Photo By Master Sgt. Kelly Ogden | Staff Sgt. Michael Muschong, a biomedical equipment technician deployed in support of...... read more read more
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BELIZE CITY, Belize - Picture this. You arrive in Belize for a dental exercise, open your shipping containers, test out your equipment and find out that six out of twelve generators are broken.
Ordering and paying for six more generators for a mission that’s already begun is not an option. Time is of the essence and supplies are limited.
So, what do you do?
You call on Staff Sgt. Michael Muschong, a biomedical equipment technician deployed in support of the New Horizons exercise from the 99th Medical Support Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, to come to the rescue.
He performs preventative maintenance calibration and repairs on all medical equipment.
So, what did he do when half of the generators came in broken?
He pulled a “McGyver,” scrapping one generator to make parts to fix the other five.
“You have to work with what you have,” said Muschong. “It’s important to think on your feet and be very ingenuitive.”
His ingenuity assisted U.S. and Canadian dentists and dental technicians with being able to treat more than 700 local Belizeans.
He says that he’s able to predict more maintenance issues at home station because it’s not as high-paced. So, he’s grateful for this opportunity to deploy to Belize.
This exercise provides Sergeant Muschong and his team with opportunities to get valuable training that they cannot receive at home station because of the details and logistics it takes to execute an out-of-country deployment.
A significant part of New Horizons is the collection of Medical Readiness Training Exercises, better known as MEDRETES, which are designed to provide humanitarian assistance and medical care to people in the local area, while helping improve the skills of U.S. military medical forces and those of military medical professionals of the host nation.
“I’ve been having fun,” said the Roselle, Illinois native. “It’s humbling to be able to give back.”
Of being able to interact with local Belizeans visiting the dental clinic for treatment, Muschong says “I’ve seen a lot of smiles and people seem very happy and grateful.”
| Date Taken: | 06.26.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 06.26.2014 23:50 |
| Story ID: | 134603 |
| Location: | BELIZE CITY, BZ |
| Hometown: | ROSELLE, IL, US |
| Web Views: | 348 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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