Photos

It?s a rush of activity for Lt. j.g. Catherine L. Hayes, as she prepares an I.V. for use minutes before she heads out on a medical helicopter evacuation April 27, 2006. Hayes, a 24-year-old native of Charlottesville, Va., and the staff of Taqaddum Surgical treated soldiers of the Iraqi Army after a recent insurgent attack. The Iraqi unit had several soldiers wounded in the attack that also hit two American service members attached to the unit?s Military Transition Team. Taqaddum Surgical is classified as a surgical shock trauma platoon because it has two main elements: a shock trauma platoon, which serves as an emergency room, and a forward resuscitative surgical suite ? a battlefield operating room. The MTT is a small group of American military personnel tasked with training and advising the Iraqi soldiers as they take control of their country.