Are you medically ready to fight?

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Kasey Zickmund
  • 18 Wing Public Affairs
KADENA AIR BASE, Japan --  Being medically ready is a critical part to deploying. Members from the 18th Medical Group are tasked with reviewing medical records of Airmen getting ready for deployment.

"Our goal is to look through the records and see who are medically ready to fight," said Tech. Sgt. Demetria Geldziler, 18th Aerospace Medicine Squadron Health Services Management. "We make sure that military members' medical records are current."

The process begins when unit deployment managers receive the unit tasking codes. The UDMs tell commanders how many slots need to be filled and notify Airmen of their deployment. The UDMs then give the names to Force Health Management or Public Health. For large deployments Force Health Management divides the names and give them to Flight Medicine and Family Practice.

Once Family Practice and Flight Medicine have the deployers' names they pull the members' medical files and the questionnaires deployers filled out at Force Health Management. Medical technicians then follow Air Force Instruction 48-123 Medical Examinations and Standards as they go through the records.

"The biggest problem that we have come across is when people get recently injured and it hasn't made it to their files yet," said Tech. Sgt. Raymond Garcia, an independent medical technician from the 44th Fighter Squadron. "If they were seen at Camp Lester (U.S. Navy Hospital, Okinawa) it takes some time for it make in their records here."

When the medical team reviews the records, they are looking to see if they need any lab work done, have a sample of DNA on file, need dental work done, any new diagnoses of stomach problems or diabetes, need surgery, and finally if there is anything that might disqualify them for deployment.

"This is necessary to look at the records so Airmen can perform their specific duties while they're down range," said Sergeant Garcia.

The things that members will be disqualified for are pregnancy or an injury that stops them performing their specific duties. Most things that might disqualify a member can be quickly resolved such as immunizations and still be able to deploy by getting a physical health assessment, dental exam, and the proper shots for their deployment area.

Once the Airmen records have been reviewed the medical team notifies UDMs and tells them if the Airmen are good to go or not.