379th Air Expeditionary Wing

Story by Senior Airman Michael Matkin

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- From basic training, military servicemembers are taught the importance of attention to detail. When cleaning and inspecting weapons, servicemembers ensure they are free from carbon and in good working order. If the optics on a weapon is dirty, scratched or otherwise in disrepair, the problem is immediately corrected to ensure the weapon can be zeroed in on target. It is often said that the body is also a weapon system and keeping it clean and in good working order is essential in keeping servicemembers in the fight.

Keeping the human weapon system optics clean, in good repair and zeroed in is the mission of the 379th Expeditionary Medical Squadron optometry services. "Having good eye care is essential for [servicemembers] in a deployed environment so that we can keep them in the fight," said Lt. Col. (Dr.) Daniel Perala, 379 EMDG optometrist, deployed from the 153rd Airlift Wing, Wyoming Air National Guard.

Currently, the optometry service is able to provide some essential, non-routine eye treatment for eye infections, glaucoma and anterior uveitis, which is like arthritis of the eyes, Colonel Perala said. They can also perform ultrasounds and x-rays, and examine the eyes for more serious problems such as retinal detachment and embedded shrapnel. Additionally, this is the only eye clinic in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility certified for post operation laser eye surgery care.

To help make the base's optometry clinic more established, there are plans to expand the clinic to a larger facility with a greater diagnostic and treatment capability.

"Having an expanded clinic here that can perform advanced procedures is important so that we can meet the growing mission requirements," Perala said. "Although there are some eye problems that a general physician can handle, such as eye infections, when more serious problems come up, we need to be able to care for them here instead of sending [servicemembers] to Germany."

An essential step in moving forward to caring for all servicemembers is the clinic's partnership with the nearby Army base which does not have an optometry clinic.

"We have a great relationship with [the Army post] and we work closely together to ensure all servicemembers and coalition partners from both installations get the eye care they need," Perala said.

The partnership with the Army post works well because the post is able to provide equipment and materials to the clinic here more quickly than they could get them from the continental U.S. For example, the Army post has a lab and is able to fabricate the glasses and have them to the servicemembers within a week for some prescriptions, which is faster than delivery times at CONUS bases where it can take more than a month to get them, said Tech Sgt. Sarah Fry, 379 EMDG ophthalmic technician, also deployed from the 153 AW.

Also, with a functioning optometry clinic here, Army troops arriving from downrange to the nearby Army post for rest and relaxation are able to see the base's optometrist. This ensures they are getting needed eye exams, new glasses or eye care before they go back downrange.

"Servicemembers here who are in need of new gas mask inserts or standard issued frames can re-order. However, to be able to re-order. the last issued frames cannot be more than a year old," Fry said.

Providing these services to the base population maintains base readiness by keeping everyone's human weapon system vision ready and in the fight.

"Eye care is an essential part of our lives. You can't perform your job if you can't see what you are doing," Fry said.

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