134th Medical Company to be honored at concert Saturday

The members of the Iowa National Guard?s 134

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Medical Company based in Washington returned from a year-long deployment in July. A free concert will be held Saturday night to celebrate their return. The concert is from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Washington County Fairgrounds and will feature country artist Jason Brown. The public is invited to attend. Jaimee Edwards is the family readiness group leader for the 134

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Medical Company, and she expects to see 2,000 people in the stands that night.

Edwards?s husband, John, is a medic with the 134

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. The 134

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was split up before it left, so the members deployed with other units from the area. John deployed with the 168

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infantry from Council Bluffs to Bagram Air Base, which is near Kabul, Afghanistan.

Jaimee said John spent much of his time in a remote village in Paktia Province, which is in the eastern part of the country on the Pakistani border. He treated anyone in the area who had an injury, whether they were American soldiers or local Afghans. Jaimee said most of his patients were Afghans who had gotten in an accident.

?The Afghans came to John?s combat outpost because they do not have proper hospitals in the village,? Jaimee said. ?He treated children who had fallen from a building or a guy who had cut off his leg.?

Jaimee said local support for the American presence varied from village to village.

?One village on one side of the mountain was pro-American,? she said. ?They let Iowans show their courtesy, because they?re not there to cause problems. Another village on the other side was half-Taliban and half-American supporters, and there were some tense moments there.?

Jaimee said John was involved in an intense fire-fight just before Christmas last year. He was with a group of soldiers who went to clear out a cache of weapons they discovered. After they did that, they walked up a mountain where they were to be picked up by a helicopter. The helicopter pilot radioed the group that he couldn?t land because the terrain was too rough, which meant the soldiers would have to walk for miles to the combat outpost. On their walk, they came under fire from members of the Taliban.

?Luckily, John and his team fought them off, and they finally retreated,? Jaimee said. ?The soldiers were able to move on with no injuries. When they finally saw the vehicles from the combat outpost, it was the best thing they had ever seen.?

John was able to come home for two weeks during his deployment. When his deployment ended in July, Jaimee said that seeing him was ?pure excitement.?

?It was so great to have him on U.S. soil,? she said.

Jaimee and her daughter, Alexis, drove to Carroll July 22 to welcome John home. There was a ceremony for the returning troops at a football field where Gov. Terry Branstad spoke.

?After the ceremony, we couldn?t get to our soldier fast enough,? Jaimee said. ?Alexis began crying immediately when she went up to hug him.?

Will Drayfahl of Columbus Junction was also a medic with the 134

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. He served on a base outside the city of Gardez, Afghanistan.

?I pretty much tried to help anyone I could,? Drayfahl said. ?We helped our own soldiers and their Afghan counterparts. We did everything from satisfying their basic medical needs to treating battle injuries.?

Drayfahl said he traveled from province to province, and whenever he made a stop he sought ways to help the Afghans.

?We did as many hearts-and-minds operations as we could,? Drayfahl said.

Drayfahl requested that he receive his two weeks of vacation in February so he could come home for his brother Cody?s birthday. He said he felt strange taking a ?vacation? to his own house.

Drayfahl is surprised at how often strangers approach him to tell him they appreciate his service in the military.

?Actually, it?s a little overwhelming,? he said. ?It?s a little awkward to have people thanking you all the time. We were just doing our jobs.?

Garry Sievers is a soldier from Richland who is in the 134

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. His parents are Scott and Sherry Sievers. Garry worked as a medic at four locations throughout Afghanistan. Just as Edwards and Drayfahl, Gary said he treated any patient who was hurt, regardless of the patient?s nationality.

?We treated them regardless if it was an American soldier, a local person or the even it was an enemy soldier,? Garry said.

Garry performed a wide variety of tasks as a medic.

?At first, I was helping people out with coughs,? he said. ?That?s not what I wanted to do. Later, I got to go out on patrol and help Americans who got hurt.?

Garry said he would like to attend college in Florida and remain stateside for at least a little while.

?When I finally got back, I didn?t really know what to do next,? he said. ?For the last year I?ve been told what to do. Being able to make my own choices is exciting.?

He is nearing the end of his six-year enlistment in the National Guard. He said he plans to re-enlist for six more years.

?If I?m called up to go overseas again, I won?t argue,? Garry said.

Michael Cavin grew up in Washington and also joined the 134

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. His parents are James and Lisa Cavin. He was transferred to a unit from Cedar Rapids. He was one of the soldiers responsible for fixing and maintaining the unit?s vehicles. His father said Michael spent most of his time at Bagram Air Base where he worked on jeeps, humvees and trucks.

James said Bagram Air Base handles all international flights in Afghanistan.

?Anyone who flies out of Afghanistan flies out of that base,? James said. ?Several nationalities work at that base. Michael said it is pretty good-sized.?

Michael was able to communicate with his family by using his Internet connection to call home. When he spoke with his family, he often commented on the unbearable temperatures in the country.

?He said it is really hot over there, like 110 to 115 degrees,? James said. ?The humidity is not as high. He said it is really windy and dry. When he flew into Wisconsin, he remembered what humidity felt like.?

James said his son?s deployment was a difficult and trying time for the family, and that everyone is happy Michael is finally home.