Trek Nawa, along with their ANA counterparts. The Marines were tasked to secure the new site, and make their new PB operational in only 10 days, with help of Marine engr. reservists from 4th CEB, who are currently attached to 2nd CEB for the deployment.“One of the main things we were focusing on doing was disrupting IED emplacement,” said 1st Lt. William Laverty, a N.J., native, and a plt. cmdr. with the co. “Previously, we were patrolling out to Routes Red Dog and Reagan. The establishment of a PB at the intersection of Red Dog and Reagan would legitimize the patrolling efforts there, as well as have constant eyes on the routes.”Bad Company Marines who have patrolled or convoyed through this area have found several IEDs in and around the routes. “Red Dog and Reagan are known as high-IED emplacement areas,” said GnrySgt. Todd Stolte, an Ill. native, and the company GnrySgt for Bad Co. “In just the short time we've been there, the number of IED finds has been reduced dramatically.” “By going over and moving 5 kms to the east, it put a huge stamp on our place here, and I think it sent a huge message to the enemy as well, saying this is our AO, and your freedom of movement is going to be cut,” said the 25-year-old, Laverty.“It's working into what the bn. cmdr. wants as far as securing the roads from Marjah to Nawa, Garmsir to Lashkar Gah. Within just a few days we’ve really seen it open up tremendously,” said Laverty. “I think as we work with 2nd Bn, 6th Marine Regt, and as the ANA take it over from them, this move is really going to stretch our presence; it should open up everything. It will increase mission capabilities and mission success.”
Laverty said another benefit of moving his Marines’ position was that it opens up the gateway for logistical convoys. Having new routes to travel will speed the bn’s immediate reaction to potential causalities, and even delivering supplies, which proved to be a challenge while building the PB.“One of the first things we had to come up with was what we need to be able to operate, and then, once we identified those needs, where are we going to resource them from,” said Stoltel. “Once they were resourced, how are we going to get them out to us to sustain ops? That was the biggest hurdle as a bn. that we had to face.” The Marines had only 10 days to build the PB. They were determined to break that timeline and be sleeping soundly in their new PB long before the deadline’s expiration. “Not enough credit can be given to 4th CEB, attached to 2nd CEB. We were undermanned, but they took their timeline and cut it in half. Having such a crisp expertise of their craft in the Marine Corps, they executed it perfectly,” said Laverty. “In a couple days we landed in the enemy’s backyard. We were able to establish a security perimeter within minutes of being there, and we started building the PB.”Four Marines with 3rd Plt., drag construction equipment across the interior of their new PB.
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ISAF Joint Command
North
KUNDUZ PROVINCE -- A combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained 2 suspected insurgents, and seized various bomb-making materials, while searching for a Taliban leader in Kunduz district, yesterday. South KANDAHAR PROVINCE -- In Arghandab district, a combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained multiple suspected insurgents, while searching for a Taliban leader, yesterday. The leader is responsible for planning and executing roadside bomb attacks against Afghan forces. HELMAND PROVINCE -- A combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained several suspected insurgents, and seized bomb-making materials, while searching for a Taliban leader in Nad ‘Ali district, yesterday. The leader is a roadside bomb expert who conducts roadside bomb attacks against Afghan forces, and facilitates lethal aid for Taliban fighters in the region. EastKHOST PROVINCE -- Finally, in Khost district, a combined Afghan and coalition SecFor detained a Haqqani network leader and one suspected insurgent, yesterday. The leader was involved in the coordination of indirect fire attacks against CF, as well as the transportation of roadside bombs and rockets.
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