Reservists provide medical care in El Salvador

Published June 6, 2007
By Senior Airman Dani Pacheco
315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

EL SALVADOR -- Twenty-eight reservists with the 315th Aerospace Medicine Squadron, Charleston Air Force Base, S.C,. deployed here with medical military professionals from Arizona, New York and Washington in a recent humanitarian mission.

They worked with providers from the 914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, Niagra Falls International Airport Air Reserve Station, N.Y.; the 944th ASTS, Luke AFB, Ariz.; and the 604th Medical Squadron Fairchild AFB, Wash., for an overall total of 37 members participating in this two-fold mission, said Lt. Col. Angela Morton, 315th AMDS.

"It gave our people the chance to train and work outside of our home environment, and we were able to provide much needed medical support to the people of El Salvador," she said.

The mission was designated as a MEDRETE. These medical readiness exercise and training exercises are short-term exercises designed to provide health care and preventative medicine education to underserved civilian populations overseas.

Throughout their mission, the team treated patients at four municipalities in the state of Cabanas, El Salvador.

"We worked in Victoria, Santa Lucia, Jutiapa and Tujutepque, over the course of 10 days and treated 8,850 patients, which exceeded expectations by two thousand," said Colonel Morton. "The embassy called it the most successful mission in the last two years."

The reservists attribute the success of the mission to the tremendous group effort and unbeatable support offered from participating Peace Corps members, host-nation doctors and the El Salvadorian military.

"The El Salvadorian military has served alongside us in Iraq since the beginning of the war, so it was an honor for us to work with them in this humanitarian effort," said Capt. Tara Richards, 315th AMDS.

Services provided to the people of El Salvador included general medicine, dental, optometry, pediatrics, preventative medicine and more.

The group saw cases ranging from coughs and colds to malaria, scabies and even various cancers. They gave out 1,300 pairs of glasses and the dentists saw about 500 patients and pulled more than 1,000 teeth, said Maj. Francis Allegra, 315th AMDS.

"Every patient received preventative medicines, vitamins and health education. We were even able to make arrangements with host nation doctors to continue treatment on patients that required extensive care, "said Major Allegra.

The mission required two weeks of intensive training and work in extreme heat conditions but the 315th AMDS team was in full agreement. It was worth it.

"We had about six or seven of our people become ill and were put on IVs, but as soon as they were able, they got up and continued working. No one wanted to go home," said Captain Richards.

On the last day of their mission, the host nation showed its appreciation for the team's hard work by hosting a barbeque complete with an El Salvadorian military band.

The band was a heartwarming touch for many of the American troops present.

"They played several American tunes and even learned to play our National Anthem, which made all of us feel really appreciated," said Master Sgt. Ronette Blair, 315th AMDS.

After nine months of planning, the team was extremely proud of the outcome.

"I felt a great sense of giving and accomplishment because I knew we had made a difference," said Senior Master Sgt. James Terry, 315th AMDS. "They all just wanted to touch us and shake our hands because they were so grateful. Everyone should experience something like this is their lifetime."

Each Airman who participated returned home with a different story from the MEDRETE mission to El Salvador. However, the team consensus was clear. They were the lucky ones. They were able to help.