January 4, 2007

Army Vets Help Iraqi Animals


Story and photo by Spc. Chris McCann
2nd BCT, 10th Mtn. Div.


FOB YUSUFIYAH — In the rural areas south of Baghdad, homes are often made of mud and roofed with sheet metal or mats made of beaten reeds. A cow or two and a flock of sheep in the yard complete the scene. But animals can get sick, and due to terrorism – whether sect-against-sect or against coalition forces - travel is dangerous for veterinarians, too.

To begin addressing this issue, the Multi-National Division – Baghdad veterinarian, Lt. Col. Neil Ahle, and several Soldiers of the 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) conducted a veterinary operation in a schoolyard in Al-Taraq, Iraq Dec. 22.

“One problem of the country at large is the infrastructure,” Ahle said, noting that while schools are opening and water treatment plants are coming back on line, medical and veterinary care in rural areas is still floundering.
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(Photo: Lt. Col. Neil Ahle (left), Multinational Division-Baghdad veterinary officer, gives a lamb a dose of wormer at a veterinary operation in Al-Taraq, Iraq, as the shepherd holds the lamb still. The operation, conducted by Ahle and Soldiers of Company C, 4th Battalion, 31st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (LI), treated about 100 animals for worms and provided vaccinations and vitamin injections for the livestock that forms a critical part of the local economy.)

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