06 March 2007
U.S. Military Medical Team Provides Needed Eye Care in Honduras
Partnership for a Better Life
Working alongside Honduran health care and government officials, 15 U.S. Army and Air Force ophthalmology and optometry specialists on a medical readiness training exercise in Honduras assisted more than 400 patients and completed nearly 170 eye surgeries in the small town of Choluteca in early 2007.
It was just one of more than 60 medical training exercises the U.S. Southern Command (USSOUTHCOM) is sponsoring in 14 Central, South American and Caribbean nations during fiscal year 2007, and one of the premier U.S. engagement efforts in the region.
Medical exercises provide U.S. medical specialists with valuable real-world field training as well as the opportunity to reach out to communities in partner nations.
Another way USSOUTHCOM engages with partner nations is through humanitarian assistance and disaster relief programs. These programs provide valuable training to U.S. military units in responding effectively to assist victims of storms, earthquakes and other natural disasters by providing medical, surgical, dental and veterinary services and helping with civil construction projects.
Humanitarian assistance projects, such as providing technical aid and constructing disaster relief warehouses, emergency operation centers, shelters and schools, promote peace and stability and improve living conditions in impoverished regions.
They enhance the capacity of host nations to respond to disasters and help them develop the infrastructure necessary for economic and social reforms.
(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
