Photo By Capt. Monika Comeaux | Spc. Damiel J. Bennett, an optical laboratory specialist with Headquarters and...... read more read more
CAMP TAJI, IRAQ - While Soldiers may have to wait weeks to get a prescription filled stateside, the Optometry Clinic staff on Camp Taji can fulfill a prescription in as little as 20 minutes.
Cutting eyeglasses however is not the only service the 4th Sustainment Brigade clinic offers.
"The clinic provides all eye services," said Sgt. Michael Kingsbury, an eye specialist from Special Troops Battalion, 4th SB. "We do full eye exams, long and short flight physicals for pilots, driver's license exams and of course we treat any eye injuries Soldiers sustain while in Iraq."
Their patients come from Camp Taji and surrounding forward operating bases, riding on combat logistics patrols or flying in to receive care. The clinic sees between 100 to 125 patients a week, said Capt. Evelyn Reyes-Cabrera, chief of optometry for the 4th SB.
Since the clinic's Christmas Eve opening, it has seen almost 1,300 patients. In addition to their Taji operations, the clinic also sends a team to Baghdad once a month to provide support for the 10th Combat Support Hospital, Kingsbury explained.
"I think we have one of the best crews anywhere within the United States Army," he said. "These guys came to me from Advanced Individual Training (AIT) and we forged a great team here. We work together, we all look out for each other and we all work hard to get the mission accomplished."
Spc. Daniel J. Bennett, also from the brigade, is the only optical laboratory specialist in the clinic. On an average day he cuts about 30 pairs of glasses. "I've actually done up to 45 a day," Bennett said. "It also depends on how strong the prescriptions are." He is just as enthusiastic about taking care of patients as his NCOIC.
"The one thing I definitely enjoy the most is that I take a piece of plastic and help people see," Bennett said. "Sometimes the best part of it is when people put on their first pair of glasses, the light in their eyes just shines."
Some glasses take longer than others to make. The clinic offers a variety of frames, both civilian and the classic Army style.
"I think it is unbelievable that it takes a month in garrison to get glasses and it only takes ten minutes in theater," said Sgt. Maj. Samuel D. McCray, the brigade S-3 sergeant major.
He commended the clinic's staff on their customer service skills. "The Soldiers are very professional and the service is quick," he said.
Reyes-Cabrera is also very impressed with her handful of Soldiers. As she explained, her troops have done an amazing job gearing up for the deployment by assisting in the screening of approximately 6,000 Soldiers deploying from Fort Hood, Texas.
They continue chugging along, treating patients on a daily basis here in theater. No matter what time of day, they do not turn away anybody.
"We bend over backwards and make sure that you get what you need," said Kingsbury.
The clinic staff cautions Soldiers to wear eye protection not only when they go on missions, but also any time they are outside, even when conducting PT.
"The most common eye injuries are abrasions and inflammations, and some chemical burns" Reyes-Cabrera said.
Many of the injuries could have been avoided, if the Soldier wore proper eye protection.
With summer right around the corner, Soldiers should start wearing sunglasses, since the sun can cause snow-blindness like symptoms, hindering troops in accomplishing their mission, she added.
| Date Taken: | 04.25.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 04.25.2006 11:04 |
| Story ID: | 6111 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 15 |
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