After Action Report From on Scene Commander at Afghan Hospital

In a FOX News exclusive, this is the report from the on scene commander at the Afghan hospital where U.S. military misconduct allegations surfaced.

While assisting the ANA in securing COP 3, an ANA outpost on HWY1, we received an intelligence report that there was a Taliban Commander being treated for wounds received in a firefight with my platoon earlier in the week.

We maintained observation of the clinic, but did not move until there was ISR on station to assist in observing the clinic and the surrounding areas. We arrived at the hospital with the partnered ANP in order to investigate the report.

There was no forced entry and the ANP were leading the investigation. We were able walk into the building without incident. We moved some individuals out into the courtyard for their own safety on the chance that the fighter was still armed and capable of violence.

Once we found the doctors we asked them to use their keys to open as many doors as they could. We explained that we were looking for a man who had wounds from a gunshot or from shrapnel and who had been admitted in the last 72 hours- they simply shrugged their shoulders and said they had no idea what we were talking about.

We did not flex-cuff any individuals and did not force people who were bed-ridden to leave their beds. We did have the staff who were sleeping move into the courtyard. We did search the entire hospital and any area that was designated for females the room was checked by an Afghan interpreter with a clinic staff member and an Afghan policeman who only required that they say their name to ensure a fighter was not concealing himself as woman which has been a tactic to avoid capture.

We had the female nurses leave their rooms, because we did not want to search a room with the females in such close proximity and the search was limited to whether there was or was not a person in the room and if the persons matched the report.

Once the search was complete we spoke with the doctors in the courtyard before leaving. SFC Card and I explained that we did not want the hospital to stop treating Taliban and in fact, encouraged them to continue their treatment of the Taliban or anyone that is injured.

We apologized for entering the hospital at such a late hour and told them that this could be prevented in the future if they would call the OCCP or the ANP when any individual who has wounds from shrapnel or from a gunshot is admitted for treatment. They maintained that they would not do that and that they did not even trust their own government. T

he doctors also kept complaining about the Four Horsemen International and how that someone from FHI assaulted a doctor and shot up the courtyard- we know this incident as the one that happened two months ago in early July. The report we received was that the doctors refused the FHI treatment and the FHI individual reacted by assaulting the doctor.

The doctors were fairly belligerent and were not even open to listening to what we had to say- they only complained about the FHI and about how they did not have any obligation or duty to call the ANP or OCCP when an individual who had GSW or shrapnel wounds was admitted. As far as the locks being broken, the staff explained that they did not have some of the keys, but told us we could go into the rooms by force.

In previous interactions with the hospital staff they complained about our presence and demanded that we only come to the hospital without armor and weapons. They have also said that they have “no issues” with the Taliban and that CF are the only real problem. There is definitely a negative attitude toward CF and anything having to do with GIRoA and there has been every time I have been there. We did search the entire hospital, because we did not know if there was a hostile force there guarding the TB Commander or if the people at the hospital were being forced to hide the aforementioned commander.

We apologized several times to each group we spoke with in the clinic for waking them up and disturbing their evening. We also explained that we were there only to ensure they were safe and to remove a criminal. Before we left the clinic staff admitted that they had in fact treated the Taliban CDR and that he had been moved to Kabul. We told them that we understood that they should treat all injured people as that is what we all expect of health care professionals.

An OCCP tip line card was left with the staff and CF expressed concern over the FHI incident earlier in the year and that the TIP line could be called if contracted Afghan security elements were mistreating the Clinic staff as well as reporting the location of criminals and enemy fighters. The CF and ANP element then told the clinic that they would repair the broken locks and that they would return at more convenient time of day to coordinate this.

The information for the Afghan article was taken from an area and a group of people who have negative attitudes toward GIRoA and ISAF regardless of how much we try to help them and regardless of what aid we offer.

Respectfully,

James Peck

1LT, IN