US National Guard troops land in Suriname on humanitarian mission
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| Published on Monday, July 21, 2008 |
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By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: ivan@caribbeannetnews.com
PARAMARIBO, Suriname: Troops from the South Dakota Army National Guard arrived in Suriname for a three-month stint to participate in the Beyond the Horizon 2008 humanitarian exercise. Ninety-three members of the 155th Engineer Company, the 153rd Engineer Battalion and the 730th Medical Company will be conducting renovations projects and provide medical care in rural areas in Suriname in an exercise which is aiming at fostering goodwill and strengthening cooperation between Suriname and South Dakota in various fields.
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South Dakota's top general, Major-General Steven Doohen. Photo by
Ivan Cairo |
According to South Dakota’s top general, Major-General Steven Doohen, the state partnership agreement signed with Suriname in August 2006 will provide mutual benefits for both parties.
He further added that the state partnership’s goal is to establish wide ranging cooperation between Suriname and South Dakota at all levels of society.
During meetings Doohen had with several cabinet ministers and other government officials, several field of cooperation have already been identified, including medical care, tourism, agriculture and trade.
“Suriname has a great potential for eco-tourism and we want to build up a relationship and become equal partners in doing business”, Doohen said in an invited comment.
Furthermore both sides will explore avenues to provide proper treatment for Surinamese ex-soldiers who are suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSS).
A large number of former servicemen who were in battle during Suriname’s internal armed struggle from 1986-1992 are suffering from PTSS but never received proper care and treatment.
“We have to find better ways to treat this soldiers,” said Doohen who served for over 30 years in the US Army.
During a meeting with the press, Suriname Defence Minister, Ivan Fernald, noted, that “cooperation between medical hospitals in Suriname and South Dakota will be further explored as both parts expressed interest in sharing information”.
Both sides have also hinted at strengthened cooperation in the field of pediatrics.
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| A female member of the South Dakota National Guard at duty at a health clinic in Houttuin, Suriname. Photo by Ivan Cairo |
US ambassador to Suriname, Lisa Bobbie Schreiber-Hughes, indicated that although Suriname and the US are strengthening military ties, the “underlying objective is humanitarian”.
Since the US Southern Command has the resources, the personnel and need the experience it is willing to provide assistance to Suriname where necessary, said the diplomat.
She further stressed that the cooperation with the South Dakota National Guard also have several benefits since the members are “civilian soldiers”, who in their everyday life are either “nurses, business people, academics or working in constructions”.
“So when you have a partnership with the guards you absolutely have a military partnership, but you also have a civilian partnership,” Schreiber-Hughes added.
During the three-month exercise the South Dakota soldiers will renovate three schools and three medical centers.
Meanwhile soldiers from the Army Reserve´s 858th Medical Company (Dental Services) from Pennsylvania concluded their mission in the Para and Brokopondo districts where over 1,000 patients received dental treatment. They performed dental cleaning, shot X-rays, filled cavities and pulled more than 1,200 teeth.
During the week-long exercise an average of 130 individuals, including school children, were treated. This was the first of three medical exercises included in the Beyond the Horizon 2008 exercise. It will be followed by a medical and veterinarian exercise in late July. | | | | Reads : 267 |
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