Stryker Brigade News

For three hours, mothers and fathers brought their children in to have them checked out for everything ranging from bug bites to coughs to dental work.

“This is the fifth week our battalion has been doing medical screenings for the locals,” said Capt. Paul D. Carron, commander, Company B, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st SBCT. “It is the other side of our infantry mission.”

The operation – dubbed Kalamas 5 after a river in Washington – is a way to “show the people of the area that we truly care about their welfare and the health of their children,” said Carron, who came up with the idea to begin doing the screenings.

“It’s too easy to just drive through a neighborhood on patrols,” he said. “We get out, talk with the kids and show the families we care.”

The Army doctors and medics providing care for those few hours bring only basic medical supplies. Vitamins, band-aids, over-the-counter pain relievers and topical ointments to relieve itching are the basic extent of items issued, other than advice given to the mothers of the children.

“We have a limited ability to help, and we don’t want to make promises we can’t fulfill,” Carron said.

“What we recommend for further treatment is for the citizens to use the Iraqi medical system,” he said. “We want to continue to use the Iraqi infrastructure and government to help.”

Iraqi families lined up around the walls of the school to have their children seen. A total of 287 children were screened, along with many mothers and a few fathers.

The eager families were signed in upon entry to the school and then handed papers to give to the medical personnel.

Once the patients were screened, information was written down on the piece of paper to keep track of who was seen. If the condition was urgent, the medical personnel had the ability to refer the patients for additional care.

“This way if it is something serious, we can refer them to the Iraqi Ministry of Health so the system starts working,” said Maj. David L. Brown, battalion surgeon, 1st Bat., 24th Inf. Reg.

Brown, who is a family practice doctor at Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Wash., said he “sees kids all the time,” and relishes the opportunity to do the same in Iraq.

“I really enjoy it,” he said. “I was on the team when the medical screenings first started, and it has been really rewarding to come out here and do this.”

The screening turnouts continue to grow, and part of that is attributed to using the “neighborhood’s watchman.”

“We try to empower the Iraqi Mukhtars,” Carron said. “He does the advertising for us, and it also shows the people of the area that we have a good relationship with him.”

Doing this also keeps the Soldiers and neighborhood residents safe. Carron and his crew won’t let anyone know the time or what day they will arrive to do the screenings. The Soldiers just show up and let the Mukhtar know they are there to do the screenings, and within minutes the families begin lining up.

After many thorough medical and dental checkups, the Soldiers wrapped things up and the families headed back to their homes, although this wouldn’t be the last time the families see these Soldiers for the day. Since Company B patrols the areas they screen in, Carron makes sure his teams head back out on patrol later in the afternoon to gauge the reaction from parents.

“Everyone is always very positive after the screenings,” he said.

This includes Carron, who took the time to ask an Iraqi mother if he could hold her infant child for a while. Full body armor, an M4 assault rifle over his shoulder, Carron bounced the baby in his arms while humming a tune.

“It feels good to see a child and parent walk out of here with a smile on their face,” he said.

A U.S. Soldier from the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., takes time to play with Iraqi children at a medical screening July 28, 2005, in Mosul, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp.)

Maj. David L. Brown, surgeon, 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, Fort Lewis, Wash., checks an Iraqi girl's throat for infection during a medical screening July 28, 2005, in Mosul, Iraq. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jeremy D. Crisp.)