U.S. Army MASH unit rolls into Muzaffarabad, but lacking vital equipment

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. Army MASH unit rolls into Muzaffarabad, but lacking vital equipment

By Matti Huuhtanen
ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:03 p.m. October 24, 2005

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan – 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 Oct. 8 earthquake killed an estimated 79,000 people. Many of the injured have yet to receive proper medical care.

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.
(snip/...)

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/world/20051024-1503-southasia-quake.html

[joemurphy]

1. Maybe they should roll back from whence they came and

return with equipment?