Mission of mercy

Captain David C. Simons 165th AW Public Affairs Officer

Ayacucho, Peru. A small city nestled in the heart of the Andes Mountains. Rural, desolate and obscure. While only 150 miles from the cosmopolitan capital of Lima, it is a full day driving over the one-lane roads through the mountains. The airport, without runway lights and other navigational aids, can only handle daylight landings. It is barely a dot on a map. Yet, nearly forty doctors, nurses, medical technicians and supply specialists from the 165th Airlift Wing's Medical Squadron made their way to this small city on a humanitarian medical mission. It was literally, a "mission of mercy."

Flown by the aircrews of Savannah's famous "Guard Dawgs," the 158th Airlift Squadron, medical personnel flew on two of the unit's C-130Hs to Peru. After spending the night in Puerto Rico, the unit departed on the nine-hour flight into Ayacucho. Puerto Rico was (for most) their last night in what would be considered normal living conditions. The first plane arrived into Ayacucho without delay but the second aircraft was diverted to Lima when the dusk closed Ayacucho's airport. Accommodations in Ayacucho were cramped as members settled into four-person rooms on a Peruvian military base.

The next morning, the second aircraft arrived. After a day of acclimation and distribution of supplies, the medical squadron was ready to perform their "mission of mercy." And many were surprised at what they saw.

The first day of actual medical assistance took the unit in an armed convoy up into the Andes Mountains. The small town they visited was Huamanguilla, nestled on dirt roads forty miles from home base. Setting up the clinic in "Colegio Educativo 38270 San Antonio" the town's school, the unit established a protocol system to work with the expected influx of patients. Those seeking assistance would go through an initial screening and then receive training on the use of soap, toothbrushes, purifying water and other general hygiene practices. Then patients would be allowed to visit one of the following facilities: dental, physician, optometrists, gynecological, or general health.

The optometry clinic came equipped with 5,000 pairs of glasses, a donation by "Project Cyclops," a program administered by the Wisconsin Air National Guard. The town's Mayor of Huamanguilla told The Airlift Chronicle that for his people, once their eyesight goes, they can no longer function in an employable status. The gift of glasses will give many of his people a chance to return to work and enhance their quality of life.

With medical sites established, the clinic was prepared to see their first patients. And patients they did see!

Lining up outside the walls of the school, patients were queuing up well before the medical team arrived at the school. The "word" was out; doctors were coming to Huamanguilla and the first day they saw well over 500 patients.

The dental site was, without a doubt, the busiest as men, women, boys and girls, all lined up for a dental exam. Teeth were pulled, toothbrushes were provided and a comforting hug to a crying child was just part of the duty. Women sought pelvic exams from the clinicis nurse practitioners and the three physicians saw the more serious problems including broken bones, "third world" type diseases and infected wounds. Usually, women brought their children for care as many of the children suffered from respiratory infections. It was not uncommon for entire families to be infected with parasites.

A pharmacy was established and dispensed various drugs to the patients. The drugs were provided by various national drug companies, which have established programs within their companies to provide caregivers that travel to less fortunate parts of the wold with free "meds." In addition, the national companies provided general health pamphlets translated into Spanish. Other pharmacy supplies, such as bottles and labels were provided by local Savannah businesses such as Kroger Foodstores and Lo-Cost Pharmacy.

One of the most difficult jobs of all was for the translators who spent much of their time in constant movement as they attempted to break down the language barrier and guide the caregivers. Even the teamis members who were fluent in Spanish had difficulty translating Huamanguilla's unique dialect.

The 165th Medical Squadron spent nine days hosting the clinic. They established three different field sites, including two in Ayacucho and one in Huamanguilla, and treated close to 6,500 patients who received much needed medical treatment.

Ajob well done! Ajob that was a "Mission of Mercy."

Media Joins 165th AW in Puerto Rico, Fort Bragg and Peru

Joining the Medical Squadron on their "Mission of Mercy," was the Savannah media whose interest was showcasing Savannah folks reaching out to help the world. Mike Manhattan and Helena Moreno from WTOC/CBS and Markova Reed and Mark Boese from WJCL/ABC represented the electronic media while Betty Darby with The Savannah Business Report & Journal and Coastal Family and Mitchell Bush with the Savannah Chamber of Commerce's Outlook represented the print media. Spanish-speaking Boese and Moreno helped the clinic with translating during their brief stay. WJCL aired a four-part series on Peru while WTOC aired a three-part series and a thirty-minute special entitled "Mission of Mercy."

The largest media contingent in unit history deployed with the 165th Maintenance Squadron as they left for another rotation in the ongoing guard mission "Coronet Oak" where the base of operations moved from Panama to Puerto Rico.

Copyright Superintendent of Documents, Military Airlift Command Jan/Feb 2001
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