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MEU gives medical support during BK

US Marine Corps News

3/18/2010
By Petty Officer 3rd Class Andrew Smith, Marine Corps Bases Japan

Sailors and Marines assigned to the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit and members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines conducted a five-day medical civil action project at San Juan Elementary School in Ternate, the Philippines, that began March 8.

The project is part of exercise Balikatan 2010, and includes four Navy doctors, four Marines and 16 Navy hospital corpsmen assigned to the MEU's Combat Logistics Battalion health services support team. Throughout the project, they will work side-by-side with their AFP counterparts to provide medical care to more than 700 local residents.

"Going into remote areas to provide medical treatment and alleviate suffering from the lives of people demonstrates our partnership with the Philippine government better than anything else," said Navy Lt. Randy Gire, officer-in-charge of the mission.

Medical treatment ranges from providing vitamin supplements to pulling teeth.

"I feel like we are giving some of these kids a chance at life," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Joseph Castillo, who was born in Manila and lived in the Philippines until he was 6 years old. "The work we do here demonstrates the close alliance our two countries have had for decades and strengthens it even further."

One service many residents are taking advantage of during the project is circumcisions for young boys. Circumcision is considered a right of passage for Filipino boys around the age of 12, and more than 30 boys received the operation from AFP doctors the first day.

"I was glad to get this operation for my son here today, or else he might not have gotten it at all," said Jsheld Mojica, a Ternate resident who brought her son specifically for a circumcision.

Though the circumcision is a right of passage for young boys, many families cannot afford the procedure on their own, and aid projects such as this are the only chance they have to get the operation for their sons, said Mojica.

By the end of the first day, the dental team had treated 128 patients, most of which required multiple tooth extractions. They provided medication to 559 people and provided emergency care to a local boy who was injured while playing nearby.

"We are fortunate to have help from the U.S. military and local police," said AFP Maj. Ieisen Perdido, a dentist who is participating in the medical project. "We have accomplished a lot working together."

The team is scheduled to provide more medical assistance at various locations in the Philippines throughout the exercise. By the end of their mission, the team is expected to have provided assistance in four towns, treating approximately 2,000 people.

The 31st MEU and the Essex Amphibious Ready Group are participating in exercise Balikatan 2010, an annual, bilateral exercise designed to improve interoperability between the United States and the Philippines.