Pacific Angel kicks off in Vietnam

  • Published
  • By Capt. Timothy Lundberg
  • 36th Wing Public Affairs
CAN THO, Vietnam --  Airman and Sailors from around the Pacific and continental U.S. started their work during Pacific Angel 10-2 here as medical supplies were delivered to a local elementary school and civic infrastructure improvements began at two local village medical clinics, May 9.

Pacific Angel is a U.S. Pacific Command humanitarian and civic assistance mission that takes place in countries around the Pacific to provide medical relief and improve capacity building. This humanitarian and civic assistance program is aimed at improving military civic cooperation between the United States and countries throughout the region.

Engineers installed windows, doors, door jams and more than 500 ft. of wiring at two local village medical clinics in Tan Thoi and Troung Thanh. More than 50 military members are participating in this operation and are working side-by-side with Vietnamese officials and military members. Pacific Angel 10-2 will continue through May 17th.

Efforts also began at medical clinics that are being set up in support of Pacific Angel 10-2.

"Today we received pharmaceutical supplies, took inventory, organized medication by type and category, set up patient rooms, set up waiting areas and treatment areas," said Maj. Gerald Delk, a Reservist deployed from Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth, Texas. "We also rehearsed how the mission would move forward and how we would interact with the Vietnamese physicians."

The Pacific Angel team broke up the classrooms into specific clinics such as family medicine, dentistry, optometry and women's health.

"We developed a plan to distribute the patients and interact with the Vietnamese physicians," Major Delk said. "Each American physician will be paired with a Vietnamese medical technician and each Vietnamese physician with a U.S. medical technician. We'll do this as we combine our efforts to provide care to the Vietnamese residents of the Can Tho area."