Photo By Staff Sgt. Bruno Bego | A dental officer with 2nd Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group performs oral...... read more read more
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CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. - Marines and sailors undergo an endless amount of training in order to deploy. They practice marksmanship on the range and spend a great amount of time conducting field training exercises.
All this training could be done in vain though, if a servicemember is not medically and dentally ready to deploy.
Dental officers with 2nd Dental Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group are responsible for maintaining the dental readiness of nearly 60,000 troops throughout II Marine Expeditionary Force aboard Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune and Marine Corps Air Stations Cherry Point and New River.
Cmdr. Nadjmeh M. Hariri, the director of clinical services with 2nd Dental Bn. explained that the troops have to be dentally ready all the time, whether they are schedule to deploy or not.
“The Marine Corps requires troops to be 100 percent ready before deploying,” Hariri said. “The ones staying here are required to be at least 95 percent ready.
“That way, if they are schedule to deploy, it does not take much to get them to 100 percent,” she added.
The battalion is accountable for ten clinics around Camp Lejeune, New River and Cherry Point in order to effectively provide care for troops in II MEF.
Dentists such as Navy Lt. Walter B. Volinski, a dental officer with 2nd Dental Bn., see an average of 10 to 12 patients every day. Volinski said that good dental health helps troops perform well during training and deployments.
“Sometimes access to dental care during deployments and training can be very limited, or even inexistent,” Volinski explained, drawing from his experience deploying to Afghanistan in 2011. “Troops are usually in different combat outposts and forward operating bases where dental care is not available. If you send them with dental issues, this can be detrimental to the mission.”
Lance Cpl. Austin Smith, a motor vehicle mechanic with 2nd MLG, said dental care is very important for him.
“I think about morale when I think about my teeth,” he said. “People do not like bad breath, I do not like bad breath. I think that is part of how you present yourself.
“I also think that a toothache would not be something nice to deal with in the field, or in a deployment,” he concluded. “I am very glad the Marine Corps is taking care of [servicemembers] like this.”
| Date Taken: | 08.30.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 08.30.2012 16:33 |
| Story ID: | 94066 |
| Location: | CAMP LEJEUNE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 241 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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