RoughRider in Iraq

In January, two hundred and forty Roughrider wheelchairs arrived from Kien Tuong Wheelchair Manufacturer, Vietnam. Two hundred were allocated to the US Army 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division for distribution in the Sadr City area of Baghdad. Forty were allocated to Marines in Ramadi. However, the Marines were not able to distribute them due to logistical challenges, so the remaining forty were allocated to the 82nd Airborne, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1-319 Field Artillery Regiment.

In the area of operations for the 1-319 is a community of disabled Iraqi war veterans who fought in the Iran/Iraq war and suffered amputations and other disabling injuries. Most already had wheelchairs, but they appeared to be around 15-20 years old and in dire need of replacement. Most everything here is second hand, and very few things can be purchased new as there isn’t much manufacturing going on in country. So they were VERY glad to get new wheelchairs.

Parents brought a few children, and it’s always hard to turn away disabled kids even if this isn’t the best wheelchair for them. Actually, it may be their only chance to have a wheelchair, so we let them take it if we felt like it wasn’t going to be detrimental to their health.

Thanks to Captain Michael Amoroso for identifying needy recipients and organizing this event. Also thanks to Captain Robert Hart (Brigade Surgeon 82nd Airborne 3 BCT) for helping to coordinate the logistics and other arrangements.

Also, thanks to Marc Krizack and the Whirlwind International team at San Francisco State University for developing a great adult wheelchair for rough terrain environments like Iraq.

Most of all, thanks to the donors who provided each wheelchair for the needy disabled Iraqis. The 82nd Airborne leadership said that this effort helps them greatly with ‘winning the war’ in their battle-space.

The pictures will tell more of the stories...