Corporal Shareena (23) and Corporal Maaike (26) from The Netherlands work at the “Uruzgan Medical Center” of Kamp Holland and have been friends for years. Shareena cleans medical equipment and Maaike works on the blood bank and in the laboratory. “It is actually an ordinary hospital, but in a small way”, says Maaike. “We have operating rooms, intensive care, physiotherapy, a pharmacist, general practitioner and dentist”. Both corporals arrived in Afghanistan two months ago for their first mission of five months. An intensive preparation preceded this. Shareena: “We have practiced with the whole team for six months. Everything was exactly simulated as it is here, complete with practice victims and a surgical team. We have learned all the drills there “. These exercises came in handy, because the medical team gets a lot to process. Not only injured Dutch soldiers, but also wounded Afghans who can not cope with the hospital of the nearby city of Tarin Kowt, end up at Kamp Holland in the Medical Center. Maaike: “Last week, nine Afghans were brought in who had a serious car accident. There were also a few seriously injured children. In that case everyone is summoned to help the people as quickly as possible “. The hospital also provides support for incidents involving large numbers of victims. Recently, dozens of Afghan civilians were injured in an American bombardment in a neighboring province, part of which was taken up in Camp Holland. With the sight of sometimes seriously injured children and soldiers, the people of the medical team do not have an easy job, says hospital commander Melanie van den Berg from Werkendam. “The young people in our team get a lot for their choices, but thanks to the intensive preparations, they are well prepared for their task. During the debriefing of the nine Afghan wounded, someone said that she had noticed that everyone was so calm. In a normal hospital, according to her, there would have been more stress. That was a big compliment for us “. De Brabantse ladies use the sparse leisure time mainly to play sports and maintain contact with the home front. Shareena: “I mail my friend every day in Teteringen and call him a few times a week. Maaike also makes extensive use of the wireless network at Kamp Holland to mail with her friend or parents in Helmond. Thanks to the good connections with the Netherlands, Maaike and Shareena have not had any problems with homesickness. But what they are going to do when the mission is finished is already clear: We go on holiday with sun, sea, beach and a cocktail! “