KABUL, Afghanistan - When an Afghan civilian is injured in a remote area of Afghanistan, there is little chance of receiving proper medical treatment.
But not when it happens right outside the gate of the joint Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Bala Baluk.
A 16-year-old truck driver from Herat, was working on his semi when it rolled backward over his foot, tearing the skin from his toes to his ankle. The Afghan National Police (ANP) officers, who witnessed the event, reacted quickly and brought Berza into the FOB to see the military medics.
In the Afghan Regional Security Integration Command-West (ARSIC-W) medical facility, Illinois Army National Guard Medics, Spc. Dennis Deuth and Spc. Whitney Meyers were on scene along with an ISAF doctor, Italian Army 1st Lieutenant Andrea Carbonara to treat the injured civilian.
"There was a six-inch laceration on the top of the patient's foot," said Meyers. "We wrapped it up to try to control the bleeding and padded it with a splint for protection. Finally, we gave him a pain killer and an antibiotic and got him evacuated to a hospital."
The team of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and ARSIC-W medical personnel stabilized the injured foot and called for a medical evacuation.
They decided that the evacuation was necessary because bleeding at the site of the boy's injury was difficult to control and sending him off by taxi to Herat or Farah could put his life at risk.
Traditionally, medical evacuations are not called for civilians, who are not injured by actions of military force, but the team was able to make it happen that day.
Within 45 minutes of the call for help, a U.S. helicopter arrived to take Berza to the base of Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) Farah for immediate attention by U.S. surgeons.
"We took X-Rays and moved him to the Operating Room where the Forward Surgical Team surgeon, and the Orthopedic surgeon from the Air Force team examined him and determined he was very lucky that he didn't break any bones," said Army Capt. Shawn Tulp, nurse and head of the Forward Surgical Team at PRT Farah.
"It was incredible. As soon as he was out of surgery and awake, he was out the door in an hour," Tulp added. "He was only here for three hours from beginning to end. The fact that he didn't even have one broken bone after a vehicle rolled over his foot is highly impressive."
The FOB at Bala Baluk is home to ANP, Afghan National Army, Italian Army, ISAF troops and ARSIC-W mentors. It is a small FOB in a remote area where all forces combine their efforts to bring security and stability to their region of responsibility in Farah Province.
"We are here to assist and work with the local people," stated Meyers. If they see that we are here to help them help themselves, they will see that we really are the good guys and rather than fight us, work with us."