Photo By Senior Master Sgt. Cohen Young | Ulziijargal Gusjan of Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia speaks with a optometry patient while...... read more read more
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DELGERKHAAN, Mongolia - Multilateral healthcare team provided uplifting service to local residents of Delgerkhaan, Mongolia during Pacific Angel-Mongolia on July 20 and 21.
A team of 35 personnel comprised of doctors, nurses, dentists and medics from the U.S. Armed Forces, Mongolian Armed Forces and National Government Organization Project Hope treated 1,015 people during their two days in the town of Delgerkhaan, a province of Hentii.
Many U.S. soldiers, sailors and airmen worked side-by-side with their Mongolian counterparts for the first time in providing health care to Mongolian residents and they learned a lot from each other.
"It’s been really great working side-by-side with the Mongolian and Sri Lankan Armed Forces in addition to our own sister services,” said Master Sgt. Ashley Erickson, a native of Mililani, Hawaii and currently assigned to 13th Air Force, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii.
“I’ve learned that people are people no matter where you go and we all do the same thing and have the same objective in mind.”
It was not only a great opportunity for the U.S. service members, but the local Mongolian civilians that were involved benefited as well.
“Having the chance to work alongside American dentists, optometrists, ophthalmologists and primary care managers was a great learning experience,” said Bio medical engineer and current translator, Ulziijargal Gusjan, a resident of Ulaanbaatar City, Mongolia. “I’ve had the chance to learn and share experiences with all of them which is one of the reasons that we are here.”
Being a mobile team, the medical unit had to be flexible and that presented its challenges as the team moved around every two days to a new location.
“Space and crowd control have been some of our challenges here because some of the medical facilities here in Mongolia are small and the people here have been eager to meet us, which has resulted in large crowds," said Erickson. “Flexibility has been key to us getting things accomplished and we’ve met every challenge and succeeded in meeting the needs of the community.”
Events like Pacific Angel help cultivate common bonds and foster goodwill between the U.S. and other regional nations by conducting multi-lateral humanitarian and civic assistance operations.
“Relationship building is important so that we can work with other nations that have the same purpose in mind,” said 10-year optometrist, Maj. (Dr.) Weilon Hsu of Albany, Calif., and currently assigned to the Medical Operations Agency at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
Participants in Pacific Angel were happy to help those in need because they can see the appreciation by the local residents instantly.
“The moment you put a pair of glasses on someone that couldn’t see before or focus their eyes for the first time is priceless,” added Hsu.
This is the second of Pacific Angel events this year; the first was held in Indonesia in June, while the next two will be held in Cambodia in August and Timor Leste in September. These engagements support U.S. Pacific Command’s capacity building efforts by partnering with other governments in the region by providing medical, dental, optometry, veterinary and engineering assistance to their citizens.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.05.2011 20:02 |
| Story ID: | 74933 |
| Location: | DELGERKHAAN, MN |
| Web Views: | 71 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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