Dental Activity-Rheinland-Pfalz recently conducted a field training exercise incorporating expeditionary dental field equipment to give Soldiers an opportunity to practice their trade in the operational environment.
Col. Stephen Tanner, Dental Health Command Europe Commander, sees the training as the next step in supporting local and regionally aligned forces in Europe.
"While our primary mission will always be the dental readiness and wellness of U.S. Army Europe Soldiers," he said, "the operational tempo and needs of rotational units and USAREUR Soldiers working in remote locations requires a more flexible and responsive capability outside of the clinic."
The group, which was made up of 38 Soldiers, set up a field tent and made it fully operational by installing the floors and generators.
Additionally, Capt. Janet Rush, DENTAC-RP troop commander and executive officer, said the group set up a mobile dental cart, "the dental chairs, field sink and x-ray machine. The Soldiers were taught how to properly operate the items though the experience of the noncommissioned officers who have been in field units."
Each Soldier who participated in the exercise was given the opportunity for some hands-on training. They were able to practice on each other and shoot bite wing series x-rays with the field x-ray machine.
"We wanted to do this to support Brig. Gen. [Dennis] LeMaster's, [Regional Health Command Europe Commanding General], intent," Rush said.
"His vision for the region is for us to be expeditionary," and able to support and participate in U.S. Army Europe exercises throughout the European region. "He wants us to be ready to mobilize in case one day we get a call and need to send some of our Soldiers downrange to support -- and so we want our Soldiers to be prepared for that."
"Readiness is our top Priority," said Tanner. "Dental Health Command Europe enables the dental readiness of the theater. Dental Activity-Rheinland-Pfalz is doing a great job ensuring the readiness of their dental teams. We need a responsive and operationally proficient dental capability prepared for any threat environment."
Rush said that in the last six months, dental Soldiers had been called upon more frequently to support operations in Eastern Europe, Poland specifically, and that because they are playing a bigger role, it made sense to train to mobilize a group this size.
"The Dental Activities in Europe are organizing trained and equipped teams with advanced expeditionary tools," Tanner said. "They provide a cadre of operationally proficient dental teams, responsive to the supported commander's mission accomplishment and delivering desired health outcomes whenever and wherever required. This past year Dental Health Command Europe sent dental teams to Iraq, Africa, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Kosovo in support of U.S. Army Central Command, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Army Europe missions."
The training went really well, according to Rush. The Soldiers were able to become familiar with the equipment and "understand that they are dental assistants, but not always in a fixed facility. They may be a dental assistant in a unit that goes to the field to prepare for combat. This training helped to bring that all together for them."
The training participants were all enlisted Soldiers who are either dental assistants or dental hygienists. In addition to the dental expeditionary equipment they trained on, the Soldiers also worked on their Army Warrior Tasks which included training on gate checks and day and night land navigation.
Rush said training like this helps Soldiers understand the concept of Soldier first, military occupational specialty second, and incorporating the two together.
"When our Soldiers are working in a fixed facility they can get into a mindset of 'I am a dental assistant first, and a Soldier second,'" Rush said. "So when they get to train like this, it's a reminder that they are a Soldier first who has trained to be a dental assistant."
In the future DENTAC-RP plans to continue to build on this in other training exercises in order to maximize their readiness to be able to be mobile at what they are doing and not always at a fixed facility.
"It's good to see it conceptualized," Rush said. "We hear Brig. Gen. LeMaster's intent, and we know where he is going, but to see how we are a part of it or how we can own our part of it to meet his intent, it was just a great experience for everyone."
To learn more about DHCE, visit: http://www.dhc-europe.amedd.army.mil/.
Social Sharing