Military exercise provides health, engineering assistance

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THE US Pacific Air Forces are gearing up for a grand closure to the Pacific Angel 19-4 medical and engineering exercises in Lae, Morobe.
The military team from the US kicked off its fourth and final Pacific Angel (PAC ANGEL) exercise of the year on Monday.
Since its inception in 2007, PAC ANGEL has evolved to an annual joint humanitarian operation that provides general health and engineering assistance to nations in the Pacific region.
This is the second PAC ANGEL engagement in PNG.
“What we’re doing specifically is refurbishing several school sites in Lae and running a health services outreach at one of the school sites,” Lt Col Ryan Evans, PAC ANGEL 19-4’s mission commander said.
More than 80 military members from the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marines, the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) and the Fiji Military Forces, along with the Papua New Guinea Defence Force and the Red Cross were part of the effort.
The health services outreach initiative for PAC ANGEL 19-4 includes the staging of five clinics: primary care, optometry, physical therapy, pharmacy and dental.
The engineering component included civic action projects at several schools where a team of more than 25 engineers renovated classrooms, restored water catchment systems used to filter drinking water and repaired bathroom facilities.
After 12 years and more than 30 iterations, PAC ANGEL engagements had directly impacted tens of thousands of people throughout the Pacific and given participating countries the opportunity to build relationships and strengthen capabilities.