Photo By 2nd Lt. Daniel Ter Haar | Iowa Army National Guard 1st Lt. Jordan Helming, 1st Battalion 194th Field Artillery...... read more read more
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U.S. service members arrived in Puerto Rico on April 25 2019, as a part of a large scale medical mission called Ola de Esperanza Sanadora, (“Healing Wave of Hope”) which combines military training requirements with no cost health care assistance to Puerto Rico citizens.
Iowa Army National Guard 1st Lt. Jordan Helming, 1st Battalion 194th Field Artillery Regiment, a chaplain from Sioux Center, Iowa volunteered to assist the Iowa Air National Guard’s 185th Air Refueling Wing with chaplain support for the large scale mission.
Helming said that the medical mission in Puerto Rico offered some unique challenges and it was a great way to learn more about working with a field medical unit, a common place for chaplains to support service members.
“Working around the medical field is a vital part of what chaplains do, we need to be able to help service members strive in stressful environments,” said Helming.
Helming also said that Puerto Rico provided a great way to practice key leader engagement, speaking with religious and community leaders, a necessary chaplain skill often used in austere environments.
“It broadens your skill set, going out into the community and making those connections is important to our mission here,” “We need the community to help with our training and I’ve learned a lot about Puerto Rico,” said Helming.
The two-week medical mission is a part of the Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training opportunity which consists of U.S. National Guard, Reserve and Active Duty service members and combines crucial military training requirements with real-world needs.
The mission includes over 500 service members with various backgrounds such as combat medics, medical technicians, flight surgeons, doctors, nurses, dentists, public affairs, patient administrators, optometrists and Chaplains.
The medical mission offers medical, optometry and dental services to Puerto Rico civilians and will end on May 5, 2019.
| Date Taken: | 05.04.2019 |
| Date Posted: | 05.04.2019 08:01 |
| Story ID: | 320715 |
| Location: | PR |
| Hometown: | SIOUX CENTER, IA, US |
| Web Views: | 199 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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