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Airmen continue to assist with Iraqi medical care

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Bryan Bouchard
  • 447th AEG Public Affairs
RADWINYA PALACE COMPLEX, Iraq --  Many Airmen deploy to foreign countries for months, never seeing the people whose lives they've affected. They're either hundreds of miles from the conflict or are trapped within the safety of their military compound for their entire tours. However, Airmen at Sather Air Base on Baghdad International Airport, can finally link some local faces to the operation in which they serve. 

Since September 2005, Airmen from Sather Air Base have been spending a few days a week visiting the Army's Civil Military Operations Center and touching the lives of thousands of Iraqis in need of medical care and what many Americans would consider basic needs. 

"We have a good reputation here because we have American doctors," said Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Noah, the NCO in charge of the CMOC, from Knoxville, Tenn. "Also, some clinics in the region will only see men or only women -- we'll see them all."
Without the medical side of the operation, the thousands of Iraqis in local villages would be forced to make a three- to four- hour walk to a local clinic in Abu Ghraib — many without proper shoes, said one of the female Iraqi interpreters at the clinic who would only be identified as "Whisper." The workers and servicemembers at the clinic have treated more than 3,000 Iraqis since opening. 

"I think that the U.S. doctors are good doctors; they treat the people real good," Whisper said. 

According to Sergeant Noah, the clinic treats any affliction or illness it can, and in some cases, they try to start the effort to get patients treatment in the U.S. if necessary.
Sergeant Noah said that the most popular medical service offered at the clinic comes in the way of dental care — many of the local Iraqis have never seen a dentist. 

The medical Airmen, including the dentists, work in fairly austere conditions. For the dentist, things like primitive suction, lighting and no ability to operate drills limit their services to extractions, temporary fillings and possibly some limited cleanings when and if all the emergencies are taken care of, explained Col. (Dr.) Mark McHenry, the 447th Expeditionary Medical Squadron dentist deployed from Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio. 

"I think there's a humanitarian in all of us who voluntarily pursued a career in medicine and dentistry," the doctor said. "I like knowing I'm able to alleviate at least a little pain and suffering in a population that has experienced so much already. Perhaps someday the people I treated can look back and realize the Americans are an honorable people who are really here to help."

As Dr. McHenry explained, while the clinic's basic purpose is for medical care, its peripheral affect shows local villagers that coalition forces are here to assist.
Spc. Sarah Doyle, a Valley Forge, Pa., native assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's Special Troops Battalion, said the clinic's positive reputation and rapport with locals has been growing since it opened nearly nine months ago. 

"People are more willing to accept assistance now than before," she said. "And as we follow through and fill their needs, they'll become more likely to cooperate with us than the insurgents." 

Leaders say their hope of the coalition here is to win the "hearts and minds," as the slogan goes. Regardless of the mission impact of the CMOC, the Airmen who volunteer their time to spend either treating patients or just playing and horsing around with the children, the center is an opportunity to put a face with the cause. 

"I came out here after I saw pictures of people at the CMOC," said Airman 1st Class Jesse Theophilopoulos, an aerial porter with the 447th Air Expeditionary Group who is deployed from McGuire. He was one of dozens of Airmen from Sather who drove to help out at the center Saturday. "I thought this might be a rewarding experience; and it was."
Aside from the medical care, Airmen, Soldiers and Sailors hand out supplies the people need and want. Soccer balls tend to be the crowd favorite, as well as something most Americans would take for granted: shoes. 

Filling the people's needs is a goal of the CMOC, but the larger goal is to affect people's lives. Airman Theophilopoulos experienced that effect first hand. 

"Seeing these kids laugh and smile, despite the fact there's a war going on; is just amazing," he said. "We're trying to give them a future."