Photo By Master Sgt. Rachelle Morris | U.S. Army 1st Lt. Dayhna Marti Ojeda, New Hampshire Army National Guard nurse, inserts...... read more read more
Thirty miles above the Arctic Circle, 128 joint service members gathered in Kotzebue, Alaska, to take part in Operation Arctic Care, an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) medical support activity where residents received no-cost medical, dental, and veterinary services.
Many service members participating in Operation Arctic Care were forward deployed to an additional 11 villages across the region, transported by Black Hawk helicopters and snowmobiles. They provided services in Maniilaq Association facilities and were housed in schools of the Northwest School District.
Service members provided treatment to 460 dental and 392 medical patients, performing 1,974 procedures that amounted to over $710,000 in fair market value. Additionally, the pharmacy filled 1,386 prescriptions, and veterinarians treated 274 animals, with these services valued at $25,000 and $50,000, respectively, in fair market value.
“There's some really incredible things that have happened here--the first one is the excitement on all of the service members' faces,” said Col. Richard Frear, Operation Arctic Care commander. “The second is I'm very impressed with the cooperation between the different services and organizations here. And the last thing is the people of the villages-they are so excited to see us; they have been so welcoming.”
The New Hampshire National Guard led the mission with support from the U.S. Marine Corps’ 4th Dental Battalion, Combat Logistics Regiment 4, and 6th Communications Battalion, as well as the Alaska Army National Guard’s 207th Aviation Regiment and the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS).
“We have 12 officers serving,” said Lieutenant Commander Josh Satlak of the USPHS. “We have the GI (gastrointestinal) team that consists of a surgeon and a few nurses, a veterinarian clinic team, two pharmacists, and two environmental health officers.”
The GI team was the number one request from the community partner.
“We have a high incidence of colon cancer, so we have been pushing and pushing to get more colonoscopies in the area,” said Kandy Barlow, Maniilaq Association vice president of health services. “If we get one person saved from colon cancer, that's worth the entire mission.”
During the mission, medical personnel identified 96 polyps and diagnosed one individual with colon cancer. They also delivered life-saving emergency care to a patient experiencing a stroke, another suffering a heart attack, and a pregnant individual in distress—responding swiftly enough to save each of them. There were many lives saved during the mission, something Frear said he and his team would not easily forget.
“The memories being created are absolutely amazing, especially these younger folks that have never left their states,” Frear said. “Those are things that you can't quantify. You can't put them in a number, but they're very, very valuable.”
Operation Arctic Care provided essential medical services to Alaskan residents and fostered invaluable training and cooperation among diverse service members. As they return to their respective roles, the experiences and memories from this mission will continue to resonate, proving the profound impact of service beyond conventional boundaries.
The IRT program offers service members invaluable real-world training while delivering essential services to American communities in need. In 2024, IRT successfully executed 72 support activities across 36 states and territories, providing hands-on training to 7,673 service members and fulfilling 53,308 training requirements. Learn more about the program at irt.defense.gov.
| Date Taken: | 04.18.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 05.15.2025 14:41 |
| Story ID: | 498092 |
| Location: | KOTZEBUE, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 113 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Alaskan people, animals receive no-cost care above Arctic Circle, by MSgt Rachelle Morris, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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