Operation Minty Fresh

Commitment to a community half a world away is making a difference in the lives of Iraqi children.

Stationed in Iraq, thousands of miles from home, U.S. Army Capt. Scott Sorquist noticed the youngsters in the fields who farm and tend to animals.

“I began to wonder what their life was like, and when I thought about the health care they receive I learned that there wasn’t much,” said Sorquist.

Now on his second tour in Iraq, the MEDEVAC pilot intends to become a dentist, and has been observing U.S. Army dental clinics during his deployments. Combine that with the needs of Iraqi youngsters, throw in a lot of help from stateside—including the electric co-op community—and you have the makings of “Operation Minty Fresh.”

“I have had the opportunity to talk to several Iraqi dentists and what I learned fascinated me, and at the same time concerned me,” Sorquist, 33, told Electric Co-op Today by e-mail from Iraq. “Teeth just fall out after a while. That’s just what happens, that’s life. Well, I wanted to help make things a little better.”

That’s where he got a lot of folks back home involved, including his father-in-law, Ray Bouvet, safety director at the Michigan Electric Co-op Association, which made a cash contribution to “Operation Minty Fresh.”

“This is a heartwarming humanitarian effort in the midst of a destructive war,” said Michael Peters, MECA president and CEO. “We just felt we could do our small part to make a difference by supporting our employees’ efforts. Sometime it’s the little things that mean the most.”

Bouvet and his colleague Joe McElroy also asked around for other help.

“We started going to our utilities—and it wasn’t just electric cooperatives,” Bouvet said. “In Michigan we serve, for safety and loss control, municipals and a couple of smaller investor-owned utilities.”

Before they knew it, supplies and monetary donations were coming in. Bouvet also asked his dentist, Dr. William Bacheler, for help.
“He put in some of his own resources and ordered everything,” Bouvet said. “It was just coming into his place by the case-full. And I’d go and box them up and mail them over.”

Bouvet is nothing if not modest.

“Almost 5,000 brushes, tubes of toothpaste, covers and floss kits arrived,” Sorquist said. “The supplies just kept coming.”
But Sorquist is modest, too. It was Bouvet who told a reporter about his son-in-law’s efforts to deliver some of those supplies.

“In the area he was trying to help, he couldn’t even get in there, because if they saw an American right where he wanted to go, there would have been retribution against those local people,” Bouvet said. A Special Forces unit headed that way eventually brought the supplies to an Iraqi dentist.

Soldiers also dispensed toothbrushes and toothpaste—and gave instructions on how to use them. “Often soldiers hand out treats like candy to children,” Sorquist said, “but I wanted to give them something that can improve their health, their lives.”

So did Dr. Lindsay Montgomery, a U.S. Navy dentist who served in Iraq. She got some help from her own Michigan connections: her father, Dr. John Scherer, and her sister, Dr. Kara Lembo, both of whom are also dentists. They sent big care packages for “Operation Minty Fresh.”

“As my daughter found out, the dental care in Iraq was very third-world at the time, and the need for dental care was huge,” Scherer said.

Sorquist left his wife, Robin, and their 15-month-old daughter, Josephine, back home in Fairbanks, AK, but takes comfort in helping Iraqi children. “They are improving their dental health, and that is priceless,” Sorquist said.

“I’m very proud of Scott,” added Bouvet. “It’s very difficult when you leave your wife and daughter when you go and fight for your country. A lot of people are just trying to get in and get home, and I understand that. But Scott is trying to make a difference.”

Michael Kahn writes for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.

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