Home   :   Deployment Archive   :   Noor

Noor

This is the story of a five year-old girl named Noor Abd Al-Hady Hassan.

Noor is a little girl from Iraq who is in need of surgery to correct a birth defect which caused her to have a hole in her heart between her two ventricles. Her condition has been diagnosed as Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD). If not corrected, Noor will be susceptible to heart failure. This defect is easily corrected in the United States, but doctors in Iraq are not able to perform the surgery at this time.

In July, 2004 Noor's father, Abd Al-Hady Hassan, was working as a security guard at the Al Kartoom Primary School in An Nasiriyah. During the same time, the 115th Engineer Group, Utah Army National Guard, Draper, Utah, (then deployed in Iraq) had soldiers tasked to rebuild the school. Mr. Hassan explained his daughters condition to Captain Talon Greeff one of the design engineers on the school project. CPT Greeff approached Chaplain (Major) Joel Miller and asked what could they do. While home on leave, CH Miller was asked by other Utah State chaplains what type of humanitarian work he was doing. That was when he told them about Noor. They became very interested and Chaplain (Captain) Clay Anstead also of the Utah Army National Guard contacted Dr. Reed Quinn, a very good friend in Maine, who is a pediatric heart surgeon and also does humanitarian work. Once Dr. Quinn found out about Noor he offered his services along with the services of his hospital. Chaplain Miller was then put in contact with Mr. Rick Morrone the CEO of the Maine Heart Surgical Associates in Portland, Maine.

Mr. Morrone and Dr. Quinn generously offered to provide all medical, surgical and rehabilitative services, and housing for Noor's father at the Ronald McDonald house in Portland, Maine. They have also offered to pay the airfare costs for the two. Recovery from the surgery will last from 4 to 6 weeks and Mr. Morrone has indicated an Arabic interpreter will be provided for them during their stay in the United States.

After evaluating Noor's medical records and viewing a video tape of her ultrasound, Dr. Quinn determined the little girl was within the surgical parameters.

Major Glenn Rubalcava the Public Health Officer for the Humanitarian Operations Center began to secure a flight to the states. This is an organization made up of coalition military forces and Kuwaiti military/civilian personnel working together to facilitate humanitarian relief to Iraqi civilians. He stated "The quickest, safest and least stressful way for Noor and her father to arrive in Kuwait was by air. We knew the Japanese Air Force flew humanitarian missions throughout Iraq. But we had no point of contact. I called LTC Mark Matthews, Central Command Air Force (CENTAF), Combined Air Operations Center/ Air Mobility Division (CAOC/AMD) J4 mobility officer, located in Qatar. This was a first for him."

LTC Matthews explains, "Essentially what I did was initially research regulatory guidance on Foreign National Travel in AOR by reviewing directives out of the Deputy Secretary Defense Office, Central Command (CENTCOM), and Multi-national Forces –Iraq (MNF-I). I subsequently spoke with various elements to further define and mitigate what appeared to be bureaucratic obstacles to getting Noor moving quickly."

"After determining attempts to move Noor on the specified date, on US aircraft, was laden with paperwork, I consulted our coalition partners, the Japanese. I talked with COAC liaison officer for the Japanese, COL Kazumoto Aratani, and he began the process of consulting Tokyo for approval to fly the mission. After much dialogue with the Director of Mobility Forces, BG Charles Collier, and COAC staff, COL Hoitoshi Ishikawa, who is Defense Attaché for Embassy of Japan in Kuwait and further collaboration with COL Aratani, the final approval was granted."

It is worthy to note that Colonel Ishikawa and his colleagues worked through a Japanese holiday to make this flight possible.

About mid January the 115th Engineer Group was preparing to redeploy back to the US. At that time the 194th Engineer Brigade (TA), Tennessee Army National Guard, Jackson, Tennessee came to Iraq and took over the responsibilities of getting little Noor and her father on a plane from Tallil Air Base to Kuwait City International Airport then on to Maine. On Tuesday, 15 February, Noor and her father were met by soldiers of the 194th at the visitors control center (Tallil) and escorted to their flight thus beginning their journey.

As LTC Matthews notes, "This is yet again another example of ordinary people doing what they have been positioned to do... Make things happen. I was humbled by the opportunity to play a part and since my wife was a physicians assistant for a medical group who has done many heart procedures it was especially near and dear to me. My wife and I are seeking further humanitarian efforts to provide much needed medical support."

Other soldiers making this humanitarian life saving event possible for Noor are Sergeant Ronald Hammond who is Chaplain Miller's Assistant, Chaplain (LTC) David White of the 194th, Sergeant Mickey Basham who is Chaplain's Assistant to LTC White, LTC Bart Butler, S-5, 194th EN BDE and MAJ Tim Stewart, S-3, 194th EN BDE.

Noor and her family live at the Al Kartoom Primary School in An Nasiriyah and her doctor is Ali Jaran Al-Jabery at the Babies and Birth Hospital in An Nasiriyah.

Saying goodbye to Noor

Noor and her father board the aircraft bound for the U.S.

Story and photos by SFC Pete Quinton, S-5/PAO,
194th Engineer Brigade (TA)
Tennessee Army National Guard
Tallil, AB, Iraq