An Update from Keith Hoekman in Afghanistan. Keith-May God continue to bless you, your work, and your family.~CharlieAs many of you know, I recently returned from a medical trip south of our current location nearer to the Pakistan boarder. The mission was primarily a medical response to some specific outbreaks of disease. The elders got together and decided it was time to thwart the wishes of the Taliban and seek medical care for their children. There are no active clinics in the area and so they sent a delegation to some coalition forces to request this care. I was on leave when this developed and though I had a peripheral knowledge of the plans, did not intend to be a part of the trip. At 9PM the night before we left, I was informed that the leader of the team was not able to go and I would be leading the medical team on a short 3 day trip to provide care and perform an assessment of the area. I hastily packed for a three day trip in an austere environment.
However, as sometimes occurs in organizations where success is often rewarded by extensions of duty rather than a lavishing of comforts, two weeks later I finally arrived home in my second change of cloths, smelling of one who has not bathed in two weeks while concurrently lathering up a significant number of hardy sweats. Also upon my return I noted to my delight that I do have some abs which, up to this point, had been discretely hidden beneath a layer of food reserves. MREs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for two weeks will bring out the best in a person. Here is a pictorial review of my trip which despite the lack comforts, including communication with Lori, was extremely fulfilling.
We departed on a cold morning using a CH-47, which can get very cold when it is 0 F on the ground, the windows and doors are open, and a stiff breeze is blowing down the cabin.
All smiles as we fly down (still expecting a short 3 day trip).
We spent the nights at a firebase near the district center seen in the background.
When we arrived there were about 150 people waiting to be seen right outside the district center. Amazing how fast news spreads without the use of cell phones. Some people looked a little impatient and others looked like they would have waited for years had we not arrived. We treated about 750 patients over the course of 3 days near the district center. I would give a 30 min class on infectious disease, hygiene, vaccinations, drinking water, nutrition, and pregnancy care after which the people would be treated. All the children received vitamins and de-wormer. And many of them received coats, shoes, hats, or stuffed animals that people have very generously donated.
Following the first three days, when it was evident that our trip was getting extended, we took off across country to visit the villages which were too far away for people to travel to the center or villages which had been threatened sufficiently to which they would not travel to the district center for care. Forging out paths across country was not always a simple task and after going through one too many wadis, it is inevitable that even a four wheel drive HUMVEE will get stuck. Still much better than the local means of transportation.
We traveled around the district setting up our makeshift clinic in villages after speaking with the village elder and explaining what we were doing. By the last few days we would arrive to a village and the people would have already heard about us and would often quickly have a building and food prepared for us. Often, the head village elder would be the first person through the line.
We brought some female medical personnel to see the women. For many of the women, this was the first opportunity ever for them to sit face-to-face with medical personnel. This is because females will often not be allowed to be treated by male providers and there are no female medical providers in the entire district.
We finally ran out of all supplies and had no way of restocking so it was time to go home. Though the trip was a little longer than planned, it was a great success both tactically in the region and personally for me. Most of the people were exited to see us and in the areas that had other plans for us, God kept us safe. It is consistently an encouragement to me to know that there are many people praying for our safety and success. Please keep praying, both for myself and my family back in Connecticut as they anxiously await my return in less then two months.
~Keith
At long last, Curt arrived in Connecticut this evening to a true hometown hero's welcome including a police escort, a fire truck to hoist the U.S. flag, a television news crew, and lots of family, friends, and proud Americans. The Marines from MWSS272 should be leaving Iraq soon as well.
Well hello everyone, I hope all is well. Just wanted everyone to know that the counting has started and we should be home soon. It is right around the corner. I sent a picture of the type of things that we deal with. First, the cold, then the Snow and now the Rain. It is a good workout because you put an extra ten pounds to your feet while you are walking to Chow! Well hope to see everyone when I get home. Take care and talk to you soon.
An Update from Keith Hoekman in Afghanistan. Keith-May God continue to bless you, your work, and your family.
Many thanks to my employer, Pfizer Inc, for their generous donation of 3 IBM Thinkpad laptops to our friends in MWSS272. Curt tells me the laptops are now up and running and hopefully they will enable our troops to maintain valuable communication with loved ones at home. It's a nice feeling to work for a company that consistently supports the community, both at home and abroad. I would also like to recognize Anthony Barricelli, a manager at Pfizer, who ensured that my request was handled as expeditiously as possible!
Well hello everyone, as you can see it does snow in the desert. I didn't believe it either until I saw it with my own eyes. Well the New Year is upon us and we are winding down here and preparing for our long awaited trip home. Still have a few more months, but it is going by quickly. I hope that everyone had a Wonderful Holiday. I can't wait to come home and to meet all the people that I have become close to. Well take care and will see you soon.
