Rakkasans help put Iraqi face on locals’ medical care

By Sgt. 1st Class Kerensa Hardy
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault)

CAMP STRIKER, Iraq – More than 800 Iraqis received medical care during a coordinated medical engagement Nov. 30 in Iraqi Family Village, northeast of Camp Victory, where healthcare is virtually non-existent.
Twenty-five Iraqi and two American providers saw 820 patients ranging in age from several weeks to nearly 80 years old with symptoms varying from the common cold and dermatological issues to chronic issues like asthma.
Task Force Vigilant, the base-defense unit for Camp Victory, was responsible for the overall planning, preparation and execution of the CME since the Iraqi Family Village falls within its operational environment. The Iraqi Family Village has about 8,000 residents, many of whom moved into the area after the fall of the regime in 2003.
Members of the Rakkasans from the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) played a role by providing security for all medical operations and medical personnel from Company C, 626th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT).
Team Rak, short for Rakkasan, is an element of TF Vigilant and had 15 Soldiers involved in the CME.
This is the third such event for TF Vigilant in a three-month period, although it is the first mission in which the Rakkasans participated. The task force’s stated goal was two-fold: to provide much-needed medical care for the village residents and to promote the ability of Iraqi leaders to provide for the needs of Iraqis.
Consequently, the residents of the village will have confidence in their town council’s ability to coordinate medical undertakings in the future.
The medical engagement was another endeavor to put an Iraqi face on healthcare in the area according to Capt. Alex Montgomery, primary planner for Co. C, 626th BSB, 3rd BCT, 101st Abn. Div. (AASLT), which provided dental and medical personnel, supplies and logistical support for the event. It also gave the unit a chance to provide one-on-one medical training with local residents and Iraqi Army doctors.
“Because there is no (medical) facility in the area we wanted to get healthcare and pharmaceuticals to many local nationals who, due to economic issues, don’t have a way or financial means to get healthcare and medication for themselves and their children,” Montgomery explained.
Task Force 62, a medical brigade formed approximately three months ago, provided two Iraqi-born American doctors who have Iraqi credentials to practice medicine. Several local medical personnel from the Baghdad International Airport Medical Clinic rendered services as well.
Supporting the return to normalcy, TF 62 attempts to add momentum to the medical infrastructure by gathering information about the condition of medical care and clinics, said John Mitchell, military analyst and licensed physician’s assistant with TF 62.
“We go out here with cooperative engagements and provide medical care and get information from the patients as to what kind of care they’re getting, how often they get to be seen and how hard it is to be seen and the status of medical care in their communities,” Mitchell said. That information is then forwarded to the command of a certain area as a snapshot of what services are necessary in that area of operations.
Ultimately, Mitchell said the goal is to develop clinics and a level of healthcare that will be sustainable once Coalition Forces have left the region.
As an additional push to put Iraqis in the forefront, there is a company within TF 62 that offers Iraqis daily fees to practice medicine at CMEs.
“Part of the return to normalcy is getting Iraqi medical practitioners to return to the area,” Mitchell said, adding that some are returning slowly.
While the current state of medical care in many areas of Iraq is bleak and has a long way to go, improvement is on the horizon.
“Our objective of strengthening the villagers’ trust in local council and the Government of Iraq, as well as providing much-needed medical care for the community has been achieved,” said Capt. Martrell Gamble, Team Rak commander. “Team Rak was able to do our small part of what will be a continuous effort of providing assistance in improving the legitimacy of the GoI and the Iraqi Security Forces while improving the residents’ perception of U.S. forces and advocates of human rights.
“We were glad we were able to participate and are looking forward to the next opportunity to provide support to the citizens,” Gamble said.