TAFRAOUTE, MOROCCO
Story by Tech. Sgt. Annie Edwards
Southern European Task Force Africa
Six U.S. military dentists and seven technicians are working along side Moroccan military dentists to provide dental care to the local community at the Military Medical Surgical Hospital in Tafraoute, Morocco June 7-17 during African Lion 2021.
During clinic operations, the dental team extracts teeth and performs restorative work, as well as some cleanings. The dentists treat approximately 150 patients each day, pull 150-200 teeth, fill 75-100 cavities and provide approximately 15 cleanings.
“Participating in this humanitarian mission is a great opportunity to collaborate with the country of Morocco, while providing treatment,” said Lt. Col. Paul Anderson, a dentist with the 151st Medical Group.
For past African Lion exercises, the dental team only performed extractions, but this year they have been able to provide additional care.
“We’re doing a little bit of everything here, including providing education and preventative care, as well as addressing immediate concerns,” said Master Sgt. Bethany Blevins, a dental technician with the 173rd Medical Group, Oregon Air National Guard.
During past exercises, Anderson said dental has relied on equipment brought by the U.S. military. This year, a Moroccan company, donated dental supplies and provided equipment, including portable dental units, chairs, and lights for use during AL21. The company also supplied two repair technicians to maintain the equipment.
In addition to providing real world care during AL21, Anderson said he has also focused on training for the dental team. This gives the dental technicians the chance to improve their skills and learn new techniques.
“This is a great training experience because we get to use all our skills,” said Blevins. “We don’t do any treatment on our drill weekends, so this allows us to use all of our training to its maximum potential and reinforce what we originally learned.”
The U.S. military dental section includes Army National Guard soldiers from Utah, Georgia, and New Jersey, as well as Airmen from the Air Force Reserve and the Utah and Oregon Air National Guard.
U.S. Army Lt. Col. Marcus Wisner, a dentist with the Utah National Guard, said that not only does the exercise provide humanitarian service to the people of Morocco and strengthen the partnership between the the two countries, it gives the Army and Air Force the opportunity to work more closely together. Additionally, he hopes this will allow for continued cooperation and more opportunities for collaboration in the future with his Air Force counterparts.
Building relationships with the Moroccan care providers and serving the Moroccan community has been a great experience for Wisner.
“The most rewarding part is knowing that you are doing good in the world and for each person you have made a huge improvement in their ability to function,” said Wisner.
African Lion 2021 is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, joint, annual exercise hosted by Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal, 7-18 June. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. AL21 is multi-domain, null-component, and multinational exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants.
Photo By Tech. Sgt. Annie Edwards | U.S. Army Lt. Col. Marc Wisner, a dentist with the Utah Army National Guard, performs dental work on a patient on June 8, 2021 during African Lion 2021. African Lion 2021 is U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, joint, annual exercise hosted by Morocco, Tunisia, and Senegal, 7-18 June. More than 7,000 participants from nine nations and NATO train together with a focus on enhancing readiness for U.S. and partner nation forces. AL21 is multi-domain, null-component, and multinational exercise, which employs a full array of mission capabilities with the goal to strengthen interoperability among participants. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Annie Edwards)
