European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Mission Africa military flies in medical help Story and photos by Rourk Sheehan moments before his plane landed at the Remote Village of Ayoun in the Sahara desert of Central Mauritania capt. Or David Mahoney was summoned to the cockpit of the air Force c-130. Mahoney an internist at the 97th general Hospital in Frankfurt West Germany was t needed for his medical skills but for his knowledge of French. The pilots did t know French and the voice on the radio at the tiny Airstrip did no to speak English. Quot i told the pilots that my mos military occupational specially changes daily and today it was air traffic control Quot Mahoney said. Quot i knew knowing French was going to be an asset in treating patients but that was a  the plane landed without a hitch and another Dusty 100-degree Day of treating patients began for members of me Flag Mauritania a 10-Day medical exercise conducted in july in the West african country. The 67-member humanitarian civic assistance Mission was sponsored by Headquarters . European come at the request of the state department. It was conducted by the 7th medical come with support from the mauritanian government and defense forces. Most members of the team were from the contingency response team at the army s 97th general. They included doctors nurses medics and other specialists and support personnel. He use com sponsors two african me Flag exercises each year. The unit conducting the missions rotates Between Usa eur and Safe. Quot one of the major dividends in this program insofar As use com medical elements Are concerned is increased tuning of mobility procedures enhanced and realistic Field training experiences and scientific Contact with third world health problems Quot said it. Col. Jim Robson the he use com director of the african medical exercise program. Quot Mauritania was one of the harshest environments we be had to Deal with what with the Sand wind heat Sun flies mosquitoes humidity and sanitary conditions Quot said maj. Terry Allmond an environmental science officer with 7th medical come. He has been on several me Flag missions. The Mission to Mauritania had three Basic objectives according to it. Col. Mike Startzell an Oral surgeon and commander of the contingency response team from the 97th. A the first goal was to train our own people the second was to help train mauritanian medical personnel and the third was to conduct the me Caps medical civilian assistance programs Quot Startzell said. Quot we got some excellent training in deploying and learning to get along in this environment. I m very Happy with the Way the team performed and the spirit they showed under difficult  mauritanian medical personnel got three Days of classroom training in the capital Nouakchott covering such topics As trauma management. The . Team then helped the mauritanian conduct and evaluate a mass casualty exercise in which the local military and civilian medical personnel tested their abilities to respond to a major Accident with up to 40 simulated casualties. The scenario was a simulated air crash with victims scattered Over several Hundred meters of Sand dunes. Quot the mauritanian put their training to Good use and did an outstanding Job Quot said col. Or Michael Benenson the Mission commander. The me Caps took teams throughout the country to give care to villagers most of whom receive Little or no medical care. Some of the Sites were at shanty towns of wooden shacks or tents in Nouakchott population maj. Cynthia Woodling a nurse at 97th, uses hand signals to communicate with patients. About 600,000 others were at biblical looking desert villages built of Sand coloured bricks. Mauritania is the size of California and Texas combined but it has a population of Only 1.8 million. The team working in three groups out of a soccer stadium where they stayed in Nouakchott conducted me Caps in 13 villages. They provided medical and dental treatment and immunizations. The teams travelled to the villages in trucks supplied by the mauritanian army or via the Usan c-130 that had carried the team from Frankfurt. Armed mauritanian soldiers accompanied me Flag members on each Madcap and provided around the clock guards at the soccer stadium. Most of the team members Many of whom had never been to a third world country before expressed Shock at the health conditions they encountered. Quot what care we did give was exceedingly fulfilling Quot said maj. Shirley Hill chief nurse. Quot but on the other hand there is a degree of sadness that we  do  Quot there Are so Many More problems than we could Ever Hope to solve one feels inadequate to the task Quot said maj. Or Michael Gannon an orthopaedic surgeon from Frankfurt who extended his tour so that he could go on the Mission. Quot one of the things that hit me hardest was making rounds in the Hospital in Atar. There were patients lying on the floor in Sand and a Goat standing in the doorway. The doctor there was doing the Best he could but he did no to have the Medicine to Deal with  nearly 100 percent Muslim Mauritania s people Are an ethnic mixture of primarily Arab berber in the upper three quarters of the country and Black african along the Southern Border. The official language is French but Many villagers speak Only has Aniya arabic. The team had a few members who spoke French. Several peace corps workers and . Embassy personnel also provided help with translation. Often two interpreters were needed at one time. A i would ask a question in English a peace corps worker would translate in French to a mauritanian Soldier who would relay the question in arabic to the patient Quot said capt. Or Stephen Palmer a paediatrician in Frankfurt who spent three years in the peace corps prior to joining the army. Quot then the answer would go Back through the Chain. Quot it was difficult at times but i found that parents asked the same questions about growth and development that parents ask me in Frankfurt. Many of the children were in pretty Good health considering the Page 16 a a a the stars and Stripe saturday september 22, 1990