Dr. Riyad Sabri, an Iraqi doctor, carefully examines a local Iraqi boy from Al Audey Village inside the Rawashid district of the Diyala province, during a Cooperative Medical Engagement lead by the Iraqi Army and coalition forces, Dec. 23. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Favreau, 3-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division)


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
SR# 010807-01
Jan. 8, 2007

By Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Favreau
3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs

BALAD, Iraq -- Iraqi citizens and coalition forces may speak different languages but they care for people all the same.

Dr. Riyad Sabri, an Iraqi doctor, and Maj. Paul Fleenor, along with other medics from 3-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, set up a medical care operation, known as a Cooperative Medical Engagement, for the people of the Al Audey Village inside the Rawashid district of the Diyala province, Dec. 23.

The mission was for Iraqi Army Soldiers along with coalition forces to screen the villagers by checking their vital signs and asking for health problems for Sabri to take a look at.

Sabri, the primary care giver for the operation, was assisted with medications and supplies provided by Soldiers from 3-8 CAB. It was because of the joint effort that they were able to screen and treat over 125 local villagers.

At first the local population came in slowly but after a few moments word had gotten out that the Iraq Army and coalition forces were here to help, said Staff Sgt. Ruben Garcia, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 3-8 CAB. People started coming in more and more, and soon it was more than the medics had anticipated, he said.

“It was hard to keep count of everyone we treated,” added Garcia. “So we just kept going until supplies went out.”

To Garcia, it was a chance to show the Iraqi people that he and his fellow Soldiers care about the local’s health and they could trust the Soldiers, he said.

The majority of the patients Sabri came across only had minor injuries or sickness, except for one – a small boy with an infected cut on his hand.

The boy, who had obtained the cut weeks ago, had not received any medical treatment for his wound. The cut was so infected that the infection was running up to his wrist. If the boy went untreated for as little as one more day, the chances of him losing his finger would have been greatly increased.

The medics worked quickly to help the young boy and treat his wound.

If he keeps the wound clean and keeps taking his antibiotics, he will be fine, said Garcia.

Though Fleenor, head surgeon for 3-8 CAB, and his medics had their hands full with screening patients, they knew this operation was more about supporting the Iraqi doctor and giving the people in the village confidence in the ability of their local doctor to take care of them.

“It’s good to start working with the local doctors,” said Fleenor. “The people of Al Audey were very thankful.”


Maj. Paul Fleenor, head surgeon for 3-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division, checks the vision of a small Iraqi boy during the IA’s and 3-8’s Cooperative Medical Engagement in the Al Audey Village inside the Rawashid district of the Diyala province, Dec. 23. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Jamie Favreau, 3-8 Combined Arms Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division)

POLICE CHECKPOINT — An Iraqi crew from the 3rd Battalion, 1st Mechanized Brigade, Iraqi National Police, use armored vehicles to provide watch over a checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq. U.S. Army photo by Capt. Jared Levant

News of Note
Operation Iraqi Freedom
Bush Faces Surge of Opposition - TRANSCRIPT - VIDEO
92,000 Troops: Stadium Capacity to Ease a Troubled World
Bush in Georgia to Meet with Soldiers as White House Tries to Sell Iraq Plan
Senators fear Iraq war may spill to Iran, Syria
Poll: Americans oppose Iraq troop surge
U.S. detains 6 Iranians in Irbil raid
Military.com Blog: Iraqi Air Force's New Wings
Hundreds of Ramadi Residents Join the Police

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan Warlord Says He Helped Bin Laden Escape Tora Bora, Moved Him to 'Safe Place'
Forces Strike Insurgents Near Afghan-Pakistani Border
Afghan Students Graduate From Agricultural Course
U.S. Soldiers and Afghan Police Distribute Supplies

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Anti-Tank Shell Strikes U.S. Embassy in Athens
Leftist rebels suspected of launching terror attack
Negroponte: Hezbollah, Al Qaeda Top Threats
U.S.: No Senior Al Qaeda Killed in Somalia
Al Qaeda's leaders are in Pakistan, U.S. says
Guantanamo protests
Germany Nixes Appeal for Sept. 11 Suspect

Troops on Trial
Second U.S. soldier pleads guilty in Iraq killings

Other Military News
Air Force Staff Sergeant Relieved of Duties After Posing for Playboy in Uniform
Expensive new U.S. spy satellite not working: sources
U.S. Guard strained by Iraq, but ready for more
Pentagon abandons active-duty time limit

Worldwide Wackos
Giant Rabbits for Food (North Korea)

Homegrown Moonbats
14 Jump Ship Over Carter Book Flap
Rosie O'Donnell's Row With Barbara Walters Predates Trump
Dershowitz seeks to grill Carter on Israel book
Anti-war activists rush to hold protests
Madonna defends her pal Rosie O'Donnell
Anti-war activists rush to hold protests

Politics / Government
House OKs Stem Cell Bill Despite Veto Threat
Sen. Johnson able to talk, begins therapy
Denver to host '08 Democratic convention
GOP: Bush would veto Medicare reforms

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment
Duke 'Rape' Case Crumbling (Crumbling??? It's toast! Gone! Case?! What case?)
Accuser once again changes her story
VIDEO: Is the Duke Lacrosse Case Unraveling?
Teacher on Trial for Pics of Teens Found Dead
'Known Suspect' in Missing Coed Case
Texas Teacher Accused of Being Peeping-Tom
Man: I Shot Disabled Workers Over 'Respect'
Utah Teacher Jailed for Sex With Student
South Dakota Man Accused of Killing His Wife Claims 12-Year-Old Daughter Stabbed Her to Death
New York Firefighters Outraged by Ban on American Flags, Pictures of Fallen Colleagues on Lockers
Report: Indian Serial Killer Suspect Admits to Cannibalizing, Sodomizing Bodies
PC World Editor Shot and Killed in California Home
State Farm Found Liable in Katrina Lawsuit

U.N. News
Military solution no option in Darfur: U.N. envoy - Video

Science / Nature
Black Hole Grabs Planet-Sized Snack
The Mummy's Baby
Alaska stargazers excited about comet

Oddities
Man electrocuted by do-it-yourself mole-killer
Have you seen Nepal? Not really, Peru says

Other News of Note
'Pizza for Pesos' Chain Receives Threats

Fox News
Report: Bonds Failed '06 Amphetamine Test
David Beckham Signs Deal With L.A. Galaxy, Rejects Real Madrid Deal

Reuters: Top News
More guns equal more murders in U.S. states: study
Two killed, dozens hurt in Bolivia street battles
Indonesia plane search scours area of first discovery
Thai charter chief sees elections in December
U.S. praises Mexico drug sweep, promises more help
Telomeres may predict heart disease risk, study finds
Harvard unveils big campus expansion
Nintendo Wii tops Sony's PlayStation 3 in December
Latest high-tech marvel? The humble TV set
Caffari going the right way in Vendee challenge
Syphilis back with a vengeance in China, report says
Beckhams to add spice to tired Hollywood scene
Singer Timberlake, actress Diaz call it quits
Oil bounces from 19-month low under $52 - Video
Tokyo rubber drifts down after early rise
Dow at record close - Video
THQ raises outlook, but game delay weighs
Stride Rite turns quarterly profit; shares rise
Frank sees fast terror insurance action
Fannie, regulator in talks over discipline for execs
FBI has 61 options backdating cases
Samsung Elec Q4 profit falls on NAND chips
NY Times Co to cut 125 jobs
AMD sees Q4 rev below analysts' estimates
Apple's iPhone success could stretch parts suppliers
Toyota may add 5 N. America car plants: report
BMW says 2006 China car sales up 51.3 pct

AP World News
Croc hunter's daughter makes TV debut
Barry Bonds comes to teammate's defense
Cold medicine risky for babies, toddlers
Widow says Irwin death tape destroyed
Family feuds dog famous folks in death
Scientists map gene of STD parasite
Six Flags selling parks for $312 million
Wedding guests cancel for Saints game

Military.com
Using Your VA Loan Benefit
Prepare for the ASVAB
Dealing With Infidelity
Learn to Use Your GI Bill

CENTCOM: News Releases
FIVE DETAINED IN SECURITY OPERATION IN GREATER IRBIL AREA

TROOPS DISCOVER SEVEN WEAPONS CACHES NORTH OF IRAQI CAPITAL

HUNDREDS OF RAMADI RESIDENTS JOIN THE POLICE

BRITISH GENERAL ASSUMES RESPONSIBILITIES AS MNCI'S DCG

USJFCOM
USJFCOM commander discusses importance of personnel recovery - podcast
Campbell takes command of Joint Forces Command Army component

Department of Defense
NEWS UPDATES
Stability & Security in Iraq Report (pdf)
For Top News Visit DefenseLink

ON THE GROUND
U.S. Army Cavalry Train Iraqi National Police - Story
New Networks Monitor Power Distribution in Iraq - Story

IN IRAQ
Troops Help Iraqis Secure Neighborhood
Cavalry Troops Teach Iraqis Advanced First Aid
U.S. Soldiers Give Wheelchairs to Iraqis in Need
Iraqi-American Soldier Returns to Homeland
Terror Suspects Captured in Meat-Packing Plant
Soldiers Clean Up with Help of Quartermaster
New Commander Discusses Challenges in Iraq
Marines Improve Conditions in Iraqi Bunkers
Iraqi Soldiers Pressure Insurgents in Baghdad
Soldiers Spruce up Observation Point
Maliki Joins Troops in Celebrating Army Day
Iraqi Army, Police Team Up for Baghdad Ops
Soldiers Celebrate Three Kings Day in Iraq
Building Becomes ‘Shining Light’ for Tal Afar
Iraqi Trainers Graduate 120 From Police Academy

IN AFGHANISTAN
277th Named Army’s ‘Top Aviation Battalion’
Panjshir Team Helps to Repair Mosque

BACKGROUND
IRAQ
Renewal In Iraq
Iraq: Security, Stability
Fact Sheet: Progress and Work Ahead
Report: Strategy for Victory in Iraq
Iraq Daily Update
This Week in Iraq
Multinational Force Iraq
State Dept. Weekly Iraq Report (PDF)
'Boots on the Ground' Audio Archive
Weekly Reconstruction Report (PDF)
Iraq Reconstruction
Maps

AFGHANISTAN
Afghanistan Update
Maps

WAR ON TERRORISM
Fact Sheet: Budget Request
Fact Sheet: War on Terror
Fact Sheet: Terror Plots Disrupted
Waging and Winning the War on Terror
Terrorism Timeline
Terrorism Knowledge Base

CASUALTIES
Officials Identify Army Casualties - Story

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Philippines
Baler Radar Site Catanduanes Radar Site Manila

South Korea
Cheju Upper/Radar Chonju Chunchon Inch'on Kunsan Masan Mokp'o
Osan Pusan Seoul Suwon Taegu Taejon Tonghae Radar Site Ulsan Yosu

* If you're deployed, and want to see your location's weather listed here, please email me! *

Today in History
1493 - Last day for all Jews to leave Sicily
1552 - Dutch west coast hit by heavy storm, 100s killed
1598 - Pope Clement VIII seizes duchy of Ferrara on death of Alfonso
1684 - French king Louis XIV marries Madame Maintenon
1701 - Parts of the Netherlands (Frisia & Groningen) adopt the Gregorian calendar (others 1 year later)
1773 - 1st US public museum established (Charleston SC)
1777 - Mission Santa Clara de Asis founded in California
1806 - French evacuate Vienna
1807 - Gunpowder-ship explodes in Leiden Netherlands, 150 die
1809 - British take Cayenne (French Guiana) from the French (until 1814)
1816 - France decrees Bonaparte family excluded from the country forever
1836 - Battle of Wetumka, FL; HMS Beagle/Charles Darwin reach Sydney Australia
1839 - Anthracite coal 1st used to smelt iron, Mauch Chunk PA
1861 - FL state troops demand surrender of Fort Pickens
1863 - President Davis delivers his "State of the Confederacy" address
1865 - Union fleet bombs Fort Fisher, NC
1879 - British Zulu War begins - Lieutenant-General Chelmsford invades Zululand
1896 - 1st X-ray photo in US (Dr Henry Smith, Davidson NC)
1900 - Freeland Colony founded in US
1903 - Rhodes Opera House burns in Boyertown, PA, killing 170; Harry Houdini performs at Rembrandt theater, Amsterdam
1904 - Southwest-Africa uprising under Samuel Maherero against German garrison
1907 - Britain grants responsible government to former colony of Transvaal
1915 - House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote
1916 - Britain proclaims Gilbert & Ellice Island colony in the Pacific
1932 - Hattie W. Caraway elected 1st woman senator (AR)
1933 - Uprising of Guardia Civil in Spain, 25 die; US Congress recognize independence of the Philippines
1937 - Plow for laying submarine cable patented
1942 - National War Labor Board created; British troops reconquer Sollum; Dutch troops on Tarakan surrender
1943 - Frankfurters replaced by Victory Sausages (mix of meat & soy meal)
1944 - Churchill & de Gaulle begin a 2-day wartime conference in Marrakesh; Failed resistance raid on distribution office of Borgerstraat, Amsterdam
1945 - German forces in Belgium retreat in Battle of the Bulge; US Task Force 38 destroys 41 Japanese ships in Battle of South China Sea
1948 - Mohandas Mahatma Gandhi begins his final fast; 1st Supermarket in UK opens
1949 - Dutch court affirms death sentence against SS chief Hanns Rauter
1950 - Swedish tanker rams British submarine Truculent in Thames, 64 die; USSR re-introduces death penalty for treason, espionage & sabotage
1952 - University of Tennessee admits its 1st black student
1953 - 9 "Jewish" physicians arrested for "terrorist activities" in Moscow
1954 - Austria's worst avalanche-kills 200; 9 hours later 2nd one-kills 115; Queen Elizabeth II opens New Zealand parliament
1961 - UN genocide pact goes into effect
1964 - Revolution overthrows Sultan of Zanzibar, 1 month after independence
1966 - "Batman" with Adam West & Burt Ward premieres on ABC TV; LBJ says US should stay in S Vietnam until communist aggression ends
1967 - Louisville KY, draft board refuses exemption for boxer Muhammad Ali
1970 - Biafran War ends, Biafra surrenders to Nigeria; Boeing 747 makes its maiden voyage
1971 - Fed grand jury indicts Reverand Philip Berrigan & 5 others, including a nun & 2 priests, on charges of plotting to kidnap Henry Kissinger; "All in the Family" premieres on CBS featuring 1st toilet flush on TV; Congressional Black Caucus organizes
1974 - Libya & Tunisia announce they are merging as "Islamic Arab Republic"
1975 - Chrysler Corp offers 1st car rebates
1976 - UN Security Council votes 11-1 to seat Palestine Liberation Organization
1977 - Anti-French demonstrations takes place in Israel after Paris released Abu Daoud, involved in the 1972 Munich massacre of Israeli athletes
1979 - Los Angeles's Hillside Strangler, Kenneth Bianchi, arrested in Bellingham; Record blizzard strikes the midwest, killing over 100
1986 - 24th space shuttle (61-C) mission-Columbia 7-launched
1987 - Britain's Prince Edward resigns from his Royal Marines training
1989 - 6 claim to survive in rubble, 35 days after Armenian quake (hoax); Idi Amin expelled from Zaire
1990 - Civil Rights activist Reverand Al Sharpton is stabbed in Bensonhurst, NY; Romania bans Communist party (1st Warsaw Pact member to do so)
1991 - US Congress gives George Bush authority to wage war against Iraq
1992 - Algeria's General elections canceled after strong gains by Islamic Salvation Front in the 1st round
1994 - Malcolm X's daughter arrested for plotting Louis Farrakhan's murder
1995 - Major earthquake kills 5,092 in Kobe, Japan; Murder trial against OJ Simpson, begins in Los Angeles; Pope John Paul II begins visit to Southeast Asia
1996 - Russian troops arrive in Bosnia (joint operation with US)
1997 - HAL becomes operational (2001: A Space Odyssey); this date was given as January 12, 1992 on screen, but 1997 is the date used in both the novel and screenplay; Space Shuttle STS 81 (Atlantis 18), launches into space

Birthdays
1483 - Hendrik van Nassau-Dillenburg en Dietz, Governor/Viceroy of Holland
1492 - Andrea Alicati, Italian author
1562 - Charles Emanuel I, the great, Duke of Savoy
1580 - Jean Baptiste van Helmont, Belgian chemist, (found boiling point temperature)
1588 - John Winthrop, 1st Governor (Massachusetts Bay Colony)
1638 - Ernst R. Tarhemberg, Austrian field marshal (Turkish Wars)
1737 - John Hancock, patriot (1st to sign Declaration of Independence)
1749 - Ferdinand Trauttmansdorff, Austrian earl/prince/diplomat
1751 - Ferdinand I, King of Sicily & Naples
1792 - Robert Patterson, Union Major General
1810 - Ferdinand II king of Sicily
1814 - Jones Mitchell Withers, Confederate Major General
1819 - Zealous Bates Tower, Union Brevet Major General
1825 - Joseph Robert Davis, Confederate Brigadier General
1826 - Charles Cruft, Union Brevet Major General
1832 - Richard Waterhouse, Jr., Confederate Brigadier General
1852 - Joseph J.C. Joffre, French field marshal (Indo-China, Marne)
1871 - Paul Guthnick, German astronomer
1893 - Hermann Goering, Reichsmarshall/propoganda minister (Nazi Germany)
1899 - Paul H. Müller, Swiss chemist (DDT-Nobel 1948)
1902 - Ibn Abdul-Aziz Saud, King (Saudi Arabia); Simon H. Spoor, Dutch General/Intelligence Officer for General MacArthur
1903 - Igor V. Kurtshatov, Russian nuclear physicist (1st Russian nuclear bomb)
1906 - Henny Youngman England, comedian (Take my wife please...)
1908 - Ben Seijes Dutch historian (WWII)
1914 - Edqard John Gurney, politician
1915 - Ernest Armstrong, miner/politician
1915 - Frank Annunzio (Representative-IL); Joseph Roy George Ralston pilot
1916 - A. P(ieter) W. Botha, President of South Africa
1920 - James Farmer Marshall, civil rights leader
1941 - Jaime B. Fuster (Representative-PR, 1985-92)
1942 - Vladimir Sergeyevich Kozelsky, cosmonaut (Soyuz 24 backup)
1950 - Bob McEwen (Representative-OH)
1951 - Rush Hudson Limbaugh III, conservative radio & television host

Passings
0689 - Benedict Biscop, English saint
1049 - Abu Sa'id ibn Aboa al-Chair, Persian mystic, dies at 81
1167 - Aelred of Hexham/Rievaulx, English abbot/saint, dies at about 56
1517 - Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Spanish conquistador/admiral, beheaded at 41
1519 - Maximilian I of Hapsburg, German kaiser
1759 - Anne of Hannover, English princess, dies at 49
1928 - Ruth Snyder, 1st woman to die in electric chair
1943 - Jan R.T. Campert, Dutch resistance fighter/poet (18 Dead), dies at 40
1970 - Blanche Stuart Scott, US pilot, dies at 84
1978 - Nancy Spungen, stabbed to death by boyfriend Sid Vicious
1992 - Harry van Doorn, Dutch MP (KVP/KRO-chairman/PPR/CRM), dies at 76
1996 - Peggy Braithwaite, lighthouse-keeper, dies at 76
1997 - Charles Huggins, surgeon/medical researcher, dies at 95

Reported Missing in Action
1967
Kemp, Clayton Charles, Jr., USN (CO); SH3A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

Reinecke, Wayne Conrad, USN (OR); SH3A shot down, KIA, body not recovered

1968
Cohron, James D., US Army SF (IA)

Port, William D., US Army (PA); DIC November, 1968 - remains returned August, 1985