El Salvador has been a staunch ally in the War on Terror. Its troops have served alongside ours in Iraq sine 2003. Now they get to go home a winner.

The Salvadorian flag lowered for the last time in Iraq as Cuscatlán Battalion XI held its end-of-mission ceremony, marking the end to their mission here Jan. 22.

“The biggest accomplishment that the Cuscatlán Battalion had was the development of 319 reconstruction and humanitarian assistance projects,” said Col. Cesar Acosta, Cuscatlán Battalion XI commander.

Salvadorian Soldiers have been deployed to Iraq since Sept. 2003. The first two rotations were deployed to Najaf; the third through the fifth rotations were at Camp Charlie in Hilla; and the sixth rotation through this final one served the people of Wasit province while deployed to Forward Operating Base Delta.

“This rotation lived in different conditions than previous ones,” said Acosta, after their final humanitarian aid mission Dec. 31. “Transition of the province to Provincial Iraqi Control, the passage of the Security Agreement … all marked a new age in the situation here.

“Those situations take away our job, though,” he continued. “Our job is to support all progress here, and I believe our part of the mission was fulfilled in the last four months, as we worked hard with other Coalition forces.”

Marine Maj. Gen. Paul Lefebvre, Multi-National Corps – Iraq deputy commanding general, thanked the Salvadorians for all they had done for the people of Iraq.

“They have provided first class support to Operation Iraqi Freedom in the areas of construction, reconstruction and civil-military cooperation. Their contributions have been many and have had a profound effect on the great nation of Iraq,” said Lefebvre to the crowd.

Lefebvre commended Acosta and Sgt. Maj. Eduardo Argueta, Cuscatlán Battalion XI senior enlisted advisor, for their dedication to their mission and the more than 2,000 Salvadorian soldiers who have served in Iraq.

“You have both shouldered an extreme responsibility while you have been here, and you have done a fantastic job. You led your troops with confidence and competency, the goals of any great leader. Their successes are a reflection of their great leadership,” Lefebvre said.

Salvadorian President Elias Antonio Saca announced in a speech Dec. 23, 2008 the eleventh rotation would be the final mission for the Cuscatlán Battalion.

Throughout the ceremony, the Salvadorian soldiers shouted “Cuscatlán” when brought to the position of attention by the commander of troops and sang along with the Cuscatlán Battalion Anthem at the end of the ceremony.

“Never forget what you have accomplished here. Years from now, you will be able to look back and know that you were part of something great, something that shaped the world for future generations,” Lefebvre said.

Since El Salvador’s troops arrived in Iraq in 2003 they have completed 319 construction and humanitarian projects. These projects included:

77 electrical projects for Iraqi municipalities; 32 construction and improvement projects; 40 Public Health projects providing medical and dental supplies to local clinics; 49 Transportation Initiatives, providing buses and taxis to local municipalities and 50 School projects and providing supplies to students from the elementary to university level.

During this period the contingents also assisted in 600 convoy escorts, 21,000 patrols and more than 200 quick reaction force missions.

MNF-I

The Multi-National Security Transition Command – Iraq J7 (Engineer) not only has engineers from three branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, it also boasts support from our Coalition partners. Lt. Col. Samuel Ruiz from El Salvador has devoted six months of his hard work and engineering expertise to MNSTC-I to deliver facilities for the Iraqi Security Forces.

Since he arrived in Baghdad in August 2008, Ruiz has been directly involved in program management of infrastructure projects at Iraq’s largest military supply depot in Taji and at the Iraqi Army Service Support Institute, as well as Iraqi Air Force facilities at Rustamiyah.

U.S. Army Maj. Tom Heinold was assigned to sponsor Ruiz when he first arrived. “Since I knew the most Spanish in J7, I went to pick up Lt. Col. Ruiz and get him in-processed. I could tell right away that he had a good head on his shoulders and that he’d be a great asset to the team. Just one short week later, he took on my entire program while I was on my mid-tour leave. When I returned in late September he had things running smoothly.”

This tour wasn’t the first time Ruiz had seen Iraq. In 2003, he arrived with some of the first Coalition troops as a part of El Salvador’s Cuzcatlan Battalion in Al Kut. During this tour, he kept in touch with his old battalion and was able to visit them occasionally to share critical mission information and participate in official ceremonies.

U.S. Air Force Capt. Matt Olijnek appreciates Ruiz’s help in and out of the office. “Lt. Col. Ruiz instigated a weekly tour of Dining Facilities for the J7 shop. He led the charge to break the mundane norm of always eating at the same DFAC and provided his colleagues with a social/mentoring opportunity for the J7 Ministry of Defense Branch to get together as a team.”

“Sam has become an integral part of J7 during his deployment,” commented U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Scot Allen, chief of the J7 Ministry of Defense Branch. “We appreciate the perspective he brings to construction program management, and MNSTC-I has greatly benefitted from the diversity of having a Salvadoran officer on the team. He took responsibility for logistics and Iraqi Air Force projects at Taji and Rustamiyah, and represented El Salvador extremely well. He also has a great sense of humor.”

As LTC Ruiz plans to depart from MNSTC-I in late January, along with the remainder of the El Salvadoran military forces, his colleagues plan to hold an awards ceremony in Baghdad to thank him for his contributions in constructing the infrastructure necessary for the Iraqi Security Forces to properly train and maintain their equipment so they can take on the security mission in Iraq.

MNF-I

“being involved in this kind of thing and doing this kind of work is what they joined the Navy for”

Boxer is home in San Diego, after successful stops in three Latin American nations. Operation Continuing Promise ’08 was designed to provide medical assistance and education to people in Guatemala, El Salvador and Peru. A contingent of SeaBees were aboard tasked to engage in repair and reconstruction activities at various sites in the host countries. And a load of materials donated by Project Handclasp, books and other supplies, was along to be distributed where needed.

A Bloggers’ Roundtable on June 26 with Navy Capt. Peter Dallman, commander of Amphibious Squadron 5, filled in more of the details. The transcript is here [PDF file].

This was a two month mission, shorter than many that Boxer undertakes. She was staffed with an air detatchment – helicopters, several landing craft, the Naval Construction unit also called SeaBees [ about 60 ], a group [ about 21 ] from the NGO Project Hope, a rotating set of uniformed personnel [ about 15 ]of the US Public Health Service as well as additional military personnel [ about 90 ]. The added military included medical staff, a Marine beach party for landing support and volunteers from several branches of the military.

Materials were bought with some Title 10 funds. About half was purchased in the States with the remainder being bought in the host countries.

The Seabees worked on 8 schools, a church and also two culverts. In the buildings, the work included plumbing, electrical repairs and renovations and some roof repair and replacement.

On the medical side, Captain Dallman reported:

We had 127 total surgeries onboard Boxer, 14,000 total dental procedures, 66 repairs to biomedical equipment in the various clinics and hospitals that we worked at. A lot of this is done by corpsmen that don’t have any parts, no kit, no tool bag, no anything. So I was amazed that they could repair that many.

We saw just under 4,000 optometry patients. We distributed about 3,500 glasses to those patients.

We dispensed nearly 40,000 medications.

We had a veterinarian team, and they saw just under 2,900 animals total. A lot of that was vaccinations and de-worming.

And primary care saw just over 14,000 patients.

So total patients for the 28 mission days was just over 24,000 patients seen. And that results — if you add in the classes, 123 classes, and 18,000 total students for those classes, then that’s a total of 65,000 encounters during the 28 mission days.

Kearsarge will be doing the same sort of mission later in the summer, on the Atlantic side of the continent. Both Boxer and Kearsarge are uniquely qualified to do these types of missions. They can support air operations, landing craft operations and they can carry a significant number of personnel beyond their own crews. They also have a great deal of space to conduct medical procedures and for storage.

These missions are no longer an exception. USNS Mercy is currently in Vietnam having been engaged in an assistance mission in Southeast Asia. The Reagan carrier battle group is providing typhoon relief in the Philippines. The United States Navy with its capabilities and world-wide reach is able to conduct routine and emergency humanitarian assistance operations, saving lives and giving the people of diverse nations a positive view of the United States and its people.

SONSONATE, El Salvador (May 19, 2008) U.S. Public Health Service’s Lt. Elizabeth Leavitt, embarked aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), takes a break to spend some time with Salvadoran children during continuing Promise (CP) 2008. Boxer is deployed in support of the Pacific phase of CP, an equal partnership mission between the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador and Peru. U.S. Army photo by Specialist Brian R. Williams

Salvadoran Col. Walter Arevalo, the commander of Cuscatlán Battalion X, talks with the al Kut director general of health, April 1.

The Salvadoran Cuscatlán Battalion delivered $4 million in medical supplies to the al Kut director general of health warehouse, April 1.

“It is very important to provide more resources to the people of Iraq. We want to provide supplies to those who need it,” said Col. Walter Arevalo, commander of Cuscatlán Battalion X.

Even though there is a heightened security risk, Arevalo said he felt honored that his Soldiers were called upon to fulfill this mission.

“It is important for the hospital to be able to provide support for people who need it,” he said. “The supplies will help them provide that support, and a lot of people need to get medical attention.”

The supplies, donated by the International Red Cross, are for Iraqis affected by the recent upsurge in violence by criminals.

The Iraqi security forces in Wasit province clashed with criminals for five days. According to Iraqi police reports, seven Iraqis were killed and 14 were injured. Eleven IPs were killed, and 42 were injured. At least 43 criminals were killed, and more than 40 were injured.

The al Kut medical facilities generally have a small quantity of supplies and are in dire need of blood, said Dr. Ammar Bashar, director general of the al Salam emergency medical clinic. Al Kut’s limited medical supply was further depleted when the Kut ministry of health provided Basra with medical supplies to treat Iraqis injured in the uprising there, said Bashar.

The donated supplies will replenish what was used during the civil unrest in the city and will increase supplies on hand.

The warehouse will distribute the supplies in the following weeks to three medical facilities in al Kut. One is a 150-bed emergency clinic and the other two are 400-bed hospitals, Bashar said. The supplies will be used for emergency and specialty care.

DVIDS
By Sgt. 1st Class Stacy Niles
214th Fires Brigade