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MEDFLAG Optometry Team Overcomes Obstacles to Provide Eye Glasses
Story Number: NNS031027-01
Release Date: 10/27/2003 9:53:00 AM
By Senior Chief Journalist (SW) Gary Ross, MEDFLAG 2003 Public Affairs
ER RACHIDIA, Morocco (NNS) -- The hot, arid heat of the Sahara Desert can and will wreak havoc on anything it can get a hold of -- the human body, an animal and even machines. The six-person optometry team of MEDFLAG 2003 found that out firsthand and rather quickly.
MEDFLAG, a U.S. joint military service medical humanitarian and training exercise in its 18th consecutive year, is held on the continent of Africa. This year’s exercise is being held in Er Rachidia, Morocco, and its surrounding villages.
“At our very first MED/DENCAP [Medical/Dental Civil Assistance Program] site, our equipment kept blowing the breakers on the generators that run our equipment,” said Army Spc. Andria Bergner, an optometry technician. “Then one of our grinding machines went out due to mechanical problems. We came with two grinding machines, so we had to cannibalize the other one to get the broken one to work.”
Due to the power problems, the team moved their glasses-making equipment to the supply warehouse at the MEDFLAG headquarters. Two Navy optometrists and two optometry technicians travel to each MED/DENCAP site to triage, treat and write all the prescriptions, while two other technicians work at the supply warehouse and manufacture eyeglasses.
And if the power and grinder machine problem wasn’t enough, a plastic mold broke that would be used as template of sorts to make the glass lens.
“We ended up breaking out our Leatherman tool, a pair of cutting pliers and old-fashioned ingenuity to make the template that we needed,” said Hospitalman Shawn Downey, an optometry technician. “The way I figure, 'where there’s a will, there’s a way.'"
The optometry team is staffed with two Navy optometrists, Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Jackson and Lt. Peter Gunther, optometry technicians Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class John Motichka, Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Leroy Pullins, Downey and Bergner.
Besides their equipment, the team brought enough lens and frames to make more than 1,000 pairs of glasses.
“We plan on filling approximately 100 perscriptions at each of the seven MED/DENCAP sites, which translates into more than 700 pairs of glasses for the Moroccans,” said Downey. “We’re seeing a lot of the local Moroccans who never had glasses before and needed them. Many have severe eye problems, and our optometrists are referring them to our MEDFLAG ophthalmology team for surgery. If they don’t need surgery, then they will definitely have a good, sturdy pair of glasses so they can see better.”
The MEDFLAG optometry team will do whatever it takes to take care of the Moroccan people’s eyeglass needs -- even in the Sahara Desert.
For related news, visit the Naval Station Rota, Spain Navy NewsStand page at www.news.navy.mil/local/rota.
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U.S. Medical Personnel Deploy to Africa for MEDFLAG 2003 - 9/4/2003
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