European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages stars and stripes wednesday april 18 2007 heart transplant Doest slow Down army reservist by John Milburn the associated press Hutchinson Kan As a professional Soldier John fair Banks want about to let what he Calls a medical procedure end his army career but his Superior officers told the 38yearold sergeant that the procedure a heart transplant precluded him from service now nearly two years after the surgery Fairbanks fight to save his life and his Job has paid off Hes been Given a clean Bill of health and a Post in the army re serves just like peddling in the wind you put your head Down and pedal harder said Fairbanks who was Fin Ishing a Bicy Cle race when he suffered the heart at tack that eventually led to the trans Plant his doctors Are amazed at his recovery which they at tribute to his military regi men of physical fitness be fore the heart attack sgt fair Banks represents the commitment to protect human life by continuing to serve his nation in uni form said army spokes woman maj Anne Edge comb he also represents All sol Diers by Liv ing the War Hun us army sgt 1st class John fair Banks talks about his heart trans Plant surgery while sitting in his office in Hutchinson Kan rior ethos i will not accept de feat i will not quit ten soldiers have received heart transplants in the past seven years but Only one remains on Active duty service she said Fairbanks ordeal began when he started feeling dizzy on april 2 2005 while approaching the final Hill of a 50mile race in the Kansas Flint Hills he coasted to the finish but the tightness in his Chest didst go away during the Ivi hour drive Home to Hutchinson he didst feel any better so he went to a local Hospital where doctors determined he was having a Mas Sive heart attack the left Side of his heart had been without blood for several hours he needed emergency bypass surgery the surgery didst produce the desired results so Fairbanks went to see or Hussam farhoud in Wichita who was amazed fair Banks was still have he had no warning whatsoever that he was having a heart at tack farhoud said when he came to see me he said i want you to do something because i cant live like this pm Young and i have a Young family he was in tears Fairbanks a father of two was sent to lds Hospital in Salt Lake City where he received the heart of a 19yearold from Montana two weeks later i Felt better instantaneously i guess i didst know How sick i was because youre in denial and you dont notice it too much be cause its you he said a few weeks later he was Back on his Bicy Cle still Doc tors at fort Riley who evaluated Fairbanks three months after his trans Plant said the medications he was taking to keep his body from rejecting the new heart would pre vent him from doing his Job Fairbanks asked the army for time to Recu Perate hear Gued that be cause Hes a career Counse Lor he was unlikely to be sent to Iraq or Afghanistan but the army told him in the summer of 2006 to pick a Date for retirement he chose oct 15 to give him time to make one last Appeal How do you Wake up and say in not going to be a Soldier just because i had a medical proce Dure he asked the army to evaluate him again and submitted More documentation including eight medals he won at the us trans Plant games in Louisville by in basketball cycling and swim Ming on oct 15 Fairbanks went to fort Riley expecting to retire instead he was told his Appeal had been granted the same thing that drives me now is what drove me before i want to be All i can be or army Strong i guess now is the phrase Fairbanks said refer ring to the army new recruiting slogan Flag raped coffins of us War casualties Are seen aboard a cargo plane in Dover Del department of us War deaths at highest rate by Shashani Bengali Mcclatchy newspapers Baghdad Over the past six months Ameri can troops have died in Iraq at the highest rate since the War began an indication that the conflict is be coming increasingly dangerous for us forces even after More than four years of fighting from october 2006 through last month 532 Amer ican service members were killed the most during any six month period of the War March also marked the first time the us military suffered four straight months of 80 or More fatalities april with at least 58 service members killed through monday is on Pace to be one of the deadliest months of the conflict for american forces senior american military officials attribute much of the increase to the Baghdad Security crackdown now in its third month but the rate of fatalities was increasing even before a More aggressive strategy began moving us troops from heavily fortified bases into smaller neighbourhood outposts through out the capital placing them at greater risk of Road Side bombings and Small arms attacks Roadside bombs have Long been the no 1 killer of american troops in Iraq since october officials said insurgents have been employing More sophisticated devices with the most lethal results coming in Baghdad nearly 38 percent of military deaths since october have occurred in the capital compared with 29 percent Over the previous 12 months Accord ing to the Iraq coalition casualty count an Independent us based web site that monitors military and civilian casualties at the same time insurgents Are leaving Baghdad to escape the crackdown and in recent weeks us and iraqi troops have launched major operations outside the capital some of the heaviest fighting has occurred in Dyala province Northeast of Baghdad where 44 american service members have died so far this than in the previous 22 months combined on monday the military announced the deaths of seven More american troops three soldiers in Baghdad and two marines in Anbar province on monday and two soldiers in fal Lujah on saturday the deaths brought the total number of american military fatalities in Iraq to 3305 according to Casu Altie sorg in the past us fatalities had a tendency to Spike in months of heavy combat then drop to lower lev Els in subsequent months april 2004 and november 2004 were the deadliest months of the War for Amer ican forces due mostly to intense combat in Iraq Western Anbar province but those High death tolls quickly dropped for example the death toll in april 2004 was 135 but fell to 42 two months later the november 2004 toll was 137 but dropped to 58 in february 2005 and 35 the following month the past several months however have brought the longest period of sustained heavy casualties since us troops entered Iraq in March 2003 de Cember saw 112 soldiers die the most since novem Ber 2004 and the subsequent three months registered 8380 and 81 fatalities respectively under the new Security plan Baghdad has sup planted Anbar As the deadliest Region for american forces of the 58 deaths so far in april 34 have occurred in the capital the figures include All deaths not just those that the military says occurred due to hostile action Carrier needed for Grafe Woehr Hillesheim and Vilseck for More information please Contact Tom at 01726707342