Commanding Officers Statement
To the family and friends of Charlie Surgical Company,
Life here in Haiti is treating us well. The weather is hot and humid, but we are adapting. Your Sailors and Marines are working hard to make “ Operation Secure Tomorrow ” a success. In my 18 years of Naval service I have never worked with a finer group of people.
Some of the highlights of this deployment so far:
• On the day we set-up our camp we started work at 0530: By 1000 we reported that we were ready to receive our first patient. At approximately 1400 we were informed that there was a sailor from a Coast Guard cutter off the coast of Haiti that was in need of an emergency appendectomy. A helicopter was sent out to the cutter and brought the sailor in. Our surgical team successfully performed the appendectomy and we kept the sailor in our care until he could be sent back to the U.S. to recuperate.
• We responded to a mass casualty where a truck full of Haitian citizens overturned and ran into a crowd of people. A total of 53 patients came through our surgical company, which is quite remarkable considering that we only have 69 Sailors and Marines in the Surgical Company. We have included a link to a news report on the over turned truck incident on this web page that covers the situation a little more in-depth.
• A grenade accidentally went off in the French barracks and we received two patients from the French army. Our surgeons performed life saving medical treatment with multiple operations. A unique aspect of this evolution is that French doctors and Chilean doctors responded to this emergency, so 3 different languages were being spoken during this procedure -- Spanish, French and English and it was a tremendous success. I can think of no better example to describe the challenges of expeditionary medicine than this one.
• A Marine was shot on a late night security patrol in the back of his legs by an accidental discharge of a shotgun by the Marine behind him. He was rushed to our facility where our medical team took care of his injuries.
Fortunately, not every day is as complicated as these days were. When we are not receiving a patient that is a good thing, because that means our Marines and allies are not getting hurt.
In addition to saving lives, your Sailors and Marines are a tremendous asset to the entire camp. They have followed the Admiral Mike Borda motto “ find a reason to say yes !” They have willingly pitched in to stand security watches, man working parties, set-up the morale tents and dining tents. They have fixed generators and various other equipment not only on our compound, but even at the ambassador's home and other places throughout Haiti, they have volunteered to serve food, conduct humanitarian visits to help sick Haitian people, etc. Whenever there is a tough job to do, they have done it without complaint. Your Sailors and Marines always find a reason to say, “ Yes ” rather than the annoying motto so many people have today that says, “ That's not my job !”
I know that you are as proud of your Sailors and Marines as I am. They are truly great Americans .
Sincerely,
LTJG Saad Al-Aziz
Company Commander
Charlie Surgical Company
CJTF-Haiti
