Members of the 179th AW
Medical Squadron give free medical checkups to civilians on
Honolulu.
Members of the 179th AW
Medical Squadron give free medical checkups to civilians on
Honolulu.
Members of the 179th AW
Medical Squadron give free medical checkups to civilians on
Honolulu. |
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Story and photos by: SSgt
Jessica Cauvel
179th Public Affairs
HONOLULU - When one pictures Hawaii, most often a vision of a
lush tropic vacation and sunbathing on the beaches comes to
mind.
Travel an hour from the busy hub of Honolulu and those pristine
beaches are replaced with ones occupied by tent cities. On each
of these “tent city” beaches, roughly 1000 people live in
makeshift tent shelters because they cannot afford to live in a
home. Many of these homeless dwellers are military veterans and
most aren’t receiving adequate health care.
This is where the Mansfield-based 179th Airlift Wing Medical Squadron (MDS) stepped in to
offer free health services this past April. In conjunction with
the Hawaii State Department of Health and the Hawaii Air
National Guard, 36 members of the 179th MDS offered free health
services for two weeks to Hawaii’s poor and homeless
populations. This work was completed as part of Hawaii
Innovative Readiness Training.
They were the first unit to deploy to Hawaii as part of the new
program. Units from New Jersey and Texas were expected to follow
in their footsteps later this year as part of a five-year
initiative.
Hosted by the Hawaii Air National Guard 154th Medical Group, the members
provided vision, dental, and physical screenings. They offered
these screenings in public schools were the poor population
attends and also on the beaches where the homeless had set up
their tent cities.
While they were in the schools, Col. Eric D. Ostrem, 179th MDS
Commander, said they were treated almost as if they were
celebrities. He said one child was overheard boosting to his
friends he “got to touch one of them”.
CMSgt Bryan “Kelly” Ruff, 179th MDS Noncommissioned Officer In
Charge (NCOIC), added that many of the children showed up in
white t-shirts when they knew the military members would be
there in hopes of getting their shirts autographed by the
members.
In between signing autographs, the 36 members screened more than
750 children each day. They also assisted the low income schools
with screenings for student athletes.
Ruff shared an experience of diagnosing a medical issue in a
homeless man on the beach; a diagnosis that normally requires an
X-Ray in a hospital setting. Members of the 179th diagnosed the
patient who was then taken to a nearby hospital where the
diagnosis was confirmed and re received treatment.
It was these people and children who made the trip worthwhile,
according to Ruff. He said the trip had its challenges, like any
deployment, but it was a very satisfying experience.
Ostrem said the highlight for him was letting people see his
members as doctors, nurses and medical technicians. Instead of
only viewing military members as being wartime trained killers,
Ostrem said this experience let the people of Hawaii see them as
humans with real life jobs and a deep desire to help others.
Ruff said the people they assisted were so grateful for the
help, that they gave thank you cards to the members before they
left.
Due to the tremendous success of this humanitarian mission, the
154th asked when the 179th would be able and willing to come
down and help next year. Ostrem and Ruff both agreed based on
the success of this year’s trip they are looking forward to
returning next year in order to support this vital and rewarding
mission.
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