Support command conducts humanitarian assessments in Croatia

By Sgt. 1st Class Matthew Chlosta (Army Reserve)September 24, 2015

Support command conducts humanitarian assessments in Croatia
1 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, Army Pfc. Carl Youngblood, a civil affairs specialist, and Army Maj. Kevin Kaufman, chief of the civil affairs planning team, both from the 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, 7th Civil Support Command, speak with a U.S. Embassy in Croatia liai... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Support command conducts humanitarian assessments in Croatia
2 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, Army Pfc. Carl Youngblood, a civil affairs specialist, Army Maj. Kevin Kaufman, chief of the civil affairs planning team, both with 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, 7th Civil Support Command, and Diana Marsic, a U.S. Embassy in Croatia liais... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Support command conducts humanitarian assessments in Croatia
3 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, Army Maj. Kevin Kaufman, Army Sgt. Jonathan Hall, both with the 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, 7th Civil Support Command, and Diana Marsic, a U.S. Embassy in Croatia liaison/humanitarian assistance project coordinator, meet with Dr. Vladim... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Support command conducts humanitarian assessments in Croatia
4 / 4 Show Caption + Hide Caption – From left, members of the local media interview Deputy Mayor of Karlovac Marina Kolakovic, U.S. Embassy Zagreb Deputy Chief of Mission (Chargé d'Affaires) Margaret Nardi, and Commander of Croatian Land Forces Lt. Gen. Mate Ostovic in front of ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

SPLIT, Croatia (Sept. 18, 2015) -- Soldiers, from the 7th Civil Support Command and a U.S. Embassy in Croatia, traveled across the country to assess past humanitarian assistance projects and to recommend future ones, while continuing a strong partnership with their NATO allies, Sept. 11-18.

Army Reserve Soldiers, from the 457th Civil Affairs Battalion, evaluated several humanitarian assistance sites, including: medical equipment at emergency response clinics, a high school dining facility and dormitory roof reconstruction and an outdoor therapy facility for children with special needs.

There are four types of humanitarian assistance that U.S. European Command, or EUCOM, provides including: humanitarian civic assistance; humanitarian assistance; excess property and minimum cost, said Diana Marsic, the humanitarian assistance project coordinator for the U.S. Embassy in Croatia.

The latter type was used to purchase four defibrillators in late 2013 for Croatian emergency medical services, which were assessed by Marsic and the civil affairs team. The machines jump start a person's heart when it stops beating.

"All four [defibrillators] are still in use," said Dr. Radmila Majhen Ujevic, a physician at the Institute or Emergency Medicine Split-Dalmatian County. "They save lives."

The defibrillators were donated by the EUCOM humanitarian assistance program.

"In the future, we need a CPR machine," Ujevic said.

The assessment of the Outdoor Physical Therapy Facility in Karlovac, Sept. 16, was a high-visibility event, said Army Maj. Kevin Kaufman, chief of the civil affairs planning team, and a resident of Kaiserslautern, Germany

The U.S. Embassy Zagreb Deputy Chief of Mission (Chargé d'Affaires) Margaret Nardi met with Deputy Mayor of Karlovac Marina Kolakovic and participated in a walk-around tour of the outdoor facility, Kaufman said.

"Local news media interviewed both Margaret Nardi, who speaks great Croatian, and Marina Kolakovic, both of whom expressed the importance of the facility to not just the physically disabled, who use it for therapeutic purposes, but also for the general public who use it in throughout the day, and into the evening time, as a meeting and recreation facility," he said.

The 7th Civil Support Command Soldiers felt their humanitarian assistance assessments had a positive impact on Croatia, which emerged from a war of independence in 1995. Croatia joined NATO in 2009 and most recently the European Union in 2013.

"I think it [the donated medical equipment] made a huge difference in what they're doing here and hopefully we can foster a good relationship and we can continue good efforts like this," said Army Pfc. Carl Youngblood, a civil affairs specialist with the 457th and a resident of Lambsborn, Germany. "There will always be positive impacts in what we're doing here in cooperation with them."

In addition, the assessment team partnered with the Croatian army to perform key leader engagements concerning disaster management, which also helped build partner nation capacity.

The Soldiers were tasked with:

1. If humanitarian assistance/humanitarian civic assistance projects in Croatia were effectively implemented and sustained by Croatia authorities.

2. Whether or not existing humanitarian assistance/humanitarian civil assistance projects in Croatia are achieving EUCOM and U.S. Army Europe strategic objectives.

3. How limited funds can potentially be better spent.

4. To gain a better understanding of humanitarian assistance needs in Croatia to focus humanitarian assistance/humanitarian civil assistance projects to maximize their effectiveness.

The team is proud they were able to make a difference in countries that have experienced political and military turmoil, Kaufman said.

"It's an honor for us to be able to come in and help where we can," he said.

Related Links:

Army.mil: Europe News

7th CSC website

7th CSC Twitter

7th CSC Facebook

7th CSC Flickr

7th CSC YouTube

AFN Video about this mission