Photo By Airman 1st Class Amanda Alvarez | U.S. Airmen assigned to the 325th Operational Medical Readiness and Force Support...... read more read more
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TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. — The Public Health flight within the 325th Operational Medical Readiness Squadron plays a quiet but essential role in keeping Tyndall’s mission running. The team works to prevent illness, monitor health risks and support every unit on base so Airmen can train, deploy and return safely.
Public Health oversees programs ranging from food safety and disease surveillance to occupational health and deployment readiness. Their mission is rooted in prevention and much of their work is done behind the scenes, identifying and addressing potential hazards before they can impact the base population.
“Our mission is to prevent disease, disability and premature death,” said Maj. Felisha Stancil, 325th OMRS public health flight commander. “We support nearly every squadron on base. People may not realize how much of their daily safety and readiness is tied to public health.”
Public Health technicians conduct shop visits, verify annual health requirements and work closely with Bioenvironmental Engineering and Flight Medicine to quickly identify hazards that directly affect Airmen in their workplaces.
“We try to keep members safe by tracking their [Individual Medical Requirements],” said Senior Airman Marian Tovar, 325th OMRS public health technician. “Our job is to make sure nothing is missed.”
Tyndall’s operational focus requires consistent health protection for maintainers, flyers and support agencies. For Stancil, the connection between public health and mission success is clear.
“You have to be healthy to do the mission,” she said. “If someone develops hearing loss, becomes ill or experiences an occupational exposure, they may not be able to work or deploy. Our goal is to prevent those situations before they affect the installation.”
A large part of mission readiness involves deployment medical readiness. The flight coordinates medical processing as a part of the personnel deployment function line, ensuring members complete pre-deployment health requirements. This coordination brings together multiple medical agencies, including labs, mental health, optometry, bioenvironmental engineering, immunizations and flight and warrior operational medicine clinics.
“Our priority is to make sure people are medically ready when they leave and stay healthy during the deployment,” Tovar said. “Airmen come in with a checklist and aren’t cleared to deploy until everything is complete. We check destination-specific requirements and confirm they have the right immunizations, labs, medications and clearances.”
The Public Health flight continues to adjust as mission needs evolve. One recent improvement includes boothless hearing tests, which allow technicians to bring equipment directly to Airmen who cannot leave their shops.
“This helps people who work long shifts or are short-staffed,” Tovar said. “Sometimes taking the test to them is the only way they can stay current.”
Stancil noted that the public health field continues to standardize and refine processes across the career field.
“Our field tries to make things consistent at every base, so when you go from base to base, you’re not encountering new ways to do something,” she said. “Standardization and shared best practices help Airmen transition smoothly when they move to a new assignment.”
Most of the flight’s work happens behind the scenes, but the results reach every corner of Tyndall’s mission. Healthy Airmen, smooth deployment lines and uninterrupted operations all reflect the flight’s preventive efforts.
“We contribute directly to readiness,” Stancil said. “When Airmen can work safely, deploy on time and stay healthy, the mission succeeds. That is the purpose of public health.”
| Date Taken: | 11.25.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 12.01.2025 08:55 |
| Story ID: | 552452 |
| Location: | TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA, US |
| Web Views: | 60 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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