PRT strives to build relationships in remote village

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • U.S. AFCENT News Team
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (AFNS) --  A 40-person team of Airmen, Sailors and Soldiers from the Kapisa and Parwan Provincial Reconstruction Team recently traveled to a remote village to provide medical services.

After traversing a rugged, hand-hewn mountain roads barely wide enough for a Humvee, the team of security and medical experts arrived at Pacha Hawk to fulfill their two month plan to provide medical services to the residents, many of whom had never seen a doctor before.

A small group of elders and children met the eight-vehicle convoy as it approached the village center, located in a brown dusty mountain-side valley. As the Americans organized their equipment and supplies, the empty window frames of a home facing the activities began to fill with the faces of young men and boys who curiously watched the strangers.

Since March, this is the PRT's fourth visit to Pacha Hawk, an area where the Taliban is active.

"Medical missions are done when we see the need arise," said Capt. Marshall Fiscus, PRT medical professional. "We use them as part of our arsenal to try to [help] a village that may be 'sitting on the fence.' We want to show them that we are different than the Russians; we are different than the Taliban; we actually care about them. So we come out, and we prove it."

The team established two make-shift screening rooms -- one for the men and one for the women and children.

Their medical mission was to provide preventative care and education about basic personal hygiene, said Navy Cmdr. Betsy Myhre, officer in charge of the cooperative medical assistance team.

While teaching a group of boys about personal hygiene, Commander Myhre asked how many had toothbrushes. In the group of 12, only three did. When the class ended, the children were given a package of multi-vitamins and received medicine for ailments ranging from toothaches to irritated eyes. The medics also treated all of the children with a de-worming medicine. After swallowing the white milky medicine, they each received a bag filled with healthy items like toothpaste, toothbrushes, dental floss, soap and a few toys.

Little girls were not so quick to join in. One village elder brought his two girls who were given their own class. Near the end of the day, a group of girls approached the gathering, only to be chased off by taunting boys. A female interrupter followed the girls and returned with them holding their hands.

"We did see some younger females, and I think next time we come back I think we will get triple that," Captain Fiscus said. "They want to keep their women safe, I don't blame them for that. The idea is to come back and do this again and again, over years and years, and hopefully we will get the females to come out."

The rugged terrain of the area also contributes to the medical concerns that Captain Fiscus's team sees while treating the men.

"You can look at the landscape and tell it is pretty harsh out here," he said. "I have not seen a vehicle since I have been out here, so they do everything by foot and as they get older; their muscles start to wear down. When you start listening to the ages, you see a guy and you think he is 60 or 70 and he is 40 ... he is my age. You can really tell it is a hard life."

The secluded village is about a three-hour walk to the nearest hospital.

"We are hours from any medical facility or pharmacy, so they don't have access to medicines," Commander Myhre said. This is one reason the PRT focuses so heavily on personal hygiene during their visits.

"My goal was to teach the children preventative medicine; I think that went very well," she said. "If we can teach things like [hand washing], maybe that can have a long-term impact."

In addition to providing medical care, Captain Fiscus believes interacting with the villagers on a personal level is also important. He said listening and talking go a long way.

"We come out, and we do what we can, which is mainly talking to them and letting them understand we care about them and [relieve] some of their aches and pains," Captain Fiscus said. "We definitely can't fix everything, but we do what we can where we can so hopefully it will make a difference."

Senior Airman Courtney Thompson, PRT medic, assisted Captain Fiscus with patients during checking their blood pressure and listening to their concerns. The Airmen deployed from Scott Air Force Base, Ill., said he believes in the team's mission here.

"[We try to help out] anywhere we can lend a hand makes a difference here," said Airman Thompson, a native of Dallas, Texas. "Missions like this are a great tool to help further relations with the village, because it shows we are here to help them."

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