MIXING IT UP - U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Diego Gamboa, left, a Ghanaian soldier, and U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Victorio Castillo mix cement to build a new school library in Mafi-Anfoe, Guam, April 9, 2008. Gamboa and Castillo are assigned to Maritime Expeditionary Security Squadron 32. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Campbell...

AD BOUYA, Djibouti (April 9, 2008) Senior Chief Petty Officer Andre Parks gives candy to village children while Chief Petty Officer Charles Grevious talks to a teenager during the dedication ceremony for a well built by the 1133rd Engineering Detachment of the North Carolina Army National Guard assigned to Joint Task Force – Horn of Africa. The well will provide potable drinking water to the people and livestock of Ad Bouya. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Eric Kreps) (Released)

April 10, 2008 A Capitol Experience. Photo by Cherie Cullen. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates poses for a photo with a Soldier and his family during a reception celebrating the organization "Our Military Kids" in Washington, D.C., April 7, 2008. The organization, founded by Linda Davidson and Gail Kruzel two years ago, has raised and distributed more than $1 million for children of Guard and Reserve Soldiers.

Cadet 3rd Class Nate Moeller, Cadet Squadron 1, works on the roof of a Habitat for Humanity home. Cadet Moeller is one of 65 Air Force Academy cadets giving up their spring break this week, to build homes for the needy in Santa Fe, N.M.; Cody, Wyoming; El Paso, Texas; and Beaumont, Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo/John Van Winkle)

Capt. John Peltier teaches a Chilean orphan how to take pictures at Koinomadelfia Orphanage April 3 west of Santiago, Chile. Twenty Airmen participating in the FIDAE air show took a break from aircraft displays and demonstrations to visit more than 30 preschool-aged children at the orphanage to hand out toys, patches and stickers. Koinomadelfia is home to 80 children who have been rescued from domestic violence situations. The FIDAE air show hosts aircraft from 42 countries and is the largest event of its kind in South America. Captain Peltier is assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Candace Cutrufo)  

Capt. Cale Marthens lifts up a Chilean orphan April 3 at Koinomadelfia Orphanage west of Santiago, Chile. Twenty Airmen showcased the F-15E Strike Eagles at FIDAE, the largest air show in South America. The Airmen also visited more than 30 toddlers at the orphanage and handed out toys, stickers and patches. Captain Marthens is assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Candace Cutrufo)   

Capts. John Peltier and Luke Ball show off their squadron patches to Chilean orphans at Koinomadelfia Orphanage April 3 west of Santiago, Chile. The captains supported the largest South American air show, FIDAE, where they showcased F-15E Strike Eagles to international audiences. Captains Peltier and Ball are assigned to the 391st Fighter Squadron from Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. (U.S. Air Force photo/1st Lt. Candace Cutrufo)  

STUDYING TOGETHER - U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Marcus Rodgers helps a student at Gaston Point Elementary School in Gulfport, Miss., with his studies in the Building On Our Skills Together program, April 1, 2008. Rodgers is the armory supervisor for the 25th Naval Construction Regiment. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Jeffrey R. Militzer... 

Medics provide humanitarian support in Albania. Tech. Sgt. Jacqueline Sweet-McNeil visits with children in February in Albania. Sergeant Sweet-McNeil, along with four other 109th Airlift Wing medics from the Stratton Air National Guard Base in New York, administered 1,000 Hepatitis A shots during a humanitarian mission with the New Jersey National Guard. (Courtesy photo)

MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan, April 2, 2008 – The Manas Air Base Outreach Society and the local Children's Heart Ward recently passed a milestone in the community. With support, donations and hope from the base, two doctors who perform heart surgeries for free recently performed their 100th surgery.

During a trip to meet the doctors and the 100th patient on March 29, a small group of Manas Air Base personnel also visited with the 99th and 101st heart surgery patients, and played with some of the kids on the ward still awaiting treatment.

"I'm very pleased with the years of our friendship," said Dr. Kaldarbek Abdramanov, director and professor of surgery in the local Institute of Cardiac Surgery and Organ Transplantation. "I hope we can continue this partnership for many years." Abdramanov said the children's heart ward receives patients from all over Central Asia, but they only are able to help a fraction of them because of the cost. "Most families here live under the line of poverty, and to have a sick child with a medical condition adds a great strain on a family," he said.

"Doctors are supposed to tell the truth, and so I tell you that the Americans help us a lot -- your support is important. "The government doesn't have the means to help everyone, and the families don't have the money. So when Americans showed up and gave us support, it helped a great deal," he said. "Even if you helped just a little, it would be a big deal for us, but you have helped a lot."

Manas Air Base airmen assist the heart ward by covering the fee for the “oxygenator,” a piece of equipment needed for each surgery that costs $560. The Manas Air Base Outreach Society has addressed that need with its Children's Heart Ward focus group. Airmen raise money to pay for the oxygenators for heart surgeries and sometimes for other types of surgeries so that even more children can be assisted. The 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group held a fundraiser to support the 100th surgery, explained the 376th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron KC-135 section chief, Master Sgt. Scott Kaulig, who is deployed to Manas from Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash. "The maintenance group asked for donations to support the 100th surgery," the Cincinnati, Ohio, native said.

The simple tactic worked. In fact, the outpouring of support was so great, the group ended up funding the 101st surgery as well. "I'm very proud of the group and the (817th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, Detachment 1) C-17 airmen for donating the money to help," Kaulig said. Abdramanov explained that his clinic supports the 5 million people in the Kyrgyz Republic, and his ward sees about 2,000 to 3,000 adult patients annually. They can only fully support about 400 to 500 a year. It isn't for lack of skill, but lack of funding. He explained that his clinic has doctors who are as qualified as doctors and surgeons in Europe. The situation is the same for the children. The clinic sees about 5,000 to 6,000 children annually and is only able to help about 300 children a year.

"Heart surgeries are very expensive, and that's why most hospitals have a lot of financial difficulties," he said. "But I can't thank you for your help enough. You Americans are modest and don't make a big deal of it; you help and expect nothing in return." Dr. Samudin Shabyralier, a heart surgeon who's been with the children's heart ward since Manas Air Base supported the first surgery, has seen the benefit of the long-term partnership. "I'm very pleased with the support from the Americans," he said. "I hope that we can work together for many years. For him, it is also about helping people. "The reason I stay involved is because I have a 3-year-old son of my own, and I love to help others any chance I get," Shabyralier said.

"God sees everything and everyone; we have some well off people this country that do not help as much as they could. And what you do is important. I know that I've given a lot of my time helping others, but I still feel that it's not enough." Abdramanov expressed similar sentiments. "For me, I must help; just to see a child smiling again is reason enough for me,” he said. Whatever the reason for the generosity, Sakin Tumenbaeva, mother of the 100th patient, Alymbekov Amanbek, was appreciative of the support. "Thank you to all who helped," Tumenbaeva said through an interpreter. "If it wasn't for you, I don't know who I could have turned to. I'm thankful for you all." (Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jerome Baysmore is assigned to 376th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

Photo Credit and Description: Air Force Chaplain, (Capt.) Arthur McCaffrey, of 376th Air Expeditionary Wing, and airmen from Manas Air Base Outreach Society visit the Children's Heart Ward to celebrate the 100th heart surgery and meet the staff and patients March 29, 2008. Manas Air Base airmen assist the heart ward by covering the cost for the oxygenator, a piece of equipment needed for each surgery that costs $560. The society has addressed that need with its Children's Heart Ward focus group, and airmen raise money to pay for the oxygenators for heart surgeries and sometimes for other types of surgeries so that even more children can be assisted. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jerome Baysmore.....

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (March 18, 2008) Seabees assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74 and U.S. Army Soldiers from the 402nd Civil Affairs Battalion deliver backpacks and school supplies to students at Salaladin Mosque. Salaladin Mosque is being used as a temporary school while NMCB-74 refurbishes the Abadir Primary School. The Seabees are refurbishing the school's ceilings, bathrooms, classrooms and the administration building as part of a Combined Joint Task Force-Horn of Africa community service project. U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jeremy T. Lock (Released)

U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Kristin M. McBeath, a hospital corpsman, assigned to the USS Essex, holds a young girl, while a medical officer examines her mother on Nov. 28, 2007, during a Medical and Dental Civic Action Project in the Kampong Cham region of Cambodia. U.S. Navy Photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class (AW) Christian Lemus.

Army Spc. Karla Tyson shows “Elmo,” an Afghan child injured in a roadside bomb blast, how to pull individual Matchbox cars out of the set just given to him at the American Hospital at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. Photo courtesy of Combined Joint Task Force 82. Story

KABUL, Afghanistan (March 17, 2008) — Senior Airman Felicita Torres-Perkins, an International Security Assistance Force medic, passes out internal parasite treatment medication to children in Jarullah village.

U.S. military medical teams provide care in Honduras. Senior Airman Shirley Taylor (left) prepares instruments as Capt. (Dr.) Megan McChesney and Lt. Col. (Dr.) Dave Zumbro remove a cataract from the eye of a patient Feb. 26 in Tela, Honduras. Cataract removal composes the largest portion of the procedures U.S. military doctors perform on elderly patients receiving care during eye surgical medical readiness training exercises. A 12-person joint ophthalmological eye surgery team conducted more than 70 surgeries as part of a U.S. Southern Command-sponsored MEDRETE Feb. 18 through 29. Airman Taylor is an opthomology technician. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Capt. Michael Riegler, a 332nd Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron nurse, hugs Amil, the mother of Al Amreeki, a 3-year-old burn victim, after she formally thanked the staff March 19 at the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, for saving her son's life. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jeffrey Allen) 

KOJE-DO, Republic of Korea (March 15, 2008) Steelworker 3rd Class Kurt W. Hennigan attached to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 5 interacts with a resident of the Aikawangwon Orphanage in Koje-do, Republic of Korea (ROK). Seabees for (NMCB) 5 along with Sailors of the ROK Navy Engineering Command participated in a community relations project at the orphanage to improve quality of life for its residents. U.S. Navy photo (Released).

Amenah Thabit, 2, smiles aboard a C-130 Hercules aircraft, March 7, 2008, after she and her mother, Maha Muhamed Bandar, right, returned from the United States where Amenah had heart surgery. Amenah's father, Al'a Thabit Fattah, left, welcomes them home to Haditha, Iraq. A U.S. Marine discovered Amenah on a routine patrol and fellow Marines helped raise money to send her and her mother to the U.S. for treatment.   U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Shawn Coolman......  

POHANG, Republic of Korea (Feb. 29, 2008) Capt. F. Winton Smith, commanding officer of the guided-missile destroyer USS Higgins (DDG 76), spins a child while playing games at the House of Love Orphanage during a port visit. Higgins is participating in the bi-lateral exercise Key Resolve/Foal Eagle 2008 with the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Gretchen M. Roth (Released)

USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, At Sea (NNS) -- A civilian diver was rescued March 6 off the coast of Florida after the U.S. Coast Guard requested USS Theodore Roosevelt's (CVN 71) assistance in a search effort. An SH-60F Seahawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron (HS) 5 the "Nightdippers," participated in the Coast Guard-led search, and successfully located the diver. The Nightdippers helicopter transported the diver to Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Fla., where he was transferred to civilian medical care. "Providing assistance to mariners in distress is the obligation of every ship and Sailor at sea," said Capt. Ladd Wheeler, commanding officer, USS Theodore Roosevelt. "We were ready and willing to join in the search effort, and extremely pleased that the individual was rescued." Theodore Roosevelt is currently conducting operations off the Florida coast. Release Date: 3/7/2008 10:21:00 AM-By Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nathan Lockwood, USS Theodore Roosevelt Public Affairs.

Army Spc. Faroumi Nyaljok, from Glendale, Ariz., an interpreter with 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, is greeted by Sheik Kasum, leader of the Narhwan, Iraq, Sons of Iraq citizen security group, March 5, 2008. While the two spoke, group members unloaded 240 cases of bottled water provided by 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team for the town’s people. Photo by Spc. Ben Hutto, USA  

Children take a break from playing during a Cooperative Medical Engagement event in as-Saqlawiyah, Iraq, Feb. 29. The event took place at the village schoolhouse and provided free medical treatment to more than 200 civilians in the community. Iraqi culture discourages male-female interaction in public, so a female team provided care and posted security for women and children. The CME events are continuous throughout Al Anbar Province and are part of the Iraqi Women's Engagement program driven by the U.S. Department of State. Photo by: Cpl. Ben Eberle Photo ID: 20083412580 Submitting Unit: 1st Marine Logistics Group Photo Date:02/29/2008.

Master Sgt. Kevin Coleman hands out toys to orphaned children at the Osu Children's Home Feb. 18 in Accra, Ghana. Twenty-five Airmen visited the home to hand out more than $500 worth of supplies they purchased through personal donations. The Airmen are part of a joint task force providing infrastructure, aircraft and personnel in support of President George Bush's visits to Benin, Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana and Liberia Feb. 16 through 21. Sergeant Coleman is a Joint Task Force West weather craftsman. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Denise Johnson)

Cpl. Jessica A. Cox, a 24-year-old from Waynesville, Mo., controls the flow of patients at a Cooperative Medical Engagement event in as-Saqlawiyah, Iraq, Feb. 29. The event provided free medical treatment to more than 200 civilians in the community. Iraqi culture discourages male-female interaction in public, so a female team provided care and posted security for women and children. The CME events are continuous throughout Al Anbar Province. The combined effort between Iraqi personnel and coalition forces is part of the Iraqi Women's Engagement program driven by the U.S. Department of State. Cox is deployed to Camp Taqaddum as a utility electrician with Marine Wing Support Squadron 272, 2nd Marine Air Wing. Photo by: Cpl. Ben Eberle  Photo ID: 200834113318 Submitting Unit: 1st Marine Logistics Group Photo Date:02/29/2008. 

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