Spc. Stephen L. Bray, administrator with the 248th Area Support Medical Company out of Marietta, Ga., and Catchpenny's lead singer Christian Schauf sing together during a free rock concert Sept. 23 at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation east at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. Catchpenny allowed Bray, a Cartersville, Ga., native, on stage to play guitar with the band. Photo by Sgt. Ryan Twist

For a moment, service members put their jobs on hold and enjoyed a free Catchpenny rock concert Sept. 23 at Morale, Welfare and Recreation east on Joint Base Balad, Iraq.

Catchpenny was the 2009 Armed Forces Entertainer of the Year – the highest honor associated with touring for Armed Forces Entertainment.

“My hope is always that people have fun for a couple (of) hours and I don’t know if we’re going to change their week, but if we can change their day, that is pretty good,” said Christian Schauf, Catchpenny’s lead singer. “We have always wanted to make an impact with our music and do something positive with it.”

Christian Schauf, a Minneapolis native, said he can see a difference in the service members after the band’s concerts.

“You see the looks on their faces, and for that minute they forget they were in the middle of the desert and it’s 110 degrees,” said Zachary Schauf, Catchpenny’s singer and keyboard musician and Christian Schauf’s brother.

Sgt. Michael Carruth, the battalion maintenance office clerk with E Company, 2nd Detachment, 106th Support Battalion, out of Collins, Miss., attached to Task Force 1st Battalion, 155th Infantry Regiment, said he was one of those Soldiers.

“The Catchpenny concert took my mind off missing my family for a couple of hours,” said Carruth. “I am thankful. It was a perfect way to take my mind off matters here as well.”

Carruth said anything that can help service members ease their everyday stress is great.

“I loved the concert,” said Carruth. “I love music, so having a rock band perform for the troops is totally awesome. I was surprised at the fact they brought Soldiers on stage to play music with them. They seemed to love what they were doing as well.”

Zachary Schauf, a Minneapolis native, said his grandfather served in Korea and his older brother served in Iraq in 2003. He said the military has always been a big part of his life, and performing offers him a rare chance to give back.

“We feel really honored to have this opportunity to give back,” said Zachary Schauf. “It’s such a sacrifice for you guys to be over here. We’ve got to see firsthand that it’s not an easy job. We’re just thankful for the opportunity to hopefully help out for a minute, to give back a little bit.”

Christian Schauf said he has one life to live and he wants to do something entertaining and worthwhile with it.

“I always say we’re the rodeo clowns,” said Christian Schauf. “We are over here, but you guys are doing all the hard work and it’s really humbling to be over here and to see what people do for a year. We’re appreciative of that and we support what’s going on and try to do everything to do our part.”

The band has released two CDs and is working on their third.

“It was great to see a talented band perform for us here at Balad, and to speak with the members of the band before the show,” said Carruth. “I got the sense that they really believed in what they were doing for the troops. Catchpenny has gained at least one new fan.”

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. Ryan Twist

Today’s Bloggers’ Roundtable was with Air Force Lt. Col. Thomas N. Williams, Jr. Ph.D., P.E., Chief of Planning, Engineering Directorate, Multi-National Security Transition Command-Iraq. Williams is part of the ministerial level assistance being provided the Iraqi government.

In a recent news story for the Department of Defense, Lt. Col. Williams highlighted three projects as examples of the work being done by the Iraqis to become more environmentally friendly.

Many parts of the Middle East are notorious for their attitude towards equipment maintenance. “Run it until it breaks” is often the only way operators know to handle even the most critical equipment in their nation’s infrastructure. One of the initiatives that is being put forward in Iraq to counter this attitude trains the Iraqi military to operate and maintain their own equipment.

Lt. Col. Williams told us that these training programs are working, but that graduates are often leaving the military for higher paying jobs in the civilian sector. The training also covers topics congruent with maintenance, such as the proper disposal of wastes. As an example, the training teaches correct disposal of waste oil, rather than just dumping it on the ground.

With Iraq facing a host of equally important issues, such as the drought, needed transportation improvements and the necessity of importing refined oil products, Williams anticipates that the mission of his office will continue for as long as the American military is in Iraq. The key, as he sees it, is to demonstrate to the Iraqi ministries how environmentally sound practices aid in creating the solutions to Iraq’s many problems.

An Iraqi traffic policeman watches as cars go through a green light at a busy intersection in downtown Kirkuk city, Iraq, May 9. The street lights have been operational for less than a month, but already the lights have helped make the job of controlling traffic easier. The new traffic lights along with barrier removals throughout Kirkuk city were made possible due to increases in security as the city returns to a state of normalcy. Photo by Pfc. Justin Naylor

Imagine a city about the size of San Francisco with large barriers blocking off busy roads and market areas, and no working stop lights.

In Kirkuk city, Iraq, that was the case until recently, when security gains have allowed for city-wide projects to begin removing barriers from around police stations and market areas, as well as repairs to traffic lights.

The barriers, which had been in place for several years, were used throughout the city to help reduce possible vehicle-borne improvised-explosive device threats, and make the job of the Iraqi police easier by controlling the traffic flow in certain areas, said Capt. Brad Hardy, an Akron, Ohio, native and the commander of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division.

By removing these barriers, we are helping return the city to normal and allowing the residents here to move more freely, which builds confidence in them about the police in the city doing their job of keeping Kirkuk’s residents safe, explained Sgt. Ammed Mustafa Ismael, a member of the Emergency Response Unit in Kirkuk.

“The security situation has just improved so much lately that we can remove these large barriers and feel confident about it,” said Ismael.

For Kirkuk’s residents who make a living by selling goods in markets, the barriers have created obstacles for potential consumers, limiting the number of customers.

“It’s a great idea,” explained the owner of a small shop about the barrier removal. “It makes a big difference in business and it is a lot easier for people to come and go.”

It is time for the city to return to normal, and the barriers were just creating too much congestion in busy areas, said the shop owner.

“The people [of Kirkuk city] were ready to see the barriers go,” said Lt. Col. Terry Cook, the commander of 3rd Bn., 82nd FA Regt.

Traffic lights have been turned on again in a few busy intersections of the city.

“The traffic lights are doing their job,” explained a Kirkuk city resident. “It has been a lot safer driving around.”

“Everyone stops for it,” said 1st Lt. Akmad Hussein, an inspector for the Kirkuk city traffic police. “The people of the city are learning to respect the lights, and we have been giving out tickets to those who do not.”

“The lights definitely make our job a lot easier,” he said.

Workers will continue to remove barriers from around the city as district council members approve more locations, and new traffic lights are established throughout Kirkuk, said Cook.

DVIDS
Story by Pfc. Justin Naylor

Lioness tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. Without the same training as their male counterparts but with a commitment to serve as needed, these young women fought in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq war and returned home as part of this country’s first generation of female combat veterans. Lioness makes public, for the first time, their hidden history.

In April 2004, at the height of the insurgency in Iraq, five female soldiers unwittingly found themselves fighting alongside Marines in the battle for Ramadi and Fallujah.

Their story is told in a documentary film bearing their unit name, “Team Lioness,” which has been shown in private and public screenings throughout the United States and Europe in the past year. The Center for Women Veterans hosted the film at the Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters here yesterday.

“These stories are important to us at VA, because women veterans are coming to VA in great numbers, and we need to make sure we understand their experiences,” Betty Moseley Brown, associate director of the VA’s Center for Women Veterans, said as she introduced the film to an audience of about 50 viewers. “They became the first female soldiers in U.S. history to be sent into direct ground combat.”

Since the American Civil War, women have played important roles in the U.S. armed forces during war time — as nurses, journalists, pilots, engineers, logisticians and much more. But what they’re not, still, is infantry, armor or artillery — combat-arms specialties.

Still, many female servicemembers have been wounded and killed as a result of enemy fire. But it wasn’t until the start of the Iraq war in 2003 that women began finding themselves engaged in direct fighting.

Team Lioness pioneered women in direct fighting, although somewhat unintentionally. The women were intended to augment combat-arms platoons to search Iraqi women for money, weapons and drugs smuggling at checkpoints and on patrols. But eventually, their new roles in the ranks of combatant units led to ground combat alongside infantrymen, cavalrymen and artillerymen on the frontlines.

The film opens in a wilderness setting with b-roll of trees and damp leaves lining a still-flowing creek. The only sounds for several seconds are crickets chirping in the background. The tranquil silence of Mena, Ark., is suddenly broken by the boom of several shotgun rounds fired at a turtle in the creek.

The documentary’s introduction of Shannon Morgan, a former Army mechanic and Lioness, shows her innocence as a country girl, but with an obviously troubled past. Much of the film follows her around her family’s farm as she hunts squirrels with her shotgun and shares emotional testimonies of her time in Iraq.

“I don’t watch the news. I don’t read newspapers,” Morgan says in the film. “But the memories of war never go away.”

Morgan and the other Lionesses said they never expected to have to fire their weapon. But they quickly found themselves performing combat patrols, raids and house-to-house searches with the Marines in what was considered the most dangerous region of Iraq during what was arguably the most dangerous period of the entire campaign.

The Lionesses talk about their first enemy encounters and the stress of seeing dead bodies for the first time, while fighting to stay alive. Morgan recalled battling with the darkest side of war just before shooting an insurgent in a firefight.

“It’s something you learn to deal with,” Morgan said. “I don’t regret what I did, but I wish it had never happened.”

The soldiers also talk about the difficulties of learning the tactics and vocabulary of the Marines they worked with. The transition from their Army ways, plus the frequency of enemy engagements, didn’t allow for much of a learning curve to make up for their lack of knowledge of various weapons systems, Army Capt. Anastasia Breslow, a signal corps officer and former Lioness, said in the film.

“If everyone [in the platoon] had been hurt, I would have had no idea how to get back to the forward operating base,” Breslow said. “I didn’t know how to use the biggest casualty-producing weapon we had. I felt we needed to know more.”

Although the film takes place primarily on the home front with Lioness and family interviews, it brings to light the realities today’s generation of military women, and all combat support troops, face in Iraq and Afghanistan. The line that separates the front from the rear is blurred by the urban and guerilla warfare troops encounter fighting terrorism within the Middle East.

The nature of modern warfare — fighting counterinsurgencies in random locations, as opposed to nation states on prescribed battlefields — has made it difficult to define what constitutes a combat-arms military specialty and what doesn’t.

Military women today still cannot legally serve in combat-arms positions, but they serve competently and are trained in a variety of roles and capacities in Iraq and Afghanistan because of the lessons learned from the original Team Lioness. Their experiences prompted training for women that was never done before. They learn infantry tactics, qualify on more weapons, and are better prepared for the chance they may have to engage the enemy.

“As a result of their experiences, now each military service trains female servicemembers to be Lionesses, training that was not offered whenever this documentary was actually filmed,” Brown said, referring to the weapons and tactical training female military members now receive.

DoD
By Army Staff Sgt. Michael J. Carden
American Forces Press Service

Captain Kim N. Campbell with her damaged A-10 Warthog

First profiled here.

Captain Kim N. Campbell is awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for heroism while participating in aerial flight as an A/OA-10 fighter pilot, 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, 332d Expeditionary Operations Group, 332d Air Expeditionary Wing at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait on 7 April 2003.

On that date, at North Baghdad Bridge, Iraq, flying as Yard 06, Captain Campbell’s professional skill and airmanship directly contributed to the successful close air support of ground forces from the 3d Infantry Division and recovery of an A-10 with heavy battle damage. While ingressing her original target area, Captain Campbell was diverted to a troops-in-contact situation where enemy forces had positioned themselves within 400 meters of the advancing friendly forces and were successfully preventing the lead elements of the 3d Infantry Division from crossing the North Baghdad Bridge.

Unable to eliminate the enemy without severe losses, the ground forward air controller had requested immediate close air support. After a quick situation update and target area study, Captain Campbell expertly employed 2.75 inch high explosive rockets on the enemy position that had been threatening the advancing forces, scoring a direct hit and silencing the opposition.

During her recovery from the weapons delivery pass, a surface-to-air missile impacted the tail of Captain Campbell’s aircraft. Immediately taking corrective action, she isolated the hydraulic systems and placed the A-10 into the manual reversion flight control mode of flight and prepared for the long and tenuous return flight to Kuwait.

Captain Campbell’s aviation prowess and coolness under pressure directly contributed to the successful completion of the critical mission and recovery of a valuable combat aircraft. The outstanding heroism and selfless devotion to duty displayed by Captain Campbell reflect great credit upon herself and the United States Air Force.

Distinguished Flying Cross Society

Damage from missle to Captain Kim N. Campbell's A-10 Warthog

Captain Kim N. Campbell stands with her battle damaged A-10 Warthog

With the throttle still full out, Campbell began to make her move up and away from the target. She was just beginning to move to her left, with the familiar, solid sensation of G-forces underneath her seat, “when I felt and heard a large explosion in the back of the aircraft.”

“There was no doubt in my mind,” she said. “I knew exactly what it was. I knew I’d been hit.”

It was an anti-aircraft missile, and the impact had sheared both hydraulic lines to her jet.

“Our hydraulics are really what allow our flight control system to function normally,” Campbell said. If the system is compromised, rudders, flaps, and other critical flight and landing gear won’t work.

“At this point there’s really one option,” Campbell said, “and that’s to switch to manual inversion” the A-10′s backup system of cables.

Campbell also knew she had a second option: eject and allow the plane to crash.

But there were civilians down there, and there was no knowing who would be hit by the burning Warthog.

Moreover, “ejecting in itself over friendly territory is one thing. Now, ejecting over enemy territory and going down over Baghdad, where we were just delivering ordnance on Iraqi Republican Guard, is a totally different story.”

Stars & Stripes

Coalition jet fighters shot down an Iranian drone that was hovering over Iraq late last month, Multinational Force Iraq officials confirmed today.

The incident occurred Feb. 25, about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad, officials said in a statement.

Two coalition aircraft were directed to visually identify the unmanned aerial vehicle after it was detected hovering inside the Iraqi border. The pilots confirmed that it wasn’t a coalition aircraft and that no collateral damage would result from a shoot-down. Coalition air forces tracked the UAV for more than an hour before the pilots engaged it, officials said.

“This was not an accident on the part of the Iranians,” officials said. “The UAV was in Iraqi airspace for nearly one hour and 10 minutes and well inside Iraqi territory before it was engaged.”

Officials said they believe the drone to be an Iranian-made Ababil 3 model UAV.

Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates and military leaders have long accused Iran of interference in Iraq. Iran poses “a real problem,” Gates said on PBS’ “Tavis Smiley Show” March 11.

“I think it’s one of the significant challenges that we’re going to face over the next several years,” he said.

DoD
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

Read the true story of a firefight in Iraq, from one of the heroes involved.

Ed Malone remembers they had gone out for a “knock and greet” patrol that day in June. About half the platoon went, to meet up with Iraqi security forces advised by an Army National Guard team. They were going to patrol the Sarai District in the city of Tal Afar, Iraq.

June 25, 2005 was just another day for the 3rd ACR. They were taking over responsibility for the region from a departing Army unit and they had already learned that patrolling Tal Afar mean a fight every time. Malone was the first sergeant of Grim Troop, 2nd Squadron,
3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. This was his second tour in Iraq.

More here

Approximately 30 people gathered for the grand opening of the Tovo Medical Clinic Feb. 12 in the Kani Karweshkan foothills, located in Halabja, Iraq.

The clinic opened in honor of Brig. Gen. Kenneth Tovo, in recognition of his past service in Iraq

The facility will be equipped with more than $25,000 of medical equipment and will help significantly improve the region’s medical care and provide essential services throughout the Kurdish autonomous region, said a Coalition forces advisor.

The clinic provides nearly 500 residents from six surrounding village’s access to a medical facility and the medical services of a staff of three full-time doctors. The location of the clinic also increases the chances of survivability by providing people in a community, where vehicular transportation is scarce, access because of the clinic’s central location. Access results in more immediate care, so patients can be stabilized before they are moved to another medical facility, if more specialized care is necessary.

“Most of the trauma cases we see are due to snake and scorpion bites to farmers working the fields,” said the regional tribal leader. “These patients can receive care immediately, lowering their chances of death.”

Potential long-term projects include paving the clinic route to make it more accessible, drilling wells to provide water to the clinic, establishing nearby electrical lines for communication, and expanding clinic services.

“The opening of this clinic is just one of several planned to promote local participation and demonstrate the government’s commitment to maintaining security while encouraging social and capital development, said Col. Bill Buckner, spokesman for the Multi-National Corps – Iraq. “Projects like this one create short-term benefits and long-term potential consistent with the intended goals of the Iraqi and CF partnership. Short-term, the clinic makes medical care for potentially fatal illnesses and injuries more accessible.”

A KRG representative reiterated that commitment, saying, “Give me a list of everything the staff needs, whether it is equipment, medications or supplies, and I will take care of it,” he told the head tribal leader. “Coalition forces helped build the clinic, but it is our job to sustain it.”

MNF-I

To improve the learning environment and overall welfare of about 35 elementary school students in Kani Mayor Village, Iraq, Feb. 12, Kurdish regional government leaders and U.S. Coalition forces opened the doors to a new, insolated, five-room schoolhouse, complete with instructor-living quarters.

Kurdish Regional Government leaders and Coalition forces inaugurated the first, permanent educational facility Feb. 12 in the mountainous region of Kani Mayor Village, Iraq.

The new school supports growing educational needs and serves as a platform for the future economic stability of the Kani Mayor Village and surrounding communities of Panjwin, Iraq.

“When decent schools are not available for their children, parents have traditionally packed up and moved from their villages to the city. After awhile, due to the exodus of people, the village’s economy begins to suffer,” said the tribal leader.

“By putting brick on brick, it is proof you are not only protecting our people from terrorists, but also caring for our children’s educational future,” said the regional education director. “Thank you for giving the children a place to study and have a future.”

The modern schoolhouse is fully equipped with five roomy classrooms, two bathrooms, new desks, textbooks and overhead lighting. Additionally, in an effort to attract and retain the most qualified educators, a separate building was constructed to serve as living quarters for the instructors.

Village children expressed sincere appreciation for the new facility to KRG leaders and were ecstatic to leave behind their temporary schoolhouse, which was a loaned-out chicken coop from one of the local farmers.

“It’s nice to finally be rid of that old school and not have to share (my new school) with chickens,” said a 13-year-old girl, who is excited to get back to school and continue her Arabic lessons.

MNF-I

Nearly 1,350 students walked into two newly refurbished primary school buildings in Umm Qasr where, school city and Coalition officials dedicated the projects’ completion Feb. 19.

The two U.S. funded operations, totaling $271,100, outfitted the Al Nashaa and Al Marfaa schools with new paint, windows, electrical systems, plumbing, reconditioned bathrooms, roofs and desks.

Umm Qasr Mayor Salah Abdul Mahdy Habeeb, Director of Education Salem Kamel Arrayed, Director of Power and Utilities Ahmed Resan Sharhan, town council members, members of the Iraqi Marines, Coalition civil affairs representatives and school staff and students were on hand for the occasion.

“Today we open this school to be the future light for the students,” said Abu Ali, headmaster of Al Marfaa. “The first three words of the Koran means to ‘read.’ The scripture says it wants everyone to be educated. Education is the duty of every Muslim person.”

Many schools in Iraq are in poor condition because of a lack of upkeep, to include Umm Qasr. The schools here suffered from leaky roofs, broken windows and desks that were splintered and falling apart and other structural problems.

“Our main reason for these restorations was to provide the children with a safe learning environment,” said Sgt. Adam Kirschner, the project manager from 42nd Military Police Brigade at Camp Bucca.

He said these projects started when community members brought the issue of reconstruction to the town’s council. The city officials worked with Coalition civil affairs teams to create a proposal and form a contract.

Kirschner said that projects like these are important to the future of Umm Qasr because the town is growing rapidly due to the economic development generated by the country’s only deep-water port there in town.

“Last time we met, this school was in bad condition. This time we are meeting because the school is like new,” Habeeb said. “We were successful because of the cooperation between, the town’s people, the council and the Coalition forces.”

So far seven schools in the area have been refurbished in the last 12 months with help from Kirschner’s unit. He said that Umm Qasr Secondary School is next on the list and should start in about two weeks.

MNF-I

Soldiers assigned to 1st Cavalry Division partnered with national police officers and local Iraqi police officers to make repairs on a damaged home in the Adhamiyah district of Baghdad after it was struck by an improvised explosive device

When enemy forces missed targeting a Multi-National Division – Baghdad patrol in the Adhamiyah district of eastern Baghdad with an explosive formed projectile recently, a local Iraqi home paid the price.

Fortunately, the EFP blast injured no one in either the patrol or the home, but Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division focused their attention from themselves, to the house.

“Once I was certain that no one was hurt in the attack, my next thought was to help the innocent civilian whose home was damaged,” said Capt. Brennan Speakes, a native of Fort Myer, Va.

The Soldiers partnered with Iraqi national police officers assigned to 3rd Bn., 4th Bde., 1st NP Div., and local Iraqi police officers to provide materials and labor in order to make the necessary repairs to the residence.

After the repair was complete, the homeowner, who asked not to be named, said he was very happy with the repairs and thanked everyone who was involved in the project.

DVIDS
Story by 1st Lt. Scott Lewis

Iraqi Brig. Gen. Faiswl Malikmhsen al-Talall cuts the ribbon during the grand opening ceremony of the Saydiyah Fish Market on Cherry Street, Feb. 9, 2009

For thousands of years, fishermen near the Ma Baynaa Al-Nahreen, the Land Between the Two Rivers, sold their catch to others to sustain their existence.

Today, the Saydiyah Fish Market stands as a classic example of where Iraqi fishermen sell their wares to their neighbors from across Iraq.

Senior Multi-National Division – Baghdad leaders attended the Saydiyah Fish Market’s ribbon-cutting ceremony with their Iraqi Security Forces partners, Feb. 9, to mark the re-opening of the market that fell to disrepair during the war.

Muzhir Ali Salman, the General Cooperative Union chairman, welcomed the attendees to the market’s compound along Cherry Street in the Saydiyah community of southern Baghdad.

Muzhir thanked the Coalition forces for starting the project to rejuvenate the fish market and the commanders who worked on the project.

“This is the main fish market in all of Iraq, not just Baghdad,” he added.

The fishermen sell their fish wholesale to the other provinces in Iraq as well as retail to the citizens of Baghdad, Muzhir explained.

Brig. Gen. Faiswl Malikmhsen al-Talall, commander of the 5th Brigade, 2nd National Police Division, recognized the importance of the market and the eagerness of the community.

“We thank Coalition forces for their contribution to this project. I appreciate the readiness of the people and their ideas to embrace progress,” he said.

The rebuilding of Iraq began after the security situation improved in the area due to the cooperation of everybody, said Faiswl, who used the ceremonial scissors to cut the ribbon at the entry into the compound.

The fish market is not just important to Saydiyah, but it is significant to the rest of the city of Baghdad, said Sheik Abdulnazzaq, the Saydiyah Tribal Support Council chairman.

The 1st BCT’s embedded Provincial Reconstruction Team displayed a tremendous effort using the co-ops in Baghdad and the neighborhood councils to come up with this fantastic opportunity, said Col. Ted Martin, commander, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, MND-B.

“We are priming the pump to bring a better life back to the Cherry Street Market,” said Martin, who hails from Jacksonville Beach, Fla. “The only reason we can do a project like this is because of the increase in security in Saydiyah. It was a hot spot for insurgent activity, but now all the sects get along to live together peacefully.”

MNF-I
By Maj. Dave Olson
1st Brigade Combat Team

Retired Army Col. (Dr.) Lionel M. Nelson, Task Force 449 brigade surgeon, assists soldiers during a mass casualty training exercise in Baghdad, Jan. 8, 2009. Nelson is a civilian doctor who closed his practice for 90 days to help in Iraq.

Retired Army Col. (Dr.) Lionel M. Nelson returned to military service after a five-year retirement to make a medical contribution in Iraq.

The former Air Force reservist and retired Army reservist shut down his private practice in San Jose, Calif., to participate in “90 Days Boots on the Ground,” an Army Reserve program that gives former military doctors the opportunity to deploy to Iraq for 90 days.

Nelson deployed with Task Force 449, the North Carolina National Guard’s 449th Theater Aviation Brigade, which is in charge of Multinational Division Center’s combat aviation brigade here.

As the brigade surgeon, Nelson supervises the medical components of the task force and advises the commander on medical- and clinical-related issues in country. He also is responsible for the health of aviators and flies with them to monitor the stress level of pilots.

“I truly enjoy the people in TF 449 and their spirit to get the mission done,” Nelson said. “I enjoy working with people who have such pride in serving their country and am glad to say that I help to take care of America’s heroes.”

Nelson has served in the armed services since 1970, with a break in service from 1972 to 1984. During his time in the Army Reserve, Nelson deployed to Southeast Asia with special operations and civil affairs units and assisted with humanitarian missions.

During a humanitarian mission to Haiti in 1994, Nelson started a medical technician school to train people to repair medical equipment.

“I wanted to be able to make a long-term difference,” Nelson said. “A lot of the countries receive donations of medical equipment and can only use it once because when it breaks down, no one knows how to fix it.”

Nelson also helped to repair infrastructures and assisted with sanitation and medical issues in Southeast Asia.

“One of my biggest goals was to make sure that we not only helped while we were there, but we also wanted to make sure they continued to benefit from our efforts after our departure,” Nelson said.

Nelson attended Yale Medical School and completed his surgical training at Stanford University Medical School, where he currently serves on the clinical faculty.

In addition to a private practice, Nelson also has several patents on surgical devices that he invented; he started a company to develop one of them. He sold the company about five months before his deployment.

“I have wanted to rejoin the Army and do my part ever since 9/11, but could not because of my commitments to the investors in my company,” Nelson explained. “The sale allowed me to finally fulfill that desire to again serve my country.”

Nelson urges other doctors with a military background to consider taking advantage of the Reserve program.

“It is very possible to close up shop for 90 days,” Nelson said. “It’s an unforgettable experience, and cannot be duplicated.”

DoD
by Army Pfc. Jasmine N. Walthall
Multinational Division Center’s public affairs office as part of the North Carolina National Guard’s 449th Theater Aviation Brigade

Senior Airman Tarann Earl plays with an Iraqi child while they wait for transportion to the detainee visitation center Jan. 27 at Camp Bucca, Iraq.

Senior Airman Tarann Earl plays with an Iraqi child while they wait for transportation to the detainee visitation center Jan. 27 at Camp Bucca, Iraq. Members of the 887th Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron provides security and transportation to the center for Iraqis who are allowed to visit daily with detained family members held at the Theater Internment Facility. Airman Earl is assigned to the 887th ESFS. (U.S. Air Force photo/Capt. Angelic Dolan)

172nd Infantry Brigade Soldiers from Forward Operating Base Kalsu engaged in a patrol to the central Euphrates farmers market and to a fish farm in Khdir, recently.

The patrol, led by 1st Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment Soldiers, began at FOB Kalsu and travelled to the central Euphrates farmer’s market in Selah. Here, Provincial Reconstruction Team members and Soldiers were involved in the first board meeting held at the farmer’s market. The previous meetings were held at FOB Kalsu.

The central Euphrates farmer’s market is a market that represents approximately 4,900 farmers from the northern part of the Babil province. The next closest farmer’s market is 70 kilometers away in Karbala.

“This farmer’s market is closer to the farmer’s fields,” said Sheik Umran Hashim, the head of Alwaha Agricultural Association. “By spending less money traveling, the farmers keep more money in their pocket.”

The purpose of the meeting was to familiarize the 1st Bn., 2nd Inf. Regt. leadership with the PRT, Civilian Affairs and local Iraqi leadership. The board meeting was also to showcase the progress of the market. The topics discussed here included funding, the cold storage facility, auction price for the market stalls and security plans for the market.

Khdir is a predominately shiite town that was overtaken by al-Qaida and the area was used as a staging area to train and attack surrounding areas. Al-Qaida prevented the farmers in the area from harvesting fish, thus harming the area.

Sheikh Jaffer Hussin Dandal, the owner of the fish farms in this part of the province, is one of the first sheiks to work with coalition forces here. By working with the CF, Dandal is able to harvest fish without al-Qaida interference. The fish farms also help bring the people back into the area, after they were forced out.

The fish farm assistance is one of the projects that the PRT has helped to boost the local economy in Iraq.

DVIDS
By Pfc. Bethany L. Little and Spc. Dawn Van Horn
Multi-National Division – Center