Photo By Staff Sgt. Josiah Jenkins | A Kenyan family awaits medical care at Archers Post Sub County Hospital during a...... read more read more
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ARCHER’S POST, Kenya – A Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldier steps out of the entrance and yells, “113!” A young mother stands up from the waiting tent outside, carrying a baby on her back, and walks toward the entrance of Archer's Post Sub-County Hospital.
She, like the hundreds of others who had been called, walked toward the entrance ready to receive medical treatment. This treatment was provided by a joint effort between medics with the U.S. Army and the KDF.
The hesitancy in her face was quickly replaced by a smile as she sat down with U.S. Army Sgt. Alisa Foster, a patient administration specialist with the U.S. Army Reserve’s 8th Medical Brigade. Foster’s smile quickly puts the family at ease as she prepared to in-process them into the facility.
“The purpose of this exercise was to have a medical outreach to the local communities,” said KDF 2nd Lt. Dr. Kevin Kamata, a medical officer with the 21st Kenya Rifles. “The reception of the locals to this exercise has been really positive, and we have a large number of the local community coming through.”
This real-world humanitarian operation is part of exercise Justified Accord 2025 (JA25), U.S. Africa Command’s largest military exercise in East Africa.
Over a two-day period, this joint medical civic action program (MEDCAP), provided medical services to over a thousand Kenyans. People traveled from all over, some from just around the corner, others from nomadic tribes and distant villages. All of them arrived to receive medical treatment which is not always available to them.
A small boy let out a howl as U.S. Army Lt. Col. Richard Smith, an assistant chief nurse with the 912th Field Hospital, 8th Medical Brigade, wrapped the boy’s fingers in a bandage, protecting his missing fingernails. This startled a nearby baby, who looked to her mom for comfort.
A KDF soldier walked up, gently stroking the baby’s back, assisting the mother in comforting her child.
“We are here to give back to the community,” Smith said. “It was Theodore Roosevelt who said, ‘nobody cares how much you know until they know how much you care.’ The way we plan to do that is through our actions.”
With the baby settled, the family was moved to the next station where personnel checked the baby’s vitals. A KDF medic worked alongside U.S. Army Sgt. Arthur McCauley, a combat medic with the 301st Medical Detachment, 3rd Medical Command (Deployment Support), to translate the needs of the family.
The bilateral medical team quickly diagnosed the family’s needs. Smith greeted everyone after administering the bandage, and they proceeded to the pharmacy.
The MEDCAP addressed multiple issues including upper respiratory infections, gastrointestinal conditions, urinary tract infections and musculoskeletal pain. Joint U.S. and KDF medics were joined by civilian hospital staff as they triaged and administered assistance to hundreds of civilians, with more waiting just outside the doors.
“This is a god-sent help. These are poor people who are unable to pay for medical expenses,” said Dr. John Lenkulate, the Archer’s Post Sub-County Hospital director. “And whenever the American Army and KDF come here, the people benefit from free medical treatment.”
The family finally reached the front of the pharmacy line where two KDF soldiers located the prescription medicine they needed. Meanwhile many others, from newborns to elderly, were being treated in some capacity.
The team was diverse: local hospital workers, KDF medics and doctors, as well as U.S. medical personnel. Together, they listened to every patient and worked to address the various medical complaints.
The mother smiled as KDF soldiers returned with her prescription. Without the MEDCAP, she would not have been able to afford this medicine.
“Asante Sana,” she said with a big smile. Leaving the hospital, baby on her back and medicine in hand, she expressed her thanks for the joint effort of the U.S. Army, the KDF and local hospital personnel.
Justified Accord is an annual exercise which focuses on increasing multinational interoperability in support of humanitarian assistance and crisis response. Through real-world events such as the MEDCAP, as well as high-intensity field training, the exercise prepares regional partners for United Nations and African Union missions, building readiness for the U.S. joint force. The exercise is led by U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF), and is hosted in Kenya, Djibouti and Tanzania. This year's exercise incorporates personnel from over 15 nations and runs from Feb. 10-21, 2025.
| Date Taken: | 02.16.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 02.16.2025 08:07 |
| Story ID: | 490883 |
| Location: | ARCHER'S POST, KE |
| Web Views: | 162 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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