PDA

View Full Version : Iraqi Baby Gets First Line Army Care From 116th BCT



thedrifter
07-02-05, 04:27 AM
Iraqi Baby Gets First Line Army Care From 116th BCT
6-28-2005
Courtesy of the 116th BCT PAO
The Guard Experience

6/28/05, FOB WARRIOR, IRAQ – Soldiers of the 116 Brigade Combat Team (BCT) assisted an Iraqi family from Kirkuk Province who brought their 3-month-old baby to Forward Operating Base (FOB) McHenry June 18.

The family brought the baby to their village doctor and the Hawijah hospital to remove a four inch abscess from the baby’s chest. Neither the doctor nor the hospital could assist due to the lack of expertise and technology.

“Many areas of Iraq lack sufficient primary health care due to inadequate development of medical service by the previous Saddam regime,” said 1LT Patrick McCabe, a 145th Support Battalion physician assistant attached to Task Force 1-163 Infantry. “As Iraqis trust and work with Coalition forces, they will quickly realize that the coalition soldiers are here to help them unlike the terrorists who seek to destroy and murder the innocent children, men and women of Iraq.”

In a last ditch effort of desperation, the father brought the baby to the FOB McHenry gate. Task Force 1-163 Infantry medics went to work on the small child, opening up the abscess found in the child’s chest. The medics drained and cleaned the abscess and, after seeing the severe situation the baby was in, evacuated the infant to the Air Force’s emergency medical facility (EMEDS) on FOB Warrior.

According to EMEDS personnel, the child only had about 24 hours to live if untreated. The TF 1-163 Infantry medics saved the baby’s life, they said.

The 116th Brigade Combat Team is playing an important role in assisting the Iraqi people. The unit’s mission also includes assisting Iraq’s new government, supporting economic development, making Iraq more secure and facilitating communications.

The 116th BCT is comprised of headquarters and staff sections, two armor battalions, a mechanized infantry battalion, a support battalion, a field artillery battalion, an engineer battalion, and various intelligence, signal, and specialized units. The 116th BCT is one of several Army National Guard units deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom III.

Ellie