Photo By Tech. Sgt. Annie Edwards | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Jami Pepe, a bioenvironmental technician with the 151st...... read more read more
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Eight Airmen with the 151st Medical Group provide public health and bioenvironmental engineering support for the humanitarian civic assistance portion of African Lion 2021 at the Military Medical Surgical Field Hospital in Tafraoute, Morocco, June 7-17.
“Public health serves a very important role both to our military members on the ground as well as to the local citizens who visit our field hospital,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Carissa Christensen, a public health officer with the 151st MDG and vice commander of the HCA portion of AL21.
During African Lion, the Airmen work with Moroccan Military Social Services to provide health education for children that come to the field hospital. The public health section provides activities including health education in Arabic which emphasizes preventative medicine, as well as pictures that support good practices for nutrition, hydration, sun exposure, hygiene, and dental care.
“Public health education and preventative medicine has a huge impact that is much more long-term,” said Christensen. “If we can prevent some of the behaviors here, then they won’t have as many significant chronic problems.”
Before traveling to Morocco, the public health team gathered donated items to distribute at the field hospital, including dental hygiene items and hundreds of pairs of sunglasses. Christensen hopes that improved dental care now will mean fewer cavities and extractions in the future, and adequate eye protection will reduce the need for cataract surgery.
While in Morocco the public health technicians work in conjunction with the bioenvironmental engineering technicians to ensure that the food, water and working environment is safe for the U.S. service members while onsite at the field hospital, as well as in their living quarters.
“For our military colleagues, we are given the responsibility to ensure that their hygiene, nutrition, and occupational and environmental exposures are kept at a standard that is acceptable in the U.S.,” said Christiansen.
In preparation for AL21, public health technicians visited the field hospital site, as well as the lodging where the HCA service members are staying during the exercise.
“We have been working diligently with the Army preventative medicine team making sure that all of the food and water is safe for our personnel to consume by conducting site surveys and assessments,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Nicole Ligeza, a public health technician with the 151st MDG.
The bioenvironmental engineering technicians monitor water quality and environmental conditions to protect the health and safety of the military personnel operating the field hospital.
“We also monitor radiation from the x-ray tent, making sure that the area is safe for those working and visiting the clinic,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adrian Ashinhurst, a bionenvionmental engineering technician with the 151st MDG.
Ligeza said the opportunity to work with her Moroccan counterparts and build a partnership has been a very rewarding experience. She has also enjoyed making an impact with the children while distributing donations.
“I think this has been a wonderful opportunity to embrace the local community,” said Ligeza. “Not only do we see the immediate impact of the medical care from our experienced providers, but we are able to influence the younger generation as well through health education.”
African Lion 2021 is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, joint, annual exercise hosted by Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal, 7-18 June. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for us and partner nation forces. AL21 is multi-domain, null-component, and multinational exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants.
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2021 03:25 |
| Story ID: | 398818 |
| Location: | TAFRAOUTE, MA |
| Web Views: | 211 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Utah Airmen keep African Lion 2021 safe and healthy, by TSgt Annie Edwards, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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