Reserve dentist focuses military career on global health challenges

Published May 14, 2013
By Dana Lineback
940th Wing Public Affairs

BEALE AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- Dr. Vincent Chiappone, a dentist with the 940th Wing here has a passion for volunteering that has taken the major far in his Reserve career - all the way around the world actually.

Over the past three years, Chiappone has travelled with military medical teams to Northern Alaska, the Congo, Belize, and Botswana on humanitarian missions to bring free health care services to people living in remote corners of the world.

"Today's military is doing difficult missions in high stress environments. I guess I wanted to see what I'm made of. I wanted to push myself in high-tempo operations scenarios, so I volunteered every chance I got," said Chiappone.

"Initially, I considered these humanitarian missions as stepping stones in preparation for long-term overseas deployments," he continued, "but I really enjoyed the international diplomacy aspect and the cultural interaction with other countries' military members. I felt like I was good at fostering these positive relationships. It was personally and professionally rewarding."

Through Chiappone's involvement with Reserve Officers Association, the private practice dentist from Roseville, Calif., became intrigued with the Air Force's International Health Specialist program.

The IHS program is designed to develop a cadre of qualified and experienced medical personnel who possess second language capability and regional expertise for effective interaction with international military and non-military organizations delivering healthcare services abroad. The focus of the program is on building military-to-military and military-to-civilian partnerships with other countries to solve health care issues in peacetime with the hope that these relationships will endure in times of potential strife.

"The IHS program is a great opportunity for Reservists in the health professions to really make a difference in communities all around the world," said Master Sgt. Keyser Voigt, a member of the Air Force Reserve Command IHS program liaison team. "International health specialists are literally on the cutting edge of global health."

The opportunity to develop that level of expertise while training alongside renowned medical professionals from around the world is what attracted Chiappone to the program.

"I've seen first-hand during my deployments that there's a great need to address dietary habits and preventive care in these third-world communities. Even in locations with clinics, facilities are often understaffed and undersupplied. By developing a community strategic plan and providing quality training for health aides, even people in remote regions can have access to good medical care," Chiappone said.

"I want to be part of the effort to shape the international health care environment through nontraditional military means. I think it would be extremely rewarding."

First, however, there are a few hurdles Chiappone must clear.

To qualify for the special experience identifier necessary to participate in the IHS program, Chiappone needed learn a second language. A few months ago, he began studying French and recently passed the Defense Language Proficiency Test, surpassing the required minimum score.

"It's not an easy language to pick up. Not many people here in Northern California speak French, so I didn't have much opportunity to practice. I wasn't sure how long it'd take me to learn the language, but I stuck with it," he said.

In addition to his language studies, Chiappone has continued fostering professional connections through the Reserve Officer Association's leadership conferences and his involvement with Inter-allied Confederation of Medical Reserve Officers.

Last year, in February, Chiappone was at a CIOMR congress in Brussels, Belgium. In March, he attended a leadership course in Washington, D.C. Then in July, he was in Kansas City for the ROA Leadership Conference.

"In August, I went to Copenhagen for the Summer CIOMR that included a NATO HQ mass casualty exercise. From Copenhagen, I went directly to Botswana to participate in a bilateral combined exercise," Chiappone said. "2012 was a real whirlwind."

Already this year, Chiappone has travelled to Germany and Brussels for NATO Challenges and another CIOMR conference.

"These conferences bring together reserve forces from more than a dozen different countries to work in teams on reservist affairs and topics of importance to the medical community, including training assessments and cultural awareness issues. The guest lecturers are amazing. It's really an eye-opening educational opportunity," he said.

Chiappone's commander, Lt. Col. Julie Clement, 940th Aeromedicine Squadron, said she understands the importance of the IHS program and is supportive of the major's decision to pursue the real-world opportunities the program provides.

"I think it's a fantastic career-enhancing opportunity for Dr. Chiappone," Clement said. "His exposure to the international health community is invaluable experience he can bring back to share with our unit here at Beale to help others appreciate the challenges facing today's global medical community."