 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment BABIL, Iraq, May 25, 2011 - Suffering from a toothache in southern Iraq may land you in the chair of either of two brothers with an interesting story of adversity, perseverance, and the unique bond of identical twins.
Both men volunteered for the deployments, but Dmitry's recent arrival to the same unit in Iraq was mere coincidence, the kind of common occurrence that has kept these twins together for most of their lives. The tight bond between them was forged when their parents, Vitaly and Emma Baron of Aberdeen, N.J., decided to take them from Russia to America when they were 6 years old. "He just wanted a better life for his children," Aleksandr said, explaining why his father moved them from what is now the Ukraine to Brooklyn, N.Y. "We did everything together. We got in trouble together. We'd be in the corner together. With a twin, that can be a lot of fun," Dmitry said. The two recalled their assimilation to American culture as difficult, between learning a new language and being foreign kids in their New York neighborhood. "Being in a country that is as far as the United States is from Russia, to have him next to me was the best thing God could give me," Aleksandr said. "He was a best friend. Trying to get cultured to America is hard. With him by my side, we were partners all the way." They were not welcomed by their school-age peers, and both brothers recalled being in numerous fights during that time. This kind of adversity, they said, brought them closer together. "That's probably why we're so close and much closer than a lot of twins. We've been through a lot," Aleksandr said. Both attended Rutgers University for their undergraduate degrees and pursued their dental degrees at New York University College of Dentistry through the Health Professions Scholarship Program, offered by the Defense Department to medical and dental school students in exchange for a military service obligation. "We had a ..." "... just a drive for it," said the two, with Aleksandr finishing Dmitry's sentence in a way that seemed to be part of their normal communication pattern. Even when Dmitry decided to take a separate path and become a pilot in the Air Force, he jokingly described how he took the test and "never heard back." In their roles as combat dentists in Iraq, the two respond to dental emergencies, fill cavities and even perform cleanings to ensure soldiers remain healthy and mission-ready. Both men recounted how their jobs seemed to spill into other, more unexpected roles, as soldiers have come in with greater needs than their dental instruments can resolve. "I have people come in here to see me just because they want to talk," Aleksandr said. "They sit in the chair, they talk to me about their divorce, about family issues back home, about finance problems. I want this place to be a place for people to get away and just feel comfortable." "People are appreciative of us," Dmitry said, describing the fulfillment of his job as a dentist in this unique environment. "We're like combat stress [relievers]. We're leaders. It's a pretty big balance." Aleksandr has performed yet another role as a triage doctor, making decisions on priority of care based upon the severity of soldiers' combat wounds. "I never thought I would do something like that," he said. "I thought, 'You send me to a deployed environment, I'll take care of soldiers, I'll comfort them, listen to them, care for their teeth,' but I did not think I would be doing triage." A recent visit by Dmitry to see his brother at Kalsu brought the twin dentists together, thousands of miles from their Georgia homes. Their nearly identical appearance turned several heads as they walked side by side on the base. For the brothers, it was a chance to catch up and be together again. "He's here. It's unbelievable," Aleksandr said. "I'm praying to God that he just keeps following me." | ||
| Related Sites: U.S. Forces Iraq |
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Twin Dentists' Paths Lead to Iraq
Air Force Doctor Meets 'Oprah'
 59th Medical Wing Public Affairs LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas, May 24, 2011 - Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Van Adamson said he never imagined that he'd appear on Oprah Winfrey's television talk show -- but he has.
In 1998, Oprah made a dream come true for Adamson, who was raised in Spartanburg, S.C. As a recipient of an Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholarship, he was able to complete his undergraduate degree at Morehouse College, a private, historically black, all-male college in Atlanta, Ga. Adamson, a cardiology fellow assigned to the 59th Medical Wing here was also one of five individuals selected by the producer to appear in a short interview segment to speak about how the scholarship has impacted his life. "It was amazing to me that Oprah cared enough about me as an individual, someone she didn't know, to help me get through school and accomplish my dreams, and it was absolutely amazing that I had the chance to meet her in person and tell her thank you," said Adamson, who currently rotates duties between Wilford Hall and Brooke Army medical centers. Morehouse College is known for its outstanding graduates in the fields of education, politics, business, religion, science, medicine, dentistry, law and more. "Oprah's scholarship gave me an opportunity to continue my education and attain my goals and head to medical school," Adamson said. "Honestly, if I had not received that scholarship, I would not have been able to go back to school my sophomore year." Adamson said he was caught by surprise when the Oprah show's producer contacted his father. "First, I didn't believe my dad, and then I called and they wanted to interview me to discuss my accomplishments since graduation," he said. Adamson completed his internal medicine residency at Langley Air Force Base, Va., prior to entering the fellowship program at Wilford Hall. He served for six months at the Air Force Theater Hospital in Balad, Iraq, where he stabilized battle-wounded soldiers. "(Appearing on the Oprah show) was very exciting," he said. "Rehearsal for the taping started at 4:30 a.m. and took six hours. Everything had to be done with precision. I also had the opportunity to meet Tyler Perry, black author and playwright. It definitely will be a star-studded show." |
Afghan Security Forces Grow in Numbers, Quality
By Cheryl Pellerin American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, May 23, 2011 - The number and quality of recruits to the Afghan national security force are growing, a senior official in the training effort said here today.
"The size of the Afghan National Army has increased from 97,000 in November 2009 to over 164,000 today," Kem said, and will grow to 171,600 by summer's end. The Afghan National Police has grown from just under 95,000 in November 2009 to 126,000 today, and will reach 134,000 by fall. Taken together, Kem said, this is an increase of 98,000 recruits in 18 months that has been accompanied by a dramatic increase in quality. The literacy rate for incoming soldiers and police officers is about 14 percent, Kem said, "meaning that 86 percent of our recruits are unable to read and write at the third-grade level. This has been an enormous challenge." What began as a voluntary literacy program with less than 13,000 enrolled has become mandatory for basic army and police training, he said, and programs around the country are teaching basic literacy and numeracy. "Today, we have over 81,000 Afghan [soldiers and police] in mandatory literacy classes, and we have graduated another 92,000 in different literacy classes since November 2009," Kem said. "We know that we will improve the literacy rate in Afghanistan in the Afghanistan national security forces to over 50 percent by January 2012," he added. The goal, Kem said, is to have full functional literacy in the army and police, defined as third-grade-level literacy. Kem noted that the prospect of learning to read and write has been a huge draw for Afghans to join the army and the police. "Literacy has a huge impact on the professionalization of the army and the police, addresses issues of corruption and will have an economic impact on the country in the years to come," he said. Corruption is being addressed in several other ways, he added, including developing codes of ethics for the army and the police and establishing an anti-corruption phone line that's always manned and whose investigators are from an independent agency. Putting blue dye in army and police fuel reduces incidents of stealing, Kem said, and using a lottery system adds transparency to handing out army assignments and prevents the best ones from being sold to the highest bidder. Another step involves "having accountability of all the vehicles, weapons and radio systems that didn't have full accountability in the past," he said, noting that a physical inventory is now complete for all vehicles issued in Afghanistan over the past 10 years. Special efforts are in force, Kem said, to deal with problems of recruiting Pashtuns from the five southern provinces and avoiding violence to Americans by members of the Afghan army and police force. For the problem of attacks on Americans, he said, "we've instituted an eight-step approach for all the new recruits coming in." The vetting process includes matching the recruit and his identification card, requiring two letters of recommendation from village elders, performing a physical exam, doing a records check through intelligence sources, and using biometric measures, such as fingerprinting. "It will never be foolproof," Kem acknowledged. "It's not foolproof in the United States; it won't be foolproof in Afghanistan. But it's an area that we look at very closely, ... and it is something that I think the Afghans take very seriously as well, because they want to be good partners." To ethnically balance the Afghan National Police, Kem said, the percentage of Pashtuns, Tajiks, Hazaras and other ethnic groups must be monitored. "We balance every one of the battalions," he added, and because of problems recruiting Pashtuns from the southern provinces, a special recruiting program has been instituted with the Afghans. The numbers of southern Pashtuns has risen slowly, Kem said, "but they're not where they need to be." "We're trying to get at least 4 percent of the recruits from the five southern provinces that are Pashtuns," he added, "and aiming for getting about 6 to 8 percent in the next couple years." Work remains to be done between now and Dec. 31, 2014, when the transition of lead security responsibility in all 34 provinces to Afghan forces is scheduled to be complete, Kem said. "In my personal professional judgment," he added, "we will have the Afghans ready to assume that responsibility." | ||
| Related Sites: NATO Training Mission Afghanistan/Combined Security Transition Command Afghanistan | ||
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