Photo By Sgt. Marco Gutierrez | Army Reserve Spc. John Patrick Ga, a light wheel vehicle mechanic of the 988th Medical...... read more read more
Story by Spc. Samuel Al-Nimri
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. - When one thinks of wartime casualties, disease is the last thing that comes to mind. This was not always the case, as during the American Civil War, where approximately two-thirds of lives lost were due to disease. However, thanks to the efforts of Preventive Medicine (PM) units like the 988th Medical Detachment from Round Rock, Texas, Army Reserve soldiers participating in the Combat Support Training Exercise (CSTX) Global Lightning 2015 and the Quartermaster Liquid Logistics Exercise (QLLEX) at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst have one less enemy to worry about.
The mission of the 988th Medical Det. is to perform operations for both CSTX Global Lightning, allotting them the responsibility of preventive medicine for over 1,000 soldiers at Fort Dix, New Jersey.
It is the duty of the Preventive Medicine Specialist to protect and defend Soldiers from Disease Non-Battle Injuries (DNBI). Fighting against a broad array of ailments by conducting water, air, and soil sampling, entomological studies, and dining facility and base camp inspections.
“We’re basically the public health department of the Army,” said, Spc. David Boeman, a preventive medicine specialist of the 988th Medical Detachment.
The 988th Medical Det. deals directly with the leadership of Forward Operation Base (FOB) Victory, at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, by providing a base assessment in which they submit suggestions for improving the quality of life for the Soldiers on the FOB as directed by Army Regulations.
The 988th also works first hand with the soldiers through the training of Field Sanitation Teams (FST’s), who trained to assist in preventive medicine at the unit level.
“As PM it is our duty to train FSTs whether it be during Annual Training (AT) or downrange,” said, Sgt. George Maroukis, a preventive medicine specialist with the 988th Medical Det.
During this year’s QLLEX, the 988th Medical Det. worked directly with the 961st Quartermaster Company out of McAllen, Texas. The water purification specialists of the 961st QM Company use a Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit (ROWPU) to purify water to a potable status. When it was required to relocate water-drawing sites to Lake Hurst on Fort Dix, New Jersey, after water well ran dry, it was up to the 988th Medical Det. to test the lake’s water quality for human consumption.
The 988th Medical Det. also performs setup of Mosquito traps throughout the Area of Operation (AO) for testing of specimens who may be carriers of diseases such as the West Nile Virus and Malaria.
The detachment also does tick drawings for the testing of Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease.
During CSTX Global Lightning 2015, members of 988th Medical Detachment received assistance from Air Force Preventive Medicine units located in Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.
“Yes, we’re Army, but it’s important for us to reach out to our brethren in other branches of service and work together, and the Air Force has been extremely helpful in providing us the opportunity to use some of their resources,” said Cpt. Patrick McClellan, commander of the 988th Medical Det.
“We told them we had a ROWPU and they lit up,” added McClellan, “so in return they’re going to come out and learn on the ROWPU. It’s not about whether it’s an Army thing or if it’s an Air Force thing, it’s a United States thing, and we’re all on the same team.”
Using preventative medicine Soldiers saves the Army a lot of money.
“A lot of the things we do may require multiple contractors, while we’re an all in one, a jack of all trades.” McClellan explained.
The 988th hold the Army Values of Loyalty, Duty and Selfless service to the highest standard, to which McClellan exclaimed, “we’re here to keep all soldiers happy and healthy. And even if we can’t help so much with the happy aspect, we can definitely help with the healthy!”
| Date Taken: | 06.13.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 06.15.2015 20:31 |
| Story ID: | 166729 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 747 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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