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	Air Force medical team benchmarks first LAMAT mission to St. Vincent
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        <h1 class="title">Air Force medical team benchmarks first LAMAT mission to St. Vincent</h1>
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            <img src="https://media.defense.gov/2024/Mar/15/2003415039/1920/1080/0/240303-F-AN818-1059.JPG"
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                 alt="U.S. Air Force active duty and reserve personnel stand in formation for a group photo during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 3, 2024. This is the first opportunity for the U.S. Southern Command directed medical team to collaborate and partner with St. Vincent medical professionals to deliver support and resources to the island nation and its healthcare system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)"
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            <div class="image-title">Air Force medical team benchmarks first LAMAT mission to St. Vincent</div>
            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Air Force active duty and reserve personnel stand in formation for a group photo during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 3, 2024. This is the first opportunity for the U.S. Southern Command directed medical team to collaborate and partner with St. Vincent medical professionals to deliver support and resources to the island nation and its healthcare system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell)</div>
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                 alt="Grace Walters, hospital administrator, provides introductory remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen traveled to St. Vincent in support of this year’s Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission, where members worked closely with their host nation counterparts to collaborate and hone skills through mutual training and education. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-title">240312-F-FT183-1004</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Grace Walters, hospital administrator, provides introductory remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen traveled to St. Vincent in support of this year’s Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission, where members worked closely with their host nation counterparts to collaborate and hone skills through mutual training and education. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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                 alt="Members of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team listen to remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the LAMAT closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024.  The LAMAT medical team is representative of the United States’ commitment to its partners through medical assistance and mutual exchange of knowledge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-title">240305-F-FT183-1001</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Members of the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team listen to remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the LAMAT closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024.  The LAMAT medical team is representative of the United States’ commitment to its partners through medical assistance and mutual exchange of knowledge. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Coast Guard Commander Jamie Collins, Senior Defense Official, U.S. Embassy Barbados, delivers remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024.  Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Coast Guard Commander Jamie Collins, Senior Defense Official, U.S. Embassy Barbados, delivers remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024.  Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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                 alt="U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jessica Arcilla, 349th Medical Squadron medical commander and LAMAT troop commander, delivers remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-caption">U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jessica Arcilla, 349th Medical Squadron medical commander and LAMAT troop commander, delivers remarks at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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                 alt="Grace Walters, hospital administrator, accepts a certificate of appreciation at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. This is the first opportunity for the U.S. Southern Command directed medical team to collaborate and partner with St. Vincent medical professionals to deliver support and resources to the island nation and its healthcare system.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-title">240305-F-FT183-1001</div>
            <div class="image-caption">Grace Walters, hospital administrator, accepts a certificate of appreciation at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team closing ceremony in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 12, 2024. This is the first opportunity for the U.S. Southern Command directed medical team to collaborate and partner with St. Vincent medical professionals to deliver support and resources to the island nation and its healthcare system.

(U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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                 alt="Cuthbert Knights, permanent secretary, Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment, accepts a certificate of appreciation at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 4, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)"
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            <div class="image-caption">Cuthbert Knights, permanent secretary, Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment, accepts a certificate of appreciation at the Financial Complex, Kingstown, during the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 4, 2024. Thirty-four active duty and reserve Airmen participated in this year’s LAMAT mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, assisting in health engagements, exchanging best practices and developing stronger relationships with host nation partners. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Danny Rangel)</div>
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    <div><b>By Tech. Sgt. Rachel Maxwell</b> <span class="date">/ Published March 12, 2024</span></div>
    <span class="dateline-text">KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, </span>
    <p dir="ltr">Under the direction of U.S. Southern Command, 12th Air Force (Air Forces Southern) successfully pioneered its first Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team mission to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, March 4–12.</p>

<p dir="ltr">The team of 34 active duty and reserve Airmen traveled to St. Vincent to work closely with their host nation medical counterparts in an effort to hone skills through mutual training and education while ultimately benefiting patient care.</p>

<p dir="ltr">“We came here with the mission of providing needed medical care for the communities of St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” said Lt. Col. Jessica Arcilla, troop commander. “But we have achieved more than that in the short time that we’ve spent here on the island working side-by-side with this country’s experienced providers.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">Throughout the 10-day mission, the team treated over 500 patients, providing services that amounted to approximately $800,000 in free medical care. LAMAT members also disseminated needed medical supplies amounting to $186,000 to local healthcare facilities.</p>

<p dir="ltr">“Words are not enough to express gratitude to you for the resources you have brought with you and which will remain with us in our healthcare system,” said Cuthbert Knights, permanent secretary for the Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment. </p>

<p dir="ltr">“We are a very resilient country, a very resilient population, but that resilience requires that we acknowledge that we can’t do this alone,” said Dr. Simone Keizer Beache, chief medical officer to St. Vincent and the Grenadines. “The Ministry of Health’s motto is, ‘your health is a shared responsibility,’ and this is how we work.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">LAMAT not only seeks to strengthen cooperation between the U.S. and its partner nations, it capitalizes upon the unique local environment, serving as a readiness mission to better prepare Air Force personnel for deployments to austere environments.  </p>

<p dir="ltr">“You taught us how to be inventive, resourceful, creative and better problem solvers,” said Arcilla during the mission’s closing ceremony. “Thanks to what our counterparts in St. Vincent have taught us, we have become better doctors, nurses, medics, technicians, dentists, logisticians and administrators.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">Notably, the LAMAT orthopedic team performed St. Vincent's first-ever knee arthroscopy surgery. The procedure is used for diagnosing and treating joint problems by inserting a small camera that allows a surgeon to see inside the joint without making a large incision.</p>

<p dir="ltr">“This mission is not just a testament to our shared commitment to health and wellbeing, but also to the enduring partnership between the United States and St. Vincent and the Grenadines,” stated U.S Coast Guard Cmdr. Jamie Collins, U.S. Embassy in Barbados senior defense official. “Let us look forward to a future filled with promise and possibility, where the bonds between our countries grow ever stronger.”</p>

<p dir="ltr">The LAMAT 2024 mission has impacted over 2,200 patients across three locations, including Suriname, St. Lucia and St. Vincent, with additional medical teams set to support St. Kitts and Nevis this coming week and progressing until the end of March.</p>
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