Wing members help open free medical clinic in Alabama

By Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson and Capt. John Callahan, 176th Wing / Published May 03, 2011

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Navy Capt. Stephen Bailey, a dentist, from OHSU, Portsmouth, VA. speaks with a patient on dental care while Senior Airman Daniel Micelli, a dental technician, from the 176th Medical Group, Alaska Air National Guard, takes notes, May 5, 2011. Bailey and Micelli are in Alabama along with about sixty other medical professional from numerous military components and services for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 1 of 5

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Navy Capt. Stephen Bailey, a dentist, from Portsmouth, Va., speaks with a patient on dental care while Senior Airman Daniel Micelli, a dental technician from the 176th Medical Group, Alaska Air National Guard, takes notes here May 5, 2011. Bailey and Micelli were in Alabama along with about sixty other medical professional from numerous military components and services for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 2 of 5

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Capt. Andrew Adamich, an optometrist from the 176th Medical Group, Alaska Air National Guard, performs a depth perception test on his patient, Princess Wright, age 11, of Troy, Ala., May 3, 2011. Adamich and about 30 other members from the 176th Wing were in Alabama for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 3 of 5

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Master Sgt. Pauline Jones, a medical logistics technician from the 176th Medical Group, Alaska Air National Guard, and Tech. Sgt. Jan Randazzo, a medical administration technician from the 131st Medicial, Missouri Air National Guard, prepare patient forms May 3, 2011. Jones and Randazzo were in Alabama for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 4 of 5

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Chief Petty Officer Joseph Finnegan, a pharmacy technician from the Navy Operation Support Center, Pittsburgh, Pa., and Navy Capt. Edward Cretaro, a pharmacist from the Navy Operation Support Center, Scheneectady, N.Y., organize pharmacy supplies May 5, 2011. Finnegan and Cretaro were in Alabama along with about sixty other medical professional from numerous military components and services for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

PHOTO DETAILS / DOWNLOAD HI-RES 5 of 5

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. - Master Sgt. Jessica Alvarez, a medical service technician from the 176th Medical Group, Alaska Air National Guard, and Airman 1st Class Megan McCarthy, a medical service technician from the 673d Medical Group out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, check a patient's blood pressure May 5, 2011. Alvarez and McCarthy were in Alabama along with about sixty other medical professional from numerous military components and services for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) mission. The IRT program allows for real world training opportunities for military personnel while providing needed services to under-served communities in the United States. Alaska Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Shannon Oleson.

HAYNEVILLE, Ala. -- On May 3, 2011, about 70 members from a variety of military services -- most of them members of the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Medical Group -- joined forces to open up a free medical/dental/vision clinic in the tiny town of Hayneville, Ala.

The military mission was launched under the auspices of the Innovative Readiness Team, a Department of Defense initiative to provide readiness training to a broad range of National Guard and Reserve medical military personnel. Readiness training ensures that medical skills are updated and sharp in the event the members are called on to support American efforts overseas, or respond to natural disasters at home. Through the IRT, Guard and Reserve members can get this training while at the same time providing medical asisstance to those who normally have limited access to care.

Hayneville, Ala., approximately 20 miles southwest of Montgomery, was chosen for the mission because the largely rural area has historically been underserved by health care providers. The clinic was housed in the small town hall.

The Guard and Reserve medical specialists will provide residents with a variety of medical, dental, optometric and pharmaceutical services through May 10. They are accompanied by a variety of support specialists who will also pitch in around the town. Four members of the Alaska Air National Guard's 176th Civil Engineer Squadron, for example, deployed to provide the infrastructure the medical specialists will need to operate the clinic. While here, they will also help rebuild the roof of the town's clinic, and help area crews address a long-standing municipal sewage problem.

If you wish to comment, use the text box below. AF reserves the right to modify this policy at any time.

This is a moderated forum. That means all comments will be reviewed before posting. In addition, we expect that participants will treat each other, as well as our agency and our employees, with respect. We will not post comments that contain abusive or vulgar language, spam, hate speech, personal attacks, violate EEO policy, are offensive to other or similar content. We will not post comments that are spam, are clearly "off topic", promote services or products, infringe copyright protected material, or contain any links that don't contribute to the discussion. Comments that make unsupported accusations will also not be posted. The AF and the AF alone will make a determination as to which comments will be posted. Any references to commercial entities, products, services, or other non-governmental organizations or individuals that remain on the site are provided solely for the information of individuals using this page. These references are not intended to reflect the opinion of the AF, DoD, the United States, or its officers or employees concerning the significance, priority, or importance to be given the referenced entity, product, service, or organization. Such references are not an official or personal endorsement of any product, person, or service, and may not be quoted or reproduced for the purpose of stating or implying AF endorsement or approval of any product, person, or service.

Any comments that report criminal activity including: suicidal behaviour or sexual assault will be reported to appropriate authorities including OSI. This forum is not:

This forum is not to be used to report criminal activity. If you have information for law enforcement, please contact OSI or your local police agency.
Do not submit unsolicited proposals, or other business ideas or inquiries to this forum. This site is not to be used for contracting or commercial business.
This forum may not be used for the submission of any claim, demand, informal or formal complaint, or any other form of legal and/or administrative notice or process, or for the exhaustion of any legal and/or administrative remedy.

AF does not guarantee or warrant that any information posted by individuals on this forum is correct, and disclaims any liability for any loss or damage resulting from reliance on any such information. AF may not be able to verify, does not warrant or guarantee, and assumes no liability for anything posted on this website by any other person. AF does not endorse, support or otherwise promote any private or commercial entity or the information, products or services contained on those websites that may be reached through links on our website.

Members of the media are asked to send questions to the public affairs through their normal channels and to refrain from submitting questions here as comments. Reporter questions will not be posted. We recognize that the Web is a 24/7 medium, and your comments are welcome at any time. However, given the need to manage federal resources, moderating and posting of comments will occur during regular business hours Monday through Friday. Comments submitted after hours or on weekends will be read and posted as early as possible; in most cases, this means the next business day.

For the benefit of robust discussion, we ask that comments remain "on-topic." This means that comments will be posted only as it relates to the topic that is being discussed within the blog post. The views expressed on the site by non-federal commentators do not necessarily reflect the official views of the AF or the Federal Government.

To protect your own privacy and the privacy of others, please do not include personally identifiable information, such as name, Social Security number, DoD ID number, OSI Case number, phone numbers or email addresses in the body of your comment. If you do voluntarily include personally identifiable information in your comment, such as your name, that comment may or may not be posted on the page. If your comment is posted, your name will not be redacted or removed. In no circumstances will comments be posted that contain Social Security numbers, DoD ID numbers, OSI case numbers, addresses, email address or phone numbers. The default for the posting of comments is "anonymous", but if you opt not to, any information, including your login name, may be displayed on our site.

Thank you for taking the time to read this comment policy. We encourage your participation in our discussion and look forward to an active exchange of ideas.