CAMP SMITH TRAINING SITE, N.Y. - New York Army National Guard Maj. Joel Bachman, a dentist from Lido Beach. New York, is the best dentist in the Army National Guard and the Army Reserve, according to Maj. Gen. Thomas Tempel Jr., the chief of the Army Dental Corps.
Bachman, 60, who put on his uniform for the first time at 54, is the recipient of the Dental Corps Award of Excellent for 2016 for Reserve component dental officers.
The Reserve components of the Army consists of the 350,000-strong Army National Guard and the 195,000 members of the Army Reserve.
The award recognizes "significant and exemplary contributions to the Dental Corps of the United States Army Reserves or Army National Guard, and the greater Army community, while best exemplifying the Army values, emphasizing leadership and service," according to Tempel.
"Everyone likes to be recognized and I'm humbled by this honor, but I haven't done anything so special," Bachman said.
He's just worked hard since 2010 to ensure that the 10,300 members of the New York Army National Guard have good dental care, he said.
Lt. Col. Arthur Bilenker, the head of the New York Army National Guard's dental program, said Bachman was nominated for the award because of the "tremendous positive impact" he has had on the dental readiness of the New York National Guard's 10,300 Soldiers since he joined in 2010.
Bachman has a dental practice in Oceanside, New York.
As a National Guard dentist, Bachman oversees the civilian contract dentists and dental technicians who conduct dental checkups of Soldiers, and also oversees the voucher program through which the Army pays civilian dentists to care for National Guard Soldiers' teeth, Bilenker said.
"Bachman has really embraced this and spends a tremendous amount of time, on his personal time, giving us the statistics that we need so we can make intelligent recommendations to the units about their readiness and what needs to be done," Bilenker said.
Bachman developed systems for ensuring that vouchers Soldiers are given for civilian dental work are accurate and fulfilled, he said.
Dental health is a major issue for the military. Service members who deploy and then cannot perform their duties because of dental health issues are as out of the fight as a Soldier wounded in battle, Bilenker said.
Ensuring the dental health of reserve component Soldiers, who are not based where Army dentists are available and who often do not have dental health coverage through their civilian jobs, has been a major issue of the National Guard and Army Reserve, he explained.
Bachman first got involved in the military dental program in 2007. His wife showed him an ad seeking contract dentists to work with deploying National Guard Soldiers and he decided to sign up.
"Three days later I am at Fort Dix doing contract dentistry," he recalled. "I loved it from day one."
He enjoyed working with Soldiers so much that it got him to thinking about putting on a uniform himself, Bachman said.
He had never served, although his father had enlisted in the Navy during World War II and served as a hospitalist mate, and landed on Iwo Jima with the Marines. His father earned the Purple Heart there.
So in 2008 he joined the New York Guard, New York's uniformed, volunteer state defense force, one of 26 State Guards in the country. The New York Guard has a medical section which assisted Army National Guard doctors in conducting Soldier readiness checks.
"The guys there were great. They made me feel comfortable about putting on the uniform and gave me my initial exposure to the military," he said.
Wearing a uniform felt right, Bachman said, and he was encouraged to join the New York Army National Guard. Although he was 54 when he joined – a time when most people are thinking of leaving the military—he was anxious to serve, Bachman said.
The fact that Bachman joined the military at age 54 while taking time away from his civilian practice shows his selflessness, Bilenker said.
"He made a commitment to the Guard, to the state, and to his country knowing full well that he could deploy," Bilenker said. "At this point in his life he felt he could make a positive commitment."
"He came in, he saw a need, he wants to be part of our team," he added.
Bachman's experience as a contract dentist working for the Army has made him more effective at evaluating the work contractors do for the New York Army National Guard, Bilenker said.
Bachman has also invested hours of his own time in following up on Soldier dental treatments and crunching numbers that they use to evaluate the effectiveness of New York's dental program.
Bachman said that while he is honored to be selected as the top dental officer in the Army's reserve components, he is just part of a team New York Army National Guard dentists who work well together. The right systems are in place, he said.
New York has one of the best rates of dental readiness in the National Guard, he said.
"I like to do real dentistry. I love fixing Soldiers and the Soldiers are great people to work with," he said.
"My piece is one little bolt on the bottom of the Army's big machine," Bachman said. "But my bolt is not going to be the one that gets loose. I try to keep a tight grip on my lane."