Young Iraqis arrive at Ramstein

  • Published
  • By Capt. Kristi Beckman
  • 86th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AFPN) --  Eighteen Iraqi children are now receiving long-awaited medical care from the state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany, thanks to the help of the U. S. Air Force.

The children, ages 6 months to 16 years, arrived here Oct. 6 on a C-141 Starlifter from McGuire Air Force Base, N.J., out of Baghdad International Airport.

Most of the children suffer from congenital, acquired or traumatic conditions; two of them have injuries resulting from the armed conflict. The Air Force provided transportation to the children and their attendants free of charge.

Col. Frederick Gerber, chief of operations for the coalition provisional authority ministry of health, said there is a well-established program in Iraq for families and children who need health care. Patients are evaluated daily and most of them can be cared for within Iraqi hospitals.

“There are only very special cases that a country like Iraq might have to evacuate a patient for,” Gerber said. “There is a three- to five-day process where it’s decided whether the patient can be treated inside Iraq or go on a waiting list to be treated outside of the country.”

These children were identified and clinically evaluated as requiring specialized medical treatment outside of Iraq.

“Germany made an offer of $500,000 worth of health care,” Gerber said. “All (the Air Force) needed to do was get them here.

“It was a very successful operation and we couldn’t have done it without the Air Force,” he said. “At the worker level, the airmen, crewchiefs, loadmasters and terminal operators were just outstanding. They really made it happen.”

Brig. Gen. Erwin F. Lessel III, 86th Airlift Wing commander, greeted the Iraqi families.

“We know you’ll receive excellent medical care here in Germany, and once your treatment is complete, we can provide assistance with getting you back home to your families in Iraq,” he said.

For many years now, the United States has been highly committed to humanitarian assistance worldwide, Lessel said.

“We are grateful that we have the opportunity to work closely with the Germans to provide assistance … to the children of Iraq,” he said. (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)