American C-17 airlifts Iraqi child to Hungarian hospital

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jason Lake
  • 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BALAD AIR BASE, Iraq (AFPN) --  Medics from the 379th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron helped airlift a 13-year-old Iraqi to Budapest, Hungary, recently.

A dozen crewmembers aboard a C-17 Globemaster III helped transport Abbas Jabbar, who was injured last month when he ran in front of a Hungarian convoy patrolling near Baghdad.

After the accident May 16, the boy was rushed to the 31st Combat Support Hospital at Baghdad International Airport.

Col. Peter Doby, who served as the chief of operations within multinational force-Iraq in Baghdad and eventually became the child's caretaker, said the boy's life was clinging by a thread when he first arrived at the military hospital.

"(He) was in pretty bad shape," the colonel said. "He had a fractured skull and a compound fracture to his right leg. He was also on a respirator."

At one point, Colonel Doby said, the boy had to be revived.

As his condition slowly stabilized, Hungarian officials discussed the possibility of transporting Jabbar to Hungary for surgery and rehabilitation, but they realized the Hungarian government lacked the aircraft and qualified staff necessary to move him.

Colonel Doby, who grew up in Hungary, bridged talks between Hungarian and American officials working to help arrange the boy’s transport to Budapest.

"I've been in Air Mobility Command since 1982, so I thought I could do something," said Colonel Doby, who is vice commander of the 433rd Airlift Wing at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.

Arranging the mission required coordination all the way up to, and approval by, the secretary of defense.

Once this effort was successful, Colonel Doby spoke with the boy's parents through an interpreter before the mission kicked off.

The parents gave the colonel permission to take the boy to Hungary and told him, "This is God's will."

Colonel Doby promised the family that he would get the boy to Hungary safely and if possible, escort him back to Iraq after his recovery.

Not long after the parents gave permission, the colonel and aeromedical staff at the 31st CSH prepared to fly the boy here, where they would wait for a C-17 to take them to their final destination.

The two flew from Baghdad International Airport to Balad aboard a UH-60 medical helicopter from the U.S. Army's 82nd Medical Battalion and waited for their aircraft at the 332nd Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility here.

Several hours later, the C-17 carrying the 379th EAMDES crew arrived, and the flight to Hungary began.

Master Sgt. Theresa Sheheen and Tech. Sgt. Shane Larson, both from the Wyoming Air National Guard, were two of the aeromedical evacuation technicians aboard the flight. Using only a primitive form of sign language, they tried to comfort Jabbar as he experienced his first airplane ride.

Three hours later, the flight touched down in Budapest.

Hungarian medical technicians and the two Guard Airmen helped carry Jabbar out of the aircraft into an ambulance for the trip to a Budapest hospital.

Before the doors closed behind him, Jabbar gave everyone a smile and thumbs up.

Looking back on the experience, Sergeant Larson said he was glad to help move the boy because it shows Iraqis that the coalition partners are here to help.

"This kind of operation is great because it makes the time spent over here worthwhile," he said. "This shows the citizens that we are here for them."