Wellness mission may be cut short

From left, Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs special assistant Danny Aquino, Lt. Col. Kristin Porter, Col. Hugh West, and Capt. Gary Knight pose for a photo during the first day of U.S. Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training Operation CNMI Wellness held at the Commonwealth Health Center MCATS area. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)

The Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training Operation CNMI Wellness, which was supposed to last eight days, could be cut short due to unforeseen circumstances.

Lt. Col. Kristin Porter, public affairs officer for IRT Wellness Missions, said the mission was initially supposed to last from July 12 to July 19 for Saipan and from July 12 to July 17 for Rota and Tinian. However, due to unforeseen circumstances, the medical mission could be cut short by two days.

“Due to factors external to this mission, we have been informed that we may now have to limit our service dates on all islands. We are hopeful that we can maintain our planned service dates, but if not, services will end on Saipan on July 17 at 12pm, and on July 15 for Tinian and Rota at 6pm. This possible change in service dates is not due to any action or planning by the Commonwealth Bureau of Military Affairs’ amazing team. This is both devastating and disappointing to them and our military service members on ground,” she said.

The IRT Operation CNMI Wellness kicked off Day 1 of its medical mission in the CNMI at the Commonwealth Health Center’s MCATs area.

Because of the possible limitation of service dates, service hours for all islands will be extended to 8am to 6pm, Porter said.

When asked what caused the possible limitation of service dates, Porter said there were multiple factors.

“The possible of limitation of service dates is due to factors including delays in commercial airlines, getting our medical providers on island, and timeline requirements by the Air Force of medical equipment dry out, packaging, transport, and reset for following use at the next Innovative Readiness mission. Our team and the CBMA team are hopeful we can continue our mission as long as possible but we want the community to be advised of this possible change,” she said.

The Department of Defense’s Innovative Readiness Training Operation CNMI Wellness kicked of Day 1 of its medical mission at the Commonwealth Health Center’s MCATS area. One of the services provided is dental services including cleanings, extractions, fillings, and oral cancer exams. (KIMBERLY B. ESMORES)

Fortunately, the change remains tentative. To be safe, those interested in availing of free medical services offered during the medical mission are encouraged to do so sooner rather than later.

“With that, we advise community members to come in within the next few days if possible. This also means that one must prepare for longer wait times for services. But rest assured that our hearts are focused on the people of the CNMI regardless of the days we are here,” she said. “

“The change is tentative at the moment but we are hopeful that there will be no change because we are here to provide services to the people of the CNMI and we have worked so hard with CBMA to make this mission a reality. We’ve poured our hearts and souls into this mission and we want to be able to carry out this mission as long as possible,” Porter added.

In an interview with CBMA special assistant Danny Aquino, he said CBMA is still grateful for the IRT mission despite the unfortunate possibility.

“We’re just grateful to the men and women who are part of this IRT mission for their support and coming out to the islands to help the people at a time when it is greatly needed since we are all suffering economically,” he said.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Col. Hugh West, mission commander for IRT CNMI, he said that about 130 service members from the Air Force, the International Guard, the Army Reserves, and the U.S. Navy are on the ground to provide services to the people of the CNMI.

Of the 130 personnel, 75 are on Saipan, 25 are on Rota, and 25 are on Tinian.

“We are proud to be here, we’ve been working on this mission a long time, we’ve been trying to get all our resources here. The services we provide include medical, optometry, dental, behavioral health services, and veterinarian services. For optometry, they are doing screenings and we are working with our Navy partners for the fabrication portion of glasses so that when we generate a prescription for a person’s vision, we can then create glasses for them and get it to them before we leave. Dental services are doing oral cancer screenings, extractions, fillings, and cleanings,” he said.

Capt. Gary Knight, Saipan Mission OIC, shared that the first day of the medical mission was slower than expected but they expect the pace to pick up in the following days.

“We have treated over 100 people as of 2:30pm. We had an influx of people after lunch but we didn’t see many people in the morning so we recommend that people come in in the morning. We expect to see more people in the following days,” he said.

For those interested in availing of free medical services provided by trained medical personnel from various branches of the military, head to the American Memorial Park from 8am to 6pm and get registered. COTA will be providing shuttle service to and from CHCC and AMP.