MARTIN, Tenn. - Approximately 130 service members from the Air National Guard, Army, Navy, and Navy Reserve, have joined together to participate in the 'Hope of Martin' Innovative Readiness Training mission July 8-19, 2013 in Martin, Tenn. The military medical specialists gathered from more than 29 states from across the country in support of this critical humanitarian mission. They have served more than 2,000 patients with over 4,000 procedures completed at an estimated value of $300,000 in medical services, during the first week of the mission.
"After more than a decade of war, the Guard and the Reserve are at their highest level of readiness they have been at in generations. IRT projects keep them trained and ready," said Air Force Col. Damon S. Feltman, deputy director of training program management for the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs.
The purpose of the Civil-Military Programs like the IRT is to improve military readiness while simultaneously providing quality services to communities throughout America. These programs are in keeping with a long military tradition, leveraging training to benefit both units and their home communities. They are strongly supported by The Department of Defense, Congress, the states and communities.
The military services have always brought to bear their extensive resources to help meet some of the country's civil needs. In recent years, DOD has realized the simultaneous benefits these civil-military programs can offer to military readiness.
The military medical specialists are providing care for residents from west Tennessee communities, where some patients seeking care traveled more than a hundred miles and waited hours to be seen and treated. The IRT provided medical care including physicals, mental health, dental and eye exams. Patients also have access to an occupational therapist, dietician and pharmacy services. Vision care includes screenings and free glasses created on site in the Mobile Optical Lab where more than 500 pair of glasses have been made to date. Information about additional medical resources and health care facilities in the community are also provided on site.
"This is by far the most rewarding annual training I've ever done in a joint environment that helps our fellow countrymen," said Senior Chief Petty Officer Jeff Tabor, Navy Reserve Medicine Education Training and Command, Naval Air Station, Jacksonville, Fla. "Its challenging dealing with the public when we can't meet their expectations to provide all services that are needed, but we push through and continue to provide quality care to the people that we see."
The unique part of this mission is the joint aspect and the chaos of just beginning in a different environment, working with different people, said Navy Capt. Janie Brier, the Medical Director of ‘Hope of Martin' Innovative Readiness Training from the Navy Reserve Medicine Education and Training Command, Jacksonville, Fla. The service members come in from different states and different branches of the military, the initial disorder of not knowing the location or just what to expect brings questions of just how we are going to complete the mission, but within just a few hours we were able to establish a good way to provide comprehensive care to the residents of west Tennessee, said Brier.
"Compared to previous trainings, this is more innovative, due to the limited supplies. We had to decide how to best use the supplies-on-hand and step outside our comfort zone to get the mission done," said Navy HM3, Adrian E. Rodriguez, a medical corpsman with the Expeditionary Medical Facility, Detachment N, Dallas.
"We had one patient who came in and said she hadn't smiled in 2 years because she was so embarrassed about her teeth," said Air Force Maj. Tiffany Harper, a dentist assigned to the 192nd Fighter Wing, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va. "When she left she was smiling and extremely grateful."
"This is the best visit I have ever had to a dentist," said Wayne Alexander, a Martin resident.
Airmen from the 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville, Ky., and the 134th Air Refueling Wing, Knoxville, Tenn., provided food for the service members utilizing the new Disaster Relief Mobile Kitchen assigned to the Kentucky Air National Guard. The 280th Combat Communications Unit, Dothan Ala., used the Ground Antenna Transmit and Receive or GATR Inflatable Satellite system, a rapid deployment satellite that provides high-bandwidth communications for transmission of secure or non-secure data, voice and video. The 280th CCU provided communication support that facilitated mission essential information to be distributed while also providing support to the service members via an Internet café.
"We faced challenges with serving all the people who needed care due to budget cuts, but we were still able to complete the IRT training mission and provide the care to those in need," said Air Force Lt. Col. Dwight Kenneth Hall, the Air National Guard Innovative Readiness Training Program Manager, Joint Base Andrews, Md.