Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Brandon Aird | Spc. Jason Curtis, Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 151st Infantry Regiment, pulls...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Brandon Aird
Combined Joint Task Force-82 Public Affairs
FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, Afghanistan — The weather was gloomy with a slight drizzle from overhead, but that didn't affect the enthusiasm or the pace of the people walking through the marshland. The ground was muddy and it made areas difficult to navigate.
Choices had to be made - either get wet, try to jump from stone to stone, or even navigate a log to cross areas of question. Some, in the rush to get there got wet.
The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team's enthusiasm for the mission at hand couldn't be denied and was easily seen on the speed they marched to the site.
With the help of a few local donkeys, the team carried hundreds of pounds of medical supplies on a 10-kilometer road march through marshes and meadows to the village of Parun nestled in the beautiful Hindu Kush mountain range in Afghanistan.
The previous two days leading up to the medical engagement were spent walking the valley and talking with local Afghans about the best suitable site for the engagement.
Sailors, Airmen, Soldiers, Marines and the Afghan national army came together to work side-by-side and provide medical care for Parun and the neighboring villages.
The crowds of people gathered shortly after the team's arrival. Once the equipment was in place and the doctors were ready to see patients most of the town had already gathered around the site.
"We have three stations set up to see people," said Army Staff Sgt. Michael Ortiz, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne).
Afghans from as many as seven neighboring villages made the walk to the site to see the doctors.
"I like helping out (the) local people," said Doctor Bashir, Surgeon for 2nd Kandak, 201st Afghan National Army Corps.
Bashir worked side-by-side with his American counterpart Capt. Joel Dean, Battalion Surgeon for 2-503rd.
Often during the two days the two could be seen evaluating patients and comparing notes learning from each others knowledge.
The three treatment rooms worked simultaneously and treated over 220 Afghans during the two-day engagement June 28-29.
"We saw roughly 150 the first day and 70 on the second," said Ortiz.
The local Afghans showed up to get treated for numerous ailments, ranging from skin rashes, tuberculosis, open wounds, fever and even malnutrition.
"The worst thing we saw was an infected thumb that required drainage, cleaning and antibiotics," said Chief Hospital Corpsman Arwin Ariles, Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team. "The man is going to get checked up with the local doctor here who also helped with the (engagement)."
The Nuristan Provincial Reconstruction Team has consistently brought aid to Parun and the surrounding villages. This medical engagement wasn't the first and certainly won't be the last for Nuristan PRT and the Afghan national army, which will conduct them together in the future.
| Date Taken: | 07.10.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 07.11.2007 08:09 |
| Story ID: | 11210 |
| Location: | JALALABAD, AF |
| Web Views: | 195 |
| Downloads: | 104 |
This work, Joint medical engagement reaches out to Nuristan Province, by SFC Brandon Aird, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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