Basic health education key in Dominican Republic

A patient with pterygiums, a condition where the white part of the eye begins to grow over the cornea and eventually over the pupil, and cataracts, which cause the pupils to appear cloudy receives optometric care from U.S. Air Force medics at a primary school in Hostos, Dom. Rep., April 22 during the largest Maxwell Air Force Base-planned U.S. Air Force Medical Readiness Training Exercise (MEDRETE) to date. A group of 45 medics, translators, security and support personnel derived from the U.S. Air Force, Army and Marines provided dental, dermatologic, general medicine, optometric, pediatric, pharmacy and public health services. The medics treated approximately 4,000 patients during the first four days of the U.S. SOUTHCOM sponsored Beyond the Horizon 2009 – Caribbean. A MEDRETE is a U. S. Southern command-sponsored exercise designed to provide humanitarian assistance and free medical care to the people of the host nation, while providing an unparalleled training opportunity for U.S. and host nation forces. SOUTHCOM sponsors approximately 70 MEDRETEs per year. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Capt. Ben Sakrisson)