Photo By Staff Sgt. Sarah Stalder Lundgren | U.S. Air Force Airman 1st Class Kaitlyn Custer, a medical technician assigned to the...... read more read more
Subscribe
In July 2025, Airman 1st Class Kaitlyn Custer boarded a charter bus in Ohio, her dad’s favorite blue suitcase in tow, and began an eight-and-a-half-hour journey marking her first official duty assignment outside her home base.
Alongside fellow airmen from the Ohio Air National Guard’s 180th Fighter Wing, Custer was headed to the rural hills of eastern Tennessee to support Operation Healthy Tennessee, a joint-service Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission providing no-cost medical care to underserved communities.
For Custer, a medical technician with the Ohio Air National Guard and a pre-nursing student at the University of Toledo, the mission was more than just a training opportunity, it was a milestone in her budding military and medical career.
“It feels really amazing to make an impact with these people,” she said. “I’ve met the sweetest and kindest people, and they’re so thankful that we’re here. I’m just so grateful that I can help out; get them local resources, dental care, nutritional opportunities. It’s been so rewarding.”
Custer, a Michigan native, comes from a family with a tradition of service. Her brother, Staff Sgt. Kyle Custer, serves as a crew chief with the 180th Fighter Wing in Swanton, Ohio. Her father worked as an electrical power production specialist in the Ohio Air National Guard, and her mother, a Catheterization Lab nurse.
“I grew up hearing stories from both of my parents about the mission trips that they had been a part of,” said Custer. “My mom went on a medical mission trip to Haiti and my dad helped build classrooms in Panama and Costa Rica. Their stories inspired my dreams of helping underserved communities.”
Despite it being her first military trip, Custer embraced the challenge head-on. The first day of the mission was hectic, she admitted, but the operation quickly found its rhythm. Stationed at Bledsoe County High School, she and dozens of other service members from the Air Force, Army and Navy turned the school into a hub for no-cost medical, dental and vision services.
Custer’s role involved taking patient vitals and directing them to the appropriate care providers, but it was the human connections that left the biggest mark.
She recounted one particularly memorable encounter with a family of four, all the children under the age of 10. “The eldest daughter led her siblings over and excitedly introduced them to ‘the sweet lady in uniform’.”
“We just started playing doctor, and they wanted to learn about all the medical supplies,” Custer said with a smile. “I was telling them about medical stuff and about the Air Force. They seemed really interested. It was fun to play and make an impression on young children.”
Another moment that stuck with her was screening a woman who expressed concerns about food insecurity. Thanks to Custer’s attentiveness, the woman was connected with a nutrition specialist and local resources on the spot.
“I felt like that made a really huge impact,” she said. “And I was just really thankful that she was honest with me, so I could help her in any way I could.”
The IRT Program, developed in 1992, is designed to offer hands-on training for service members while delivering critical services to American communities. In 2024 alone, more than 7,900 service members participated in 72 missions across 36 states and territories, delivering over $51 million in no-cost medical care to more than 100,000 citizens.
Missions like Operation Healthy Tennessee embody the dual-purpose mission of readiness and community support. With this purpose in mind, IRT missions offer additional training opportunities, essential to supporting our airmen readiness.
“I'm signed up to take Advanced Airway, IV training and Walking Blood Bank training, which I'd never heard of until now,” said Custer. “[Walking Blood Bank training] is basically the act of collecting and transfusing fresh blood from one patient to another to prepare us for deployment and combat ready situations.”
For Custer, the mission surpassed expectations.
“It just sounded so interesting,” she said. “I definitely wanted to be a part of this, to help out in the community and make an impact.”
When she’s not in uniform or the college classroom, Custer enjoys reading, painting, hiking and swimming. During the mission, she had the chance to hike Tennessee’s scenic Fall Creek Falls, taking photos and making lasting memories with her peers during her unforgettable trip.
When asked what advice she would share with her fellow service members considering an IRT mission, she replied “I would tell them to do it! It’s more than just training; you are making a real impact.” she said. “I’m so grateful for this opportunity and want to thank the community for allowing us to help.”
| Date Taken: | 07.15.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2025 18:01 |
| Story ID: | 542983 |
| Location: | PIKEVILLE, TENNESSEE, US |
| Web Views: | 25 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, From Classroom to Clinic: A1C Custer in Tennessee, by SSgt Sarah Stalder Lundgren, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
