27 AUG 2007

A better tree picture than I could get was published on the Pacific Partnership Website the other day. If you look real close you get a better perspective of the size by finding me in the lower right corner.



We pull into the Majuro, Marshall Islands area today and will be going ashore to start working. We have planned what we did in the Philippines, alot of surgeries and vaccinations. Hopefully we can stay busy to make the time go by because this is the last leg of the deployment!

Another Day on the Beach.......

Well not exactly, With a little number of animals in the area we were at our trips to shore were few. To pass the other days I signed up for one of the Community Relations projects (COMRELS) like I did in Vietnam.

On shore there was a huge tree that got blown over during the latest tsunami. The locals couldn't chop it up because of the thickness and they asked if we could give a hand. I was out on the third day of cutting and the thing was still huge. No one had planned for such a gigantic mission so we used the chainsaws until the blades were too dull to do any more work without overheating the engines. We were given machettes by the on lookers when the saws were cooling off. It was good to take out some frustration on the trees with these long knives. They worked great for the little to medium sized branches but not so much for the thicker trunks, wich there seemed to be alot more of. In the end we did make several stacks of firewood for the villagers.

At the end of our day we had only managed to get about a quarter of the tree cut and stacked. The engineers all agreed that the project was too big to finish with the given equipment.

Best of Papua New Guinea

I grabbed some pics from other people's cameras to compile this post, just some pictures that I thought were great but had no real story behind them.....


Me and LTC Chaajed entertaining a parrot


At one of the farms this goat didn't want dewormed and yet I wanted it to be, thus creating this little confrontation....


I have ahold of the cow's septum (nose) with a special type of pliers, D.K. (foreground) has a syringe with dewormer in it. 3 seconds after this was taken I pulled up, getting the cow to open its mouth and then he shot the stuff down its throat.


From Right to left, D.K. Singh (India), Natasha (New Zealand) and myself enjoying our first ever helicopter ride.


Giving some oral medication to a dog with many onlookers.

Operation: Animal Search

This is the title of our VETCAP here in Sasamungga, Solomon Islands. This area was devastated by a typhoon back in April and there are hardly any animals to be found at first glance. We did however go out as a team on Monday to look for work and fortunately found some. Back in the jungle we found several chickens and pigs that could use our attention. I think total we found less than 10 pigs in an area that relies mostly on vegetation for food.

By noon we had returned back to the beach and met with several village heads trying to get the word out that we are here to treat their animals. We are scehduled to come back to shore on Thursday with medicine and supplies hoping that there are more pig farmers in the area.



Our LCU pulled onto the beach in Sasamungga, Solomon Islands.

PNG, No More

Today was our last day in Papua New Guinea. While the leaders of the deployment and several others were having a closing ceremony the VET team was still working. We split up into teams in the morning to cover more ground as there were alot of places that needed checking and not alot of time. My team went back to the place we went yesterday and set up a vaccination clinic out the back of a pickup truck while the other team drove around to several locations and made house calls. We saw over a hundred more annuals together and made it a great last memory for the PNG people. Afterwards we had a big lunch with our hosts where we exchanged gifts and we donated several supplies for future use. It was then time to leave our newly made friends, which was hard because these people are the nicest and quietest we've met this entire deployment.



The Peleliu from the back of the MH-53 helicopter as we took of Thursday morning

Almost Done in Papua New Guinea

Here I am cleaning the ears of one of the security dogs while his handler gives me a hand with the restraint.



As we have been going ashore daily we have been getting alot of work done and covering alot of the Madang area. Our recent sites have been successful in many ways. Tuesday we opened up a clinic out of the back of our trucks and several people came to get their animals vaccinated. In the afternoon we visited several private security details to see their security dogs. Every place we went to drew a crowd and we entertained the population for the time we spent out there. There aren't as many animals in this province as there was in the Philippines but we are suprised by how many we have actually vaccinated. We have one more day here before moving on to the Solomon Islands.

Traveling back and forth each day puts a strain on some of the crafts used for transport so as one mode breaks down, another is used to take its place. As our usual LCU method was hindered for mechanical reasons so we were forced to go by air on Tuesday. The Pelelieu has 2 MH-53 helicopters for medical transport, fortunately for me thats what we used to get back to the ship. It was a pretty nice little ride as we got to see alot more than the LCU. Yesterday we took the RHIB, (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat) the small little speed boats that they usually use for security. It was a little slower but it didn't feel like it as we went skimming across the ocean as fast as that little boat could take us, I would have gotten pitures of that but my hands were busy keeping me in the boat.



Looking out the back of the Helo at Papua New Guinea

Press Releases

Friday we were joined by a photojournalist from the public affairs office. He tagged along the entire day and got some great photos. Here are a few of the ones that got released up through the chain of command. Once I find the article he wrote I'll post the link to it.



CPT Kreutzberg is giving a rabies vaccine to the dog. In an area where rabies is present the gloves and muzzle are a must. They did come in handy as I was bit several times (but no skin breaks) because the dogs don't get too much human contact and what we were doing was freaking them out. Onlooking is LTC Raveesh, our Indian veterinarian, and several children.





My Indian counterpart, D. K. Singh, and I are giving some oral dewormer before we place the muzzle. Don't let the teeth fool you, the easiest way to get that stuff in is raise the lips and slide the syringe back in by the cheeks.

Getting Back To Work

Thursday ~ Today we visited a college that had was raising animals and wanted us to take a look at them. This was a change from the daily dogs and cats I usually see as the population included pigs, ducks, goats, and chickens. We dewormed and gave nutrient supplements for all. After the work was done we were given a demonstration on the way to skin a coconut. They farm owners shucked several and gave to us to drink / eat. It was pretty good being the first time I've ever drank from a coconut.



My first drink from a coconut.


Friday ~ Today we had scheduled about 5 different villages in which we were told had several animals to be looked at. Our drivers took us well into the country side and we got to hit all of the villages and a couple more. At each location the people were more than excited to see us. We vaccinated dogs, cats, pigs, goats, and even a couple chickens, all in front of the crowds of villagers. We were probably giving them the most excitement they had ever had since most of the roads were almost impassible, there was even a tree down that we had to get out and move to pass over it. After all the villages we stopped for lunch at a little resort by the water. The view was great disregarding the cloudy weather.



Our view for lunch on Friday.



When we returned to the pier we received word that the seas were too choppy for the LCU to get back to the ship safely so we would have to stay overnight. Since this decision had just been made the PPP team had to call around the entire area looking for open hotel rooms. All in all there were 192 people from the MEDCAPs and Engineering CAPs (Civic Action Projects) that they had to find rooms for. Fortunately it all worked out and they were able to accomodate us. My hotel wasn't too bad and got better sleep than I did on the ship.


Saturday ~ Because of last night there was a different leave time for the LCU back to the ship. It was leaving at noon so we decided to take the supplies we had (we normally reload when we return to the ship) and got to a nearby ranch to look at some livestock. We looked at a couple problematic horses and cows first and then started deworming the rest of the heads. This was a little tricky since it had to be given orally and they didn't want it. The first couple were a bit tricky but after we had devised a system of doing them the rest of the 40 went by with few hitches. We did that a couple goats and horses quick so we loaded up and headed back to the ship. Tommorow we have off so I'll probably be doing laundry as the cows left their mark on me pretty well, we get right back at it Monday though as we begin our last week here in Papua New Guinea.

Ship Email Address

For those of you who want to email me on the ship my address here is kerstinn@embark.lha5.navy.mil I would love to hear from you and how your summer is going!!

Day 1 in Papa New Guinea

We arrived in Madang, Papa New Guinea yesterday and got to come ashore to scope out what we will be doing for the next week or so. We met up with the agricultural department head to take us around. Animal husbandry isn't something that is too common here as most animals are either strays or raised for food. A vet visits this region about once a quarter so they were pretty happy to see us.

Among the sites we saw were a couple of pig farms and a teaching college in which animals were raised for food. For the resources that this country has all the places were well kept and sustained. For the most part this is what our mission will consist of: visiting animal holding sites for wellfare checks and suggesting any improvements. Like I mentioned earlier there aren't nearly as many pets as the Philippines so we will be looking for work wherever we can find it.

On the (human) medical side they brought aboard about 12 patients for surgery yesterday and will operate today. Clinics held on the ground will see more patients today for vaccinations and dental appointments. The HIV rate here was found to be 30-40% so extreme caution is being used while working with the patients. They will be holding clinics here everyday until we leave next week.



The LCU (Landing Craft Unit) is used for ship to shore movements in shallow waters.



Standing next to the monument they erected the day before we came.