10th Mountain Soldiers lend Iraqis a helping hand

MULLAH FAYAD, Iraq — Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment “Polar Bears,” 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) out of Fort Drum, N.Y., provided on-the-spot medical care for the citizens at the local school in Mullah Fayad, June 15. After walking through the streets announcing the operation, the medics saw 80 Iraqis for different ailments and pains over a four-hour period. The majority of the patients were children. “Every time we conduct a medical operation, we get a pretty good turnout of people,” said Sgt. Jason Lane, a native of Austin, Texas, and a medic with 4-31. “We try to treat as many people as we can. It makes me feel good when I see a child leave happier then when they arrived.” Although the engagement was primarily for treating minor ailments, an Iraqi male was medically evacuated from the site to Baghdad for further treatment. The medics treated a range of ailments from nausea to headaches. They also checked broken bones that had previously been examined by local doctors. Before the Soldiers departed they handed out toys and soccer balls to the Iraqi children. The Polar Bears are planning to conduct more cooperative medical engagements in Mulla Fayad in the future.