Photo By Sgt. Debra Richardson | A Special Forces Soldier attempts to get a little boy to smile while he waits to be...... read more read more
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Departing their firebase well after the sun had risen, United States Special Forces soldiers, accompanied by a small group of Afghan National Police, slowly convoyed toward Shoragaz village, creeping over rocky terrain and dodging sporadic ditches.
Upon arrival at the village, the convoy was met by a small group of excited children, their arms outstretched as the vehicles came to a halt. The chosen medical site ran parallel to the existing ANP checkpoint and the checkpoint commander rushed to greet his mentors with words of delight and excitement.
"I'm glad you are here," exclaimed Namitulla, the ANP squad leader in charge of the checkpoint. "We told the people you were coming here today and they are grateful for the visit and plan to attend."
The soldiers had planned to provide veterinary and dental assistance to villagers but ten cows, 25 sheep and three pulled teeth later, the plan was improvised to include medical care.
As children of all ages and a few older men squatted along the dirt road, the Special Forces medic retrieved his supplies and began organizing them on a plastic table.
The first patient, a young boy around ten years old suffered from a swollen and bloody lump on the side of his head, just above his right ear. The boy said he was playing and hit his head on a rock nearly three days ago. The wound was cleaned and bandaged and the boy was given pain medication with instructions to travel to the clinic if the swelling didn't cease in another three days.
As the medic patted the boy on the back and sent him and his father on their way, he scanned the line of excited children, motioning for the next child to come forward. "And what's wrong with you," he cooed, waiting patiently for the interpreter to translate.
About 50 patients later, the medic began reorganizing what was left of the medicine and placed the clear, plastic tubs back into the black crate in which they were transported.
"The ANP announced our visit by word of mouth to all the local villagers," explained the Special Forces team sergeant. "This is the first time we've attempted to provide dental and veterinary service in this area, so while the turnout for that event wasn't completely what we wanted, we were happy we were able to provide medical care for many villagers."
"It's harvesting season," explained a village elder when questioned why the turnout was so low.
When asked if the people grow poppy, the old man tersely said no.
"We used to grow poppy, but not anymore," the village elder said. "Now, we grow wheat and small vegetable gardens."
After inquiring about the red and white blooms co-located with the wheat, the village elder shook his head, insisting otherwise.
"Some still grow poppy," he conceded hesitantly, "but they're not affiliated with the Taliban, that's just all they have to grow."
"There's a billboard near the next village that has a picture of a bunch of poppy plants on it with a big red X across them," remarked the team sergeant while patting the old man on the back and thanking him for his show of support. "We know some still grow poppy here, and its harvesting season, which is one of the main reasons the turnout was so low," he concluded.
The cautious drive back to the firebase looped around numerous wheat fields with deep irrigation ditches zigzagging through them. The Afghan men, their backs barely visible above the wheat as they bent low to pluck the harvest waved as the patrol passed. Unsure whether the patrol would stop, the men waited until the trucks were nearly out of sight before disappearing among the wheat plants again.
| Date Taken: | 04.15.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 04.21.2010 04:33 |
| Story ID: | 48449 |
| Location: | AF |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 146 |
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