In the newsroom: Medevac crews on call during offensive
Published: July 24, 2009
The offensive in southern Afghanistan hasn't come without its casualties for U.S. and NATO forces there. Stripes reporter Drew Brown tells us that over the last few weeks helicopter ambulance crews from the 2nd Platoon “Gypsies” of Company C, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade have pulled dozens of wounded — and sometimes dead — U.S., British and Afghan troops from the battlefield. Brown's dispatch takes you to the battlefield and safelyback out again with a group of dedicated medevac crewmembers. Said Spc. Nicole Hyde: “War is bad. Killing someone is bad. But saving someone is good. If I can go out every day and avoid killing somebody, but I get to save someone instead, then kudos for the medevac.”
In Seoul, Stripes' Ashley Rowland stopped in to a job fair targeting North Korean defectors. Escaping the repressive communist regime is only part of their struggle. Once in South Korea, many are finding it difficult to adapt.They find themselves undereducated and undertrained for all but the most menial labor. “Many of them have lived their whole lives in North Korea, working on the farm or in simple labor jobs. They can’t get a good job here,” said Kim Ji-won of the Ministry of Reunification, which organized the job fair.
Elsewhere, the Obama administration has awarded its first Medal of Honor -- posthumously to Sgt. Jared Monti, who was credited with saving the lives of fellow soldiers before he was killed in a firefight on June 21, 2006, in Afghanistan.
Also, the U.S. has adopted a new policy in Afghanistan. They will no longer release to the media the number of enemy fighters killed in battle. It's part of the new approach under Gen. McChrystal, which emphasizes improving quality of life for Afghans and downplays combat operations.
