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Deployed AFMC lieutenant reaches out to Iraqis

  • Published
  • By Capt. J. Elaine Hunnicutt
  • Multi-National Corps-Iraq Public Affairs
BAGHDAD --  While many Americans spent mid-November preparing for Thanksgiving, one Air Force officer spent some time with Iraqi families. The experience left her feeling optimistic about their future and thankful for what she has.

Air Force 1st Lt. Lea Ann Fracasso traveled to a Baghdad Civil Military Operations Center, or CMOC, Nov. 14 where she visited with more than 20 Iraqi families who showed up for medical treatment. Families brave the streets of Baghdad to reach the facility where the Coalition Force provides free, basic medical care.

The CMOC's mission is to assess the needs of the surrounding communities. Examples are infrastructure and health through sight surveys, as well as meetings with local leaders and the community at large. A CMOC gives the people of the region a direct voice to the coalition. If a village needs a well, the townspeople can make the request with the CMOC team, who will assess the situation.

Lieutenant Fracasso is assigned to Headquarters Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. An Ohio native, she is temporarily assigned to Task Force 134 and works detainee operations. This was Lieutenant Fracasso's first trip to the CMOC and she brought an armful of stuffed animals, hair bands, candy and school supplies for the children.

Upon seeing the families, the lieutenant said she felt sympathy for their present economic situation.

"But I also feel hopeful for them and their families," Lieutenant Fracasso said. "I think the future depends on the health and attitudes of its (Iraq's) youth."

Lieutenant Fracasso, a youth soccer coach in Fairfield, Ohio, wasted no time in hitting the field with a group of local Iraqi boys who challenged her to a game of soccer with a new ball.

"It was great playing soccer with a group of kids here in Iraq in much the same way I would play with my girls' team back home," she concluded.