Beyond base boundaries: travel team provide health services to troops

Story by Tech. Sgt. Sergio Gamboa

United States Air Forces Central

UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, Southwest Asia – In a deployed environment, medical services surface as the guardians of readiness. Beyond healing wounds, these services fortify the resilience of forces and are a critical component in military preparedness.

To ensure the physical well-being of troops, the medical squadron here coordinated with a U.S. Air Force base at an undisclosed location within the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility (AOR) to extend its health service beyond base boundaries.

“Not every base has optometry or dental services, so we coordinate with units around the AOR to get services that are needed for the installation,” said 1st Lt. Daniel Santiago, a registered nurse with the expeditionary medical squadron. “Since they are in close proximity to our base, we asked them if they could come fulfill some of our patient’s medical readiness items, and without question, they were ready to go.”

A team comprised of dental and optometry specialists traveled here to provide dental and optometry care for Airmen and Soldiers needing attention.

“Our main goal here is to make sure that people have the care they need while deployed,” said Senior Airman Jose Contreras Sanchez, a dental technician with the visiting team. “We are here to provide the best service we can, in the short amount of time we are here.”

To see as many members during the one day visit, appointments were scheduled every 20 to 30 minutes for routine eye exams, prescriptions, dental x-rays, dental examinations, and if needed, triage for a higher echelon of care.

“Having them out here certainly addressed some of the concerns the members had when it came to their vision or dental health,” Santiago said. “Being able to have access to that care, resolved a lot of problems our patients had.”

During the visit, 36 of service members received needed care, ensuring base personnel’s medical readiness.

The two medical squadrons shared a common goal during the visit: taking care of the human weapon system, the military’s most important asset.