US medical troops working throughout Iraq and Afghanistan teach new, more modern skills for health care, as well as providing basic humanitarian aid to the local population.

A medical symposium at Babil Maternity Hospital in Iraq’s Babil province in July highlighted the differences between Iraqi and American nurses, including education, practical skills and critical-thinking skills “The American nurses are here to help the Iraqi nurses by being a role model for the nursing profession,” said Army Capt. Sharon Owen, brigade nurse for Company C, 172nd Support Battalion, a Cincinnati native. “Things have to change in Iraq. By educating and giving the nurses here some of the knowledge we have, we can start empowering the nursing profession.”... Read more here