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Leading
a congressional delegation to U.S. military facilities supporting
the global war on terror, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Chairman
Steve Buyer (IN-04) on August 15 inspected the military's capability
to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers returning
from combat, and shared a GI meal with soldiers from their home
states. From left, delegation members Buyer, John Salazar (D-Colo.),
John Boozman (R-Ark.) and Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James
Nicholson learn about the capabilities of the U.S. Military Hospital
Kuwait, located at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait http://www.arcent.army.mil/news/archive/2005_news/february/military_hospital.asp
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Congressman
Buyer stands with proud Hoosier soldiers at Camp Arifjan. |
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Flanked
by Hoosiers at Camp Anaconda, Congressman Buyer stands proudly with
members of the Army Reserve's 209th Quartermaster Company, headquartered
in Lafayette, Indiana. The company arrived in Iraq this month to serve
its second Operation Iraqi Freedom tour. |
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A
four-star greeting in Baghdad is extended by Gen. George Casey, Multi-National
Force-Iraq commanding general, who gave VA Secretary Nicholson (left),
Congressman Buyer, Rep. Salazar and Rep. Boozman a briefing on their
arrival from Kuwait, August 16. General Casey stressed the progress
of the Iraqi security forces being trained by his command, and their
growing ability to carry out missions formerly undertaken by Coalition
forces. |
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Congressman
Steve Buyer (R-Ind.), on the left, with Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani,
on August 16. |
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Showing
examples of improvements in individual body armor to his fellow congressmen,
Steve Buyer at Camp Fallujah on August 17 emphasizes the importance
of developing armor that weighs less and protects against both penetration
and blast. Buyer's leadership on this issue was reflected in a recent
Marine Corps decision to research better helmets. While in Iraq, whenever
he encountered a Marine, Buyer asked whether or not they had received
the new helmet inserts. Within thirty-six hours, a directive was issued
to all Marine Commanders that an assessment must be done to determine
those with or without lightweight helmets throughout the Middle East.
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A
soldier recuperating at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, tells Congressman
Buyer (R-Ind.) about the improvised explosive device that injured
his arm and destroyed his HMMWV in Iraq earlier this month. |
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Chairman
Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) eats dinner at the Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, dining
facility with an Indiana soldier on August 15 during a visit to inspect
the military's capability to provide seamless medical and dental care
for servicemembers returning from combat.
"There is a resolve for victory in this war against radical Islam,
a will to see this through. People also recognize that in addition
to defeating the enemy, victory means training Iraqis and Afghans
to stand on their own, with capable, well-equipped combat units and
the logistics to sustain them," Buyer told the troops.
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Chairman
Buyer visits with soldiers from his home state of Indiana after a
dinner at the Camp Arifjan dining facility in Kuwait on August 15. |
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A
quarter-inch deeper or an inch to the left and this Marine, recovering
from the impact of an insurgent's automatic rifle bullet on his body
armor plate, would have suffered far worse than bad bruises or a broken
rib. |
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Chairman
Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) visits with a medic of the 57th Medical Company,
beside his UH-60 air ambulance at Camp Anaconda, Iraq, on August 17.
The 57th provides "dustoff" aero medical evacuation support
and services, clears the battlefield of wounded soldiers, and moves
medical equipment, supplies, blood, and medical personnel (http://www.bragg.army.mil/www-44md/57th/default.htm
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Writing,
"If the jobs were easy - you wouldn't have been called! Godspeed,
Steve Buyer," the chairman of the House Committee on Veterans'
Affairs and Desert Storm veteran offers his thanks to troops of the
332nd Expeditionary Medical Group's theater hospital, on their Salute
to Heroes wall, in Balad, Iraq, on August 17. |
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Chairman
Buyer accepts a gift from Iraqi Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir Mohammed
Jasim, a former Iraqi Army commander who opposed the 1990 invasion
of Kuwait and was imprisoned by Saddam Hussein. |
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Face
of the Coalition, a British Army lieutenant colonel and surgeon briefs
the congressional delegation on the surgical capabilities of the 10th
Combat Surgical Hospital, in Baghdad on August 16. The 10th CSH is
a midway stage for many wounded in Iraq, who arrive here from their
unit medical stations. If necessary, they proceed to the military's
Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and to facilities in
the U.S., such as Walter Reed Army Medical Center. House Committee
on Veterans' Affairs Chairman Steve Buyer (R-Ind.) (on officer's right)
and John Boozman (behind officer) as well as John Salazar (D-Colo.)
and Secretary of Veterans Affairs R. James Nicholson visited medical
facilities in Kuwait, Iraq and Germany to assess the U.S. military's
ability to provide seamless medical and dental care for servicemembers
returning from combat.
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At
his Baghdad home, Iraq's president, Jalal Talabani (center), welcomes
the delegation, conveys the appreciation of the Iraqi people and urges
Chairman Buyer (third from left) to communicate to Congress the need
for America's continued support of his government and his nation.
From left, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad, Chairman
Buyer, President Talabani, Rep. John Salazar. Not pictured to Salazar's
left is Rep. John Boozman. |
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Landstuhl
Regional Medical Center commander, Army Col. W. Bryan Gamble (left),
briefs Chairman Buyer and VA Secretary R. James Nicholson on his hospital's
operations and describes the process that will shortly occur with
the arrival of injured soldiers medically evacuated from Iraq. "These
individuals are all heroes and I am in awe at their selflessness and
dedication," Buyer said of the medical personnel he had seen
during the trip. |
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Updated
August 23, 2006
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