Three U.S. Air Force medical personnel assigned to the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2026 mission were awarded the Mission Excellence Citation by the International Health Specialist Program Office during a ceremony in the Rodney Bay area of Saint Lucia, May 7, 2026.
The novel award recognizes Airmen who went beyond mission requirements during LAMAT 2026 by strengthening partnerships with host-nation personnel, solving problems alongside local providers and building meaningful relationships throughout the mission.
U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Jason Lennen, Director of Policy and Resources at the Office of the Surgeon General, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, presented the awards to Master Sgt. Adam Anderson, Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Blomberg and Maj. Peter Edmonds for embodying the IHS Program’s core competencies: Partner, Advise and Engage.
“These awards are not just about clinical skill or technical expertise,” Lennen said during the ceremony. “They recognize people who built trust, strengthened relationships and represented the Air Force the right way alongside our partners here in Saint Lucia. That kind of impact lasts long after the mission ends.”
The ceremony took place during Lennen’s visit to Saint Lucia, the final stop of LAMAT 2026, where U.S. military medical personnel worked side-by-side with Saint Lucian healthcare providers to deliver patient care and conduct medical knowledge exchanges across multiple specialties.
Senior Master Sgt. Ryan Blomberg, LAMAT ultrasound technician, received the Mission Excellence Citation for “Partner” for his leadership and coordination efforts at Owen King European Union Hospital. Throughout the mission, Blomberg managed complex surgery scheduling, coordinated knowledge exchanges, conducted vein mapping and mentored Airmen while helping strengthen collaboration between U.S. and Saint Lucian medical teams.
Master Sgt. Adam Anderson, LAMAT dental technician, earned the “Advise” distinction for coordinating operations between two dental clinics, maintaining accountability of personnel and continuously supporting the welfare and morale of his team. His leadership and reliability helped keep the dental mission operating smoothly while fostering cohesion across the team.
Maj. Peter Edmonds, LAMAT pulmonology and critical care physician, received the “Engage” award for balancing patient care responsibilities with mentorship and education efforts across the mission. In addition to running clinic operations, Edmonds mentored fellow physicians, supported a medical student and educated peers on Medical Contingency And Readiness Training 2.0 capabilities while helping strengthen teamwork among providers.
LAMAT 2026, an Air Forces Southern-led health security cooperation, brought together U.S. and partner nation medical professionals across the Caribbean to strengthen readiness, interoperability and regional health security cooperation through deliberate, side-by-side medical engagements.
Lennen said relationships built during missions like LAMAT often become the most important outcome of the engagement.
“The numbers are staggering: more than 1,000 patient encounters and about 45 to 49 procedures,” Lennen said. “But as important as the numbers are, the most important part is the partnership and the relationships.”
Before closing the ceremony, Lennen reminded the team that the long-term value of missions like LAMAT is often measured less by procedure numbers and more by the trust built between partners.
“You may never fully see the impact of what you built here,” Lennen said. “But years from now, the relationships formed during missions like this can still matter. You should leave proud knowing you helped strengthen something bigger than yourselves.”