Photo By Sgt. 1st Class True Thao | U.S. Army Capt. Abe Alvarenga, a native of Austin, Texas, and a member of Task Force...... read more read more
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BARAHONA, Dominican Republic - Members of Task Force Larimar's Military Information Support Operations (MISO) team traveled throughout the southeast portion of Barahona, Dominican Republic, to inform local citizens of an upcoming medical readiness training exercise (MEDRETE), which also includes dental readiness training exercises and construction projects as part of 2014 humanitarian civic assistance mission Beyond the Horizon (BTH). The mission is supported by the United States Army South, which provides humanitarian assistance to various Latin American countries by providing medical care to local citizens at no cost, building schools and medical clinics that may help improve the quality of life of the residents of the countries participating in the event.
The MISO team has visited different cities, interacting with local citizens, informing them of the upcoming humanitarian assistance Task Force Larimar is providing the residents living in the neighborhoods surrounding Barahona. Traveling to different cities allows the team to disseminate the information to as many citizens as possible, ensuring a greater number of citizens to benefit from the opportunity.
“Our mission out here us to support the commander's intent of informing local citizens about the MEDRETES, DENTRETES and constructions projects in progress,” said Cpl. John Matthew Urby, noncomissioned officer in charge of the MISO team. “We want to inform them about the different sites.”
With the construction projects ongoing, the MISO team wanted to ensure that the local citizens were not receiving misconstrues information about why the U.S. Military is in their country.
Disseminating fliers written in Spanish and interacting face to face with the local populace has helped the citizens understand that the U.S. Military is here to provide humanitarian assistance.
“It's a good chance for us to see the locals and get to know a little about them,” said Cpl. Justin Anderson, assistant team leader with MISO team.
With the construction projects in progress, the MISO team wants to ensure the local citizens understand the safety hazards. With the language restrictions, putting up construction and warning signs in Spanish can help minimize the risk.
“We informed them about the construction projects,” said Anderson. “We want them to know what we are building and why we are building it.”
Task Force Larimar conducted previous MEDRETES in the city of Barahona and DENTRETES in a town southwest portion of the city. Those training exercises were a success with a number of more than 500 patients per day, said Urby.
Urby, who was part of two previous MEDRETES, said that the local populace were very thankful for the previous medical training exercises and they are expecting the help of local citizens to spread the word about the next two MEDRETES.
“They were very grateful and are looking forward to the next medical and dental readiness training exercises, ” said Urby.
With the 2014 humanitarian civic assistance mission Beyond the Horizon ongoing until the end of June, the U.S. service members will continue to train hard and assist the local citizens of the Dominican Republic as part of Task Force Larimar. Being part of BTH 2014 allows U.S. service members to utilize their military occupational specialty skills and build a stronger bond with the host nation.
“I am very grateful for this opportunity to do such an amazing thing,” said Urby.
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 05.06.2014 17:40 |
| Story ID: | 128932 |
| Location: | BARAHONA, DO |
| Hometown: | SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 409 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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