MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AP) - Trucks carrying more than 100 American soldiers and the U.S. Army's only remaining MASH unit trundled into this quake-ravaged city Monday on a mission Washington hopes will help generate goodwill among Pakistanis.
The 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital could save lives, but its arrival was delayed by a shortage of aircraft, vehicle breakdowns and the winding roads of the lower Himalayas. When the unit finally rolled into Muzaffarabad after a 27-hour drive from a military base near Islamabad, it still lacked equipment for major surgeries. That gear had to be returned to the military base because it was on long trailers that could not negotiate the curving mountain roads. The equipment will be loaded onto other trucks and could reach Muzaffarabad in a few days.
``We came as quickly as we could. Everyone we have talked to is very thankful that we are here,'' Maj. Soo Lee Davis, the unit's executive officer, said as the unit set up shop outside the city's parliament house.
Davis, who is from El Paso, Texas, conceded that the lack of surgical facilities was disappointing, but said the medics could provide other valuable services. ``It's a small setback, but we can provide badly needed surgical care and treat outpatients,'' she said. Once the unit is complete, the MASH team - which is based in Germany - will be able to perform 20 major operations a day. | Not that we'll get any credit, of course. |
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