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12-02-05
By David Stauth, 541-737-078
Source: LTC Wiley Thompson, Wiley.C.Thompson@baf.afgn.army.mil
CHINARI, Pakistan - Grown men hugged him with streaming tears of gratitude. The village elders praised the United States, and local mullahs, or Muslim clerics, asked the crowd to pray for the safety of American pilots. Villagers sang about and cheered their new friends.
And amid this scene of devastation - a small town where 400 people, mostly children, had died in the collapse of one school - Wiley Thompson knew that some lasting cultural bridges had been built.
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 Lt. Col. Wiley Thompson, who will continue his studies at OSU next spring, led the U.S. relief expedition into Pakistan following the major earthquake there in October. Thompson, in tan uniform at right, consults with local elders in the destroyed village of Chinari and talks with some new friends (image 2) he made in that village. The village of Balakot (image 3) was one of the areas hardest hit by the 7.6 magnitude earthquake. Click on image to go to downloadable photo |
"This was very personally rewarding," said Thompson, a 1989 graduate of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, who also has a master's degree in geography from OSU. "Growing up in the Cold War era, it was interesting to work in an effort with Cuban doctors, Russian hospital teams and flying aid from many different countries on U.S. aircraft. Everywhere I looked I saw a great spirit of cooperation, even between former adversaries."
And that carried over, Thompson said, to the local residents who were struggling for survival following this disaster - a 7.6-magnitude earthquake that affected both cities and mountain villages. Some areas were completely flattened, and landslides buried many roads and isolated some towns.
"These were very tough people, very grateful for anything they would receive," Thompson said. "It breaks your heart to see all the injured kids. But in every instance people were courteous, very welcoming and overly appreciative of what the U.S. and other nations had done for them. This was very unexpected, especially with all the hate and anti-Western Muslims you see portrayed in the media today."
Thompson, the executive officer for the 12th Aviation Brigade, Task Force Griffin, is serving in both combat and humanitarian roles in Afghanistan and Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. He also has served in Korea, Alabama, Texas, Colorado, Kansas and Germany, and plans to complete a doctoral degree at OSU in physical geography beginning next spring. His family - wife Tina, son Noah and daughter Isabelle - already live in Corvallis. His eventual plan is to return to West Point to teach.
But this fall, the call came to organize a relief expedition to Pakistan. Quickly.
Within two days, Thompson led eight helicopters and 210 soldiers to Chaklala Airbase in Islamabad, Pakistan. A rapid shift was made from combat operations to the configurations needed for humanitarian assistance. The force eventually grew to 28 helicopters and 500 personnel from different countries, and work continued into November. Aircraft left loaded with relief supplies and returned with critically injured civilians. Each night a meeting was held to review the day's events and plan for the next day. The soldiers and aircrews of this task force established a 500-bed life support area, flew 1,533 hours, moved 7,209 passengers, transported 3,328 casualties, and hauled 5.3 million pounds of relief goods.
"Waves, thumbs-up and smiles from displaced civilians were ever-present," Thompson said. "The people knew that the U.S. flag on the side of an aircraft meant help was on its way. The locals said that Americans were seen as compassionate and very giving people. And one family, living with nothing in a refugee camp, offered us some tea and biscuits, which we shared. It was pretty humbling."
On arrival in Pakistan, Thompson said, the efforts were very hands-on and immediate.
"In Chinari, about 15-20 elders from a crowd of 400 people came forward to tell me their needs," Thompson said. "It's a fairly weighty feeling when all those people are looking at you and expecting you to help them. But we followed through on their requests and over the next two days had CH-47 Chinook helicopters full of tents, blankets and food. The Pakistani military and the Army Aviation personnel in Task Force Griffin really came through."
Thompson said his work at West Point and OSU made a significant difference.
"My geography studies have really been an asset to me," he said. "A knowledge of cartography, a comprehensive understanding of differing cultures and the subsystems of culture, the ability to assess the impacts of climate on people and equipment, are all assets to a person in my profession. And of course an appreciation for the physical landscape has always been a key attribute of an Army officer."
It was also important, Thompson said, to understand the differences in a fairly strict Islamic culture, and "the efforts of our soldiers, sailors and airmen in showing respect for our host nation's culture went a long way in enabling our acceptance."
With continuing conflict in these regions of the world, Thompson said, Americans and other military forces must be vigilant and "can never discount that there are those factions or groups that wish to do us harm, just because of what we stand for and believe in."
But they are not the majority, he said.
"I believe that just like other parts of the world, most people follow some version of the Golden Rule," Thompson said. "Treat them with compassion and fairness and they will return that respect."
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