Paula Loyd, a social scientist working with a Human Terrain Team in Afghanistan was seriously injured in an Taliban attack on Tuesday. Danger Room reports:
Paula Lloyd was interviewing locals in the southern village of Maywand on Tuesday as part of her duties in a Human Terrain Team, which embeds civilian cultural experts into U.S. combat units. She approached a man carrying a fuel jug and they began talking about the price of gas. Suddenly, the man doused Lloyd in a flammable liquid and set her on fire. She suffered second- and third-degree burns over 60 percent of her body, a Human Terrain source told Danger Room.
The injuries could have been worse. Lloyd’s teammate immediately threw her into a nearby water source to douse the flames, then Lloyd was sped to a nearby medical facility. Fortunately, the first doctor to treat her was a U.S. Army burn specialist. After being stabilized, Lloyd was evacuated to the military’s Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and is now en route to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. Lloyd is in “stable, but guarded condition,” the source said.
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Paula and her family.
Editor’s Correction: The initial version of this article mispell’s “Loyd” as “Lloyd”.
Christopher Albon is a Ph.D. candidate specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
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I served with Paula as a fellow PRT’er in 2005 and 2006. She had rescued and adopted an abused blind puppy in Qalat Afghanistan. I was helping her to get him back to the V. I. at her parents. Paula is one of those rare souls that when you meet her and get to know her, she inspires you to be a better human being.
She walked the walk.
R.I.P Paula.
You willalways be remembered.
Gerry R
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