From Nevis to Saint Kitts, returning Airmen strengthen partnerships during LAMAT 2026

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS

03.04.2026

Story by Andrea Jenkins 

Air Forces Southern

When U.S. Air Force medical teams returned to the Federation for the 2026 Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) mission, some Airmen stepped back into familiar hospitals and partnerships they helped build during previous missions.

From the emergency department at Alexandra Hospital on Nevis to the operating rooms at Joseph N. France General Hospital on Saint Kitts, returning providers say those relationships strengthen collaboration, readiness and friendships across the two-island nation.

U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Barry Davis, 926th Aerospace Medicine Squadron general surgeon and mission commander for LAMAT 2026 across Saint Kitts and Nevis, and U.S. Air Force Reserve Lt. Col. Lawrence Onyejekwe, the Nevis flight commander leading emergency medical operations at Alexandra Hospital, agree the continuity built through repeat missions allows U.S. and host-nation medical teams to move quickly from introductions to meaningful collaboration.

Onyejekwe returned to Nevis after participating in last year’s mission and now leads the medical team working inside Alexandra Hospital’s emergency department. For him, the environment provides a unique opportunity to practice medicine in a way that closely mirrors operational conditions.

“The experience is phenomenal,” Onyejekwe said. “It gives us a chance to practice the kind of medicine we don’t always get to do back home and really rely on our clinical judgment.”

Without the full range of diagnostics commonly available in the United States, providers often rely more heavily on clinical fundamentals.

“We’re doing heavy physical exams and paper charting,” Onyejekwe said. “Not everyone gets a CT scan or a full workup, so you really have to slow down, think through the problem and rely on your training and experience.”

That approach reflects the type of decision-making required in expeditionary environments.

“When you’re practicing medicine in places where you don’t have every resource available, you have to fall back on your knowledge and experience,” he said. “Missions like this give us the opportunity to train that skill set with real patients, not simulations.”

Returning also meant reconnecting with colleagues and community members he met during the previous mission.

“Part of what these missions are about is building relationships,” Onyejekwe said. “I’ve stayed in touch with physicians here, and even when I arrived this year people remembered us. Those connections make the transition back into the hospital much easier.”

Some of those professional relationships have continued long after the Airmen returned home.

“I’ve connected with some of the physicians here and we still talk about cases and career development,” Onyejekwe said. “I’ve even mentored some of them who are looking at fellowships or their next steps in medicine.”

On the neighboring island of Saint Kitts, Davis returned to Joseph N. France General Hospital, where he previously supported the mission in 2024 before returning this year as the overall LAMAT 2026 mission commander.

Davis said familiarity with the hospital staff and local medical system allowed collaboration with host-nation providers to resume almost immediately.

“I kept in touch with a couple of the surgeons here after the last mission,” Davis said. “They would occasionally send me a CT scan or a patient presentation and ask how I might approach it.”

Because of that continued communication, Davis said stepping back into the operating room felt familiar.

“When I came back this year, the transition was seamless,” he said. “I already knew the staff in the operating room and many of the surgeons, so it made it much easier to work together right away.”

Inside the operating room, those relationships translate directly into stronger partnerships and enhanced cross-collaboration.

“Everyone has their own style in surgery,” Davis said. “Talking through how someone approaches a case helps you understand their reasoning and how they prepare in case something unexpected happens.”

Returning participants say those partnerships also help the mission evolve each year.

“When I first came here in 2024, LAMAT was still building its presence in Saint Kitts and Nevis,” Davis said. “Coming back now, you can really see the progress. The coordination with our partners is seamless and the mission has grown with a much stronger specialty package.”

Several Airmen participating in LAMAT 2026 have also supported previous global health engagements led by U.S. Air Forces Southern and U.S. Southern Command across the region, bringing additional operational experience to the team.

For both Onyejekwe and Davis, returning reinforces the same lesson: sustained partnerships strengthen readiness.

By working alongside host-nation medical professionals year after year, U.S. Airmen build trust, improve collaboration and gain experience that could prove critical during future humanitarian assistance or disaster response operations.

“If we ever had to come back here quickly, it would be very seamless,” Davis said. “I already understand their capabilities and the limitations of the systems, so I could walk into the hospital and immediately start helping.”

As LAMAT 2026 continues across Saint Kitts and Nevis, returning Airmen say those partnerships remain one of the mission’s greatest strengths.

“I think the relationships we build here are what make the mission stronger every year,” Davis said. “Knowing the people, understanding their needs and working side by side with them is what allows this partnership to keep growing.”

For the Airmen working across both islands, those relationships extend beyond professional collaboration. They represent friendships and trust built through shared experience — the kind that strengthens both readiness and partnership long after the mission ends.

• Date Taken: 03.04.2026
• Date Posted: 03.07.2026 09:28
• Story ID: 559604
• Location: KN