Iraqi Army, 3/6 Marines cooperate for care in Al Anbar

Apr 30, 2007 at 1:22 PM
9 comments

Couple of great photographs here from our correspondent with 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, Lance Cpl. Christopher Zahn. This is Zahn's second tourto Iraq and he's doing some good work. These photos are for his story about a recent "cooperative medical engagement," or CME, in Albu Assaf. Iraqi Army medics accompanied by 3/6 Marines with the Military Transition Team, or MTT, provided the best medical care available to most of the citizens for years.

You can read the entire story here, but I've excerpted a little of it below.

When civilians in this riverside area need medical care they often have nowhere to turn. There are no hospitals, medical clinics or doctors here. That leaves them with one other option: the Iraqi Army soldiers who work every day to make the area more secure.

To help these innocent civilians, a team of Iraqi medics and soldiers of 1^st Brigade, 3^rd Battalion, 1^st Iraqi Army Division, opened the doors of a schoolhouse for a cooperative medical engagement (CME) April 28. They were joined by Marines from the Military Transition Team, a team that originated from 3^rd Battalion, 6^th Marine Regiment, who helped the Iraqis provide care and general treatment for the patients living along the

Love the expression on the little girl's face. Just to address it, she's like any kid: nervously curious about strangers with whom her daddy is interacting.

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It seems to be a common trait among military medics, regardless of branch or nation of origin. Without exception they all take great pride in their profession, and treat it very seriously. There is so much good news in Al Anbar it is difficult to chronicle it all with only a handful of combat correspondents. We have had a lot of embeds out here, including JD Johannes (blogger), Andrew Lubin (blogger) and Kirk Semple (NY Times) among others, who have done a good job of capturing their experiences on the ground. I urge you to seek out via Google the news coming from Al Anbar written by the men and women who work out here, either through milblogs, civilian bloggers like JD and Andrew who embed with military units or civilian reporters such as Kirk.

And as usual, my desire is that you keep checking back here and interacting with us.

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Nice pics. I'm sure it feels good to providing medical care someplace where it's really needed.

[this is good]

hi combat team 6 how's it going today? question how many members of combat team 6 were killed i know at least one and how many injured. just asking bc my brother's on combat team 6. and how many members of combat team 6? hope you guys have a safe day!!!! everyone in long beach supports you guys everyone has something on their car or house and tons of flags. hoo haa

Mickeywibs replied to long beach ny usa’s comment:
May 3, 2007
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long beach ny usa,

Because I have a son is with the 3/6, which is part of RCT-6, I took your question very personally. In light of recent events, your causal question of how many injured and how many killed has brought me to tears. If you truely have a brother in Iraq, you should understand. The war has a face, it my son's, it's your brother's. A Marine that I love dearly carried a fallen hero into camp almost 2 weeks ago. A Marine that I love dearly watched as the truck ahead of him exploded as it ran over an IED carrying his 2 of best buddies. One is recovering in Iraq and one was sent home. I am consumed with their well being, prayers for the Marines and especially for their families. I am in touch with many families on a daily basis. The "tally" is not whats important, the fact that there is even one KIA or one WIA is one too many. As our heroes continue their work, let's concentrate on their safety, remember their daily challenges and pray for their safe return....for ALL of their safe return. The war has a face and its hanging on my living room wall.