Photo By Chief Petty Officer Justin Stumberg | Lt. Randy Buckley, assigned to Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit TWO...... read more read more
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While BALTOPS 25 brought the noise, jets roaring overhead, ships maneuvering through the Baltic Sea, a quieter mission unfolded behind the scenes.
Navy preventive medicine teams, deployed across Latvia and Sweden, focused on something less visible but just as critical: ensuring nothing stopped the fight before it even started.
“We’re here to make sure warfighters can stay in the field and keep doing the mission,” said Lt. Randy Buckley, an entomologist with Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit TWO (NEPMU-2), based in Norfolk, Virginia.
Forward Deployed Preventive Medicine Unit (FDPMU) personnel embedded across multiple operating sites to put their capabilities to the test in challenging, real-world conditions.
“That means getting ahead of potential health threats before they impact operations,” Buckley said.
At the Skrunda Training Area, a more remote, wooded site compared to the main operating base in Liepaja, the team faced an operationally significant challenge: mosquitoes and gnats. Lots of them.
“We anticipated vector concerns in the area and came prepared with repellents,” Buckley said. “But the sheer density of flying insects at Skrunda highlighted how valuable a thermal fogger would be in future missions. It’s a tool we’re actively looking to incorporate.”
The dense brush and standing water made insect control a critical task. For Marines and Sailors operating in the field, the biting pests weren’t just irritating, they were a daily distraction and a potential vector for disease.
“Every small effort out here directly supports the bigger picture of operational readiness,” said Buckley.
The importance of that work wasn’t lost on the service members living it day to day.
“The gnats were absolutely terrible,” said Utilitiesman Paul Castrenze, project lead with Naval Construction Battalion 14. “I feel like I earned a Purple Heart for fighting that many bugs.”
Despite the conditions, Castrenze said the preventive medicine team played a key role in keeping morale and operations on track.
“They were out there checking on us, doing the water tests, making sure we were squared away,” he said. “When you’re sweating through your uniform and getting swarmed by bugs, it helps knowing someone’s got your back.”
At Camp Turtle and other Latvian sites, the team also conducted environmental surveillance such as inspecting food and water sources, monitoring sanitation, and advising planners on disease prevention. It was methodical, science-driven work that underpinned the safety of hundreds of U.S. and partner nation personnel training in expeditionary conditions.
Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Alexis Rivera, now assigned to NEPMU-7 Rota, Spain, recently transitioned from duty aboard the forward-deployed amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6) and is experiencing her first field exercise with the Navy’s expeditionary medical community.
“This experience really helped prepare me to better support the expeditionary side of the Navy,” Rivera said. “It’s a completely different culture from shipboard life. Getting out here helped me understand what it takes to operate in the field and see how other rates contribute to the larger mission.”
Rivera supported the team’s environmental surveillance efforts, conducting daily water quality assessments at austere sites in Latvia.
“As part of our daily preventive medicine checks, we monitored chlorine levels in the water bladders used for hygiene purposes,” Rivera said. “Since this was a field environment, we performed routine chlorination and testing to ensure the water remained within safety parameters for activities like showering and brushing teeth.”
She also worked alongside Engineering Aid 1st Class Dylan Maznicki, assigned to 22 Naval Construction Regiment, during site assessments in Sweden.
“I got to learn about his job and see what other rates bring to the mission. It was cool to see how everyone applies their skillset,” said Rivera.
As the Navy shifts toward distributed maritime operations and integrated deterrence, preventive medicine is playing a growing strategic role in preserving combat effectiveness.
“I think we’ve seen historically that disease is a major limiting factor in operations,” Buckley said. “Our job is to help ensure clean food, clean water, and avoidance of illness because that’s how we keep people healthy and mission-ready.”
He noted that the operational spread of personnel introduces new challenges.
“When personnel are dispersed across multiple locations, something as simple as consuming food from unapproved sources can introduce avoidable health risks and disrupt operational momentum,” Buckley said.
Beyond routine surveillance, the FDPMU conducted forward-looking site surveys at remote Swedish airfields, evaluating terrain, drainage, and force protection to help prepare for future deployment of Expeditionary Medical Facilities (EMFs). It’s part of a broader Navy Medicine goal to remain agile, scalable, and forward-ready.
“The EMF surveys in Sweden were a valuable chance to assess real-world conditions which are critical for future medical support deployments,” Buckley said. “By planning ahead, we ensure we’re ready to respond without hesitation when it matters most.”
While most of the activity took place in the air and at sea, the work of the Forward Deployed Preventive Medicine Unit quietly reinforced a critical message. Medical readiness does not begin with the first sign of conflict. It begins with water testing, site assessments, and careful health planning.
In the end, the ability to stay in the fight depends on the ability to stay healthy. No one understands that better than the Sailors who stand watch on the front lines of readiness.
BALTOPS, which began June 5, is the premier annual maritime-focused military exercise in the Baltic region. BALTOPS provides NATO allies a unique opportunity to train together, strengthen interoperability and demonstrate collective readiness to defend the Alliance and preserve freedom of navigation in the region.
Participating nations include Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
BALTOPS includes training in a wide range of capabilities, including amphibious operations, gunnery, air defense, anti-submarine warfare, mine countermeasures, explosive ordnance disposal, and medical response. It is led by U.S. Sixth Fleet and command-and-controlled by Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO, headquartered in Oeiras, Portugal.
| Date Taken: | 06.20.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 06.20.2025 09:33 |
| Story ID: | 501118 |
| Location: | LEIPAJA, LV |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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