Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit (FDPMU) Team Four from San Diego, Calif. and FDPMU Team Six from Honolulu, Hawaii concluded two, six-day field exercises demonstrating operational readiness, January 7 – 20, 2018.
“The FDPMU provides rapidly deployable, flexible and sustainable force health protection services to forward deployed elements of the Navy and Marine Corps,” said Lt. Cmdr. Leith States, operations department head, NEPMU-5. “We do this through expert utilization of detection and diagnostic equipment as well as real-time analytical capabilities.”
Each multi-disciplinary FDPMU team is comprised of six officers and eight enlisted Sailors representing five components: chemical, microbiology, disease vector, preventive medicine and logistics. Each component has to meet rigorous training requirements and demonstrate proficiency in strategies and techniques relevant to each subject.
The operational readiness exercise was spearheaded by the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) along with coordinators from the NEPMU-5 operations department.
“Through the exercise, evaluators from NMCPHC identified strengths and limitations associated with delivering the primary mission of the FDPMU,” said Dana Goodwin, FDPMU analyst, NMCPHC. "The team must be able to provide force health protection by rapidly assessing, preventing and controlling health threats in a theater of operations and enhancing organic preventive medicine assets."
“The evaluators’ role was to assess the team’s ability to advise operational commanders on significant risks, operational risk management alternatives and recommend effective intervention measures to protect the health of the force,” said Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Jeffrey Baker, NEPMU-5.
“I am very proud of the way our team came together during the exercise,” said Lt. Cmdr. Joseph Vo, FDPMU Team Four officer in charge. “These exercises are designed to be stressful and push your limits, but our team rose to the challenge and is ready to start providing real world services to our fleet and Marine Corps assets.”
The successful completion of the evaluation certified FDPMU Team Four and Six as a tier one platform and ready for deployment.
“These FDPMU teams represent the tip of the spear for preventive medicine,” said Cmdr. Shelton Lyons, officer in charge, NEPMU-5. “These exercises ensure that our teams are setting the gold standard of Navy readiness and once again our teams proved they are ready to provide world class preventive medicine support anytime and anywhere.”
For more news from NEPMU-5, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nepmu5 or follow NEPMU-5 on Facebook at www.facebook.com/nepmu5.
For more news from NMCPHC, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nmcphc/.
| Date Taken: | 01.26.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 01.26.2018 11:33 |
| Story ID: | 263387 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 426 |
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