141st Medical Group provides essential services to Military population of Okinawa

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Michael Brown | Tech. Sgt. Mariah McLeod, 141st Medical Group looks at mosquitos with a microscope at the bioenvironmental lab on Kadena Air Base, Japan, August 24, 2023. The Washington Air National Guard recently deployed to the island for two weeks of training and certification.  

SPOKANE, WA, UNITED STATES

08.24.2023

Story by Tech. Sgt. Michael Brown 

141st Air Refueling Wing

For two weeks in August the 141st and 194th Medical Group completed a deployment for training to Kadena Air Base, Japan. Several specialties banded together with personnel from Kadena Air Base, The Naval Hospital at Camp Foster and Marine Corps Air Station Futenma.
Personnel assigned to the Naval Hospital Okinawa worked in the Intensive Care Unit, sick call, anesthesiology, and administrative departments. On Kadena Air Base Airmen worked in the Emergency Medical Evacuation Squadron, Bioenvironmental and Public Health flight, and at MCAS Futenma Airmen were assigned to the Dental Clinic.
Working in this environment has been a great experience for me as a medic because I’ve gotten a lot of real-world hands-on medical experience,” said Tech. Sgt. Joshua Stansfield, Aerospace Medical Technician. “The Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and Airmen face the same afflictions as stateside yet they need treatment here.”
The joint environment allowed cross training between services on critical medical care. The training also allowed Medical Airmen to reach their required minimum 40 clinical hours. Guard Airmen can have a hard time meeting this minimum stateside due to military treatment facilities frequently referring service members to civilian providers. In an overseas location, most Active and Retired services members receive all of their care through a Military Treatment Facility, offering more training for our Guard Airmen then they could receive in the United States.
“Working at Kadena vs. Fairchild is a challenge with the environment,” said Lt. Col. Kandice Kannberg, Commander 141st Medical Group Det. 1. However, the opportunity to work in a joint environment where we all support the mission has been amazing.
While there were challenges mainly around the coordination of transportation for shift work. There were a lot of good things that came out of the TDY as well. “The dental clinic was a huge hit,” said Kannberg. “So much so that we have Marines specifically asking to accomplish their dental with our folks.”
Over two weeks the groups went from a slow start to full speed ahead. The initial trepidation of how to use these guardsmen quickly wore off and to witness them become a team in sync in such a short amount of time was amazing.
The most rewarding part of this TDY was watching our Airmen working in their career field that they don’t always have the opportunity to do. Back at Fairchild we are so overwhelmed with CBT’s, paperwork and patient services and training that we don’t always have the opportunity to train like this.

• Date Taken: 08.24.2023
• Date Posted: 12.15.2023 13:24
• Story ID: 460104
• Location: SPOKANE, WA, US