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Tag: Training

Royal Thai Air Force nurses pose with U.S. Air Force personnel aboard a Lockheed C-5 Galaxy at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas Sept. 9, 2024.

Nov. 4, 2024

Royal Thai Air Force nurses visit 59th Medical Wing

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The 59th Medical Wing hosted five Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) nurses for a professional exchange in September and October 2024, offering them immersive experience in U.S. Air Force healthcare practices. The exchange focused on medical readiness, international collaboration, and hands-on training in areas like critical care and neonatal care, giving the Thai nurses practical insights to take back to their healthcare system. U.S. Air Force and RTAF nurses exchanged best practices and developed a mutual appreciation for each other's roles in patient care and military medical missions. This collaboration strengthened U.S.-Thailand ties and underscored the importance of a global healthcare network to enhance military readiness and foster enduring connections.

Students and instructors from the Air Force Oral Hygiene Course at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, pose for a group photo in front of the Benjamin W. Dunn USAF Dental Clinic on Sept. 6, 2024.

Sept. 9, 2024

Training Tomorrow's Dental Leaders: Inside the Air Force Oral Hygiene Course

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The Air Force Oral Hygiene Course at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland is a unique training program designed to develop future oral preventive assistants.

The primary mission of DEIA is to enhance the readiness of the DoD workforce and ensure the nation’s security by leveraging the pillars of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility, and optimizing the diverse talent in support of the Joint Warfighter.

March 15, 2024

59th MDW DEIA Committee Marks One-Year Milestone in Inclusion Efforts

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-Lackland, Texas — Amidst the changing tides of social consciousness and policy directives, Col. Aquilla Highsmith-Tyler stands at the forefront of the 59th Medical Wing’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee. With unwavering dedication, she leads a charge to transform the military landscape into one that values every individual's unique identity and experiences. Inspired by President Joe Biden's Executive Order 14035, Highsmith-Tyler and her team aim to cultivate a workplace where mutual respect and understanding reign supreme. Through education and awareness initiatives, they seek to dismantle barriers that hinder inclusivity and diversity within the organization, believing that embracing differences will only strengthen their mission capabilities and elevate patient care standards.

Airmen approach a UH-60 on Dec. 6, 2023, at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, during Operation AGILE Medic. This joint force medical training exercise immerses medics in the seamless process of transporting patients from the Expeditionary Medical Support unit to the En Route Patient Staging System team, and onwards to Air Evacuation and Critical Care Air Transport Teams, and vice versa. The hands-on experience ensures medics gain a comprehensive understanding of communication protocols, the critical timing for patient preparation, and the intricacies of the entire process. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melody Bordeaux)

Jan. 14, 2024

Operation AGILE Medic, communication is key

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-CAMP BULLIS, Texas — During the first week of December 2023, the Air Force, Army and Marines collaborated in Operation AGILE Medic at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, providing medics with real-world experience in austere environments transporting patients and implementing hands-on Medic-X training. Throughout the joint exercise, medics were faced with unexpected scenarios, where they had to communicate between the Expeditionary Medical Support unit to the En Route Patient Staging System (ERPSS) team to Air Evacuation and, or, Critical Care Air Transport team, and vice versa.

A group photo of ophthalmologists and medical technicians in one of three operating rooms where a manual small incision cataract surgery and pterygium excision are being performed.

Sept. 13, 2023

Mission of compassion: surgeons restore sight and forge connections in Panama

Regional Hospital Dr. Luis "Chicho" Fabrega, Santiago de Veraguas, Panama — Panamax Alpha 2023, an annual ophthalmology Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE), is aimed to enhance the surgical skills and operational readiness of team members by immersing them in a range of prevalent chronic eye conditions in the region. In July 2023, 32 TriService military members traveled to the Regional Hospital Dr. Luis "Chicho" Fabrega where the team conducted rapid preliminary screenings for 300 patients within just three days, followed by a remarkable total of 291 surgeries over the subsequent eight days, leaving an impact through nearly 750 clinic appointments.

The importance of the annual flu campaign is to support the mission, reduce the overall impact of contagious respiratory illnesses and protect patients from preventable diseases allowing a ready and fit force.

Jan. 4, 2023

59th Medical Wing: Our team, our fight against the Flu

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — The Allergy and Immunizations Clinic along with 43 medic volunteers came together during the 59th Medical Wing’s annual flu campaign in the atrium of Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, from October to November 2022. Their teamwork resulted in more than 93% of the wing being vaccinated.

DECON Course

Oct. 5, 2021

Medical readiness training through the pandemic

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-CAMP BULLIS, Texas — The 59th Medical Readiness Training Center continues to provide the highest level of training for medics across the Air Force Medical Service prior to deployment as well as ensuring skills remain current.

Defense Secretary Dr. Mark T. Esper (center) poses for a group photo with Noncommissioned Officers and Company Grade Officers during a tour of the Pfingston Reception Center June 16, 2020, at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Esper met with AETC leaders to see firsthand how Basic Military Training is fighting through COVID-19 with health protection measures in place and adapting operations to current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidance. The visit also allowed him to witness how a citizen becomes an Airman during COVID-19. (U.S. Air Force photo by Sarayuth Pinthong)

June 17, 2020

SECDEF witnesses transformation, protection of citizens becoming Airmen at BMT during COVID-19

JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-LACKLAND, Texas — U.S. Secretary of Defense Mark T. Esper visited U.S. Air Force basic military training cadre and recruits, as well as members of the Air Force Recruiting Service, for a first-hand look at how the service transforms citizens into American Airmen here June 16, 2020. Esper, accompanied on the visit by the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ramón Colón-López, observed how the 37th Training Wing, with the support of a tri-wing partnership with the 502nd Air Base Wing and 59th Medical Wing, has protected Airmen during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Trainees in basic military training (BMT) learn defensive fighting positions in preparation for BEAST (Basic Expeditionary Airman Skills Training) on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, April 8. This was the first day mask wear was implemented at BMT as a required safety measure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

April 8, 2020

BMT adapts during COVID-19: adds masks, shortens pipeline

JOINT BASE SAN ANOTNIO-LACKLAND, Texas — To prioritize safety and continue providing ready Airmen to fuel tomorrow’s Air Force, BMT is moving to a 7.5-week training pipeline. There’s no doubt the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges that require adaptability. The 7.5-week training program is one of many measures implemented at BMT to limit the spread of COVID-19. BMT leadership team is also working to procure face masks that we can provide to our staff and trainees. In the meantime, we are using CDC guidelines for staff and trainees to fashion their own cloth face covering. 

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