News

Breaching barriers and building relationships

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Roger Parsons
  • 116th Air Control Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  Imagine traveling to a foreign country, not speaking the language, and being tasked to teach some of the country's top medical professionals through the use of translators.

For a team of eight healthcare experts from the Georgia Air National Guard's 116th Air Control Wing Medical Group, that's exactly what the doctor ordered. The doctor in this case was U.S. European Command.

"We were invited to the Republic of Georgia by EUCOM to teach physicians, infectious disease experts and hazmat response teams about treating patients in a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high-yield explosive environment," said Chief Master Sgt. Cynthia Haines, 116th MDG medical operations superintendent.

The team, based out of Robins, is known for its expertise when it comes to disaster preparedness. "In each of our last three Homeland Response Force external evaluations we received a perfect score," said Col. Muriel Herman, 116th Medical Group commander.

Overcoming language and culture barriers, the Airmen shared practical experiences gained from years of training and real-life situations with a group of 35 professionals from the Georgian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Defense.

"We didn't have all the details about who our target audience would be, so we brought subject matter experts from a number of different categories," Herman said.

"As it turned out, the group we were teaching not only included some of the top military and civilian physicians and first-responders, but also the chief of Infection Control and policy writers for biological and chemical response for the country," she added.

Herman and her team shared a series of interactive presentations followed by biological, chemical and radiological scenarios they created.

"We did research about the area and people prior to the trip so we could make our presentations personal and realistic to them," said Lt. Col. Julie Churchman, chief nurse of the 116th Medical Group.

On the next to last day of class the roles changed and the Airmen put on headsets, listening through translators, as their Georgian counterparts explained how they would work through the scenarios. 

"During the scenarios you could really tell they had thought it through and were getting it," said Herman. "It was a great learning experience for all of us."

The last day of class brought a surprise for the Airmen from Georgia that demonstrated the bond that had been built throughout the week.

"Our last day of class was on Sept. 11," said Herman. "We went to class as normal and didn't say anything about the day. The Georgian students stopped class on that day and wanted to have a moment of silence in remembrance of 9/11. It was a very touching moment for all of us." 

"The Georgian people were very giving and compassionate," said Haines.

Editor's Note: To read the full story, visit: www.116acw.ang.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123426116