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Idaho Guard
travels far to provide medical care |
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March 31, 2012 |
By Army National Guard Staff Sergeant April
Davis
Idaho National Guard
 KAMPOT
PROVINCE, Cambodia – Idaho Army National
Guard Soldiers from Charlie Company,
145th Brigade Support Battalion, assisted
with medically treating more than 5,000
Cambodian citizens in a joint Medical Civic
Action Program during the Angkor Sentinel 2012
exercise here, March 13 to 23.
Angkor Sentinel is an annual bilateral military
exercise sponsored by United States Army Pacific
Command and the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces.
The MEDCAP included 16 U.S. Army medical
personnel, 15 delegates from the Royal Cambodian
Armed Forces, 17 interpreters, and a medical
team from the Children’s Surgical Center in
Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Through the combined effort of the RCAF, U.S.
Army, and the Children’s Surgical Center
thousands of Cambodians were provided medical
care that is otherwise difficult for people of
rural provinces to receive.
"The experience we’ve had here in Cambodia is
incredible and I cherish this opportunity to
work side-by-side with our RCAF partners to help
people,” said Army First Lieutenant Casey
Seckel, Charlie Company, 145th BSB.
The MEDCAP provided care to Cambodian locals in
two different locations; the Kampong Kes Primary
School and the Hun Sen Ro Lous School. Men,
women, and children of all ages received medical
care, dental care, and ophthalmic treatments and
surgeries, as well as health care education.
The general medicine team saw the largest
majority of patients with common ailments
ranging from minor wounds, muscular-skeletal
issues, gastrointestinal issues, and high-blood
pressure to diseases not often seen in the U.S.
including typhoid and tuberculosis.
Army Major Heidi Munro, commander of Charlie
Company, 145th BSB, said this experience is
unlike any training that could be replicated at
home for her soldiers.
“Our training is usually focused on treating
combat injuries, this is much more complex
because the soldiers have to diagnose actual
patients with different illnesses and diseases,”
she said.
The Chidren’s Surgical Center performed
ophthalmic surgeries, including cataract
removal, and prescribed many pairs of
eyeglasses.
Army Captain Andrew Schug, of the Idaho Army
National Guard Medical Detachment, was
enthusiastic about the mission; “It is
definitely a rewarding experience. You hear
stories about what it’s going to be like, but
it's not until you get a patient standing in
front of you, blind in one eye with lymphoma,
that you can really understand what we are doing
here. That isn’t something anyone can prepare
you for.”
Patients also sought dental care - mainly
extractions. Dental technicians with the Idaho
Army National Guard received hands-on experience
in extracting teeth, a skill reserved only for
dentists back at home.
“The ability to help the Cambodians who cannot
afford dental care, to give them some pain
relief is very rewarding,” said Army Spc. Sara
McDonald, a dental technician with the Idaho
Army National Guard.
The RCAF medical team said the MEDCAP program
benefited both nations involved, as well as the
ancillary organizations that supported it, as
they worked together to help improve the health
of the Cambodian population.
Um. Oeun, an RCAF medical officer, expressed his
thoughts on working with the U.S. military.
“We all get more experience when we are able to
train together and the American military is very
helpful in assisting with this mission in
Cambodia,” he said. “We are so happy we have the
best cooperation with the American military.”
The RCAF has conducted several MEDCAP
humanitarian missions with U.S. forces in the
past.
“I have done missions often with the Air Force,
Navy, and Army,” said Commander Ky Yadeth, of
the Royal Cambodian Navy. “I like doing them
because I like to see the cooperation between
the Cambodian military and the American
military."
Interpreters working with the medical team said
patients were grateful to receive free health
care because many families in rural Cambodia
can’t afford medical treatment.
“I think what the soldiers will take away from
this experience is an appreciation for
everything we have at home, especially health
care,” Munro said. |
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