August 29, 2003

ARIZONA NATIONAL GUARD FROM U.S. TO TRAIN AND PROVIDE HEALTHCARE IN ROMANIA

The 161st Medical Squadron of the Arizona National Guard, based in the Arizona state capital, Phoenix, will come to Romania for two weeks starting on Tuesday, September 2, to train and provide needed healthcare to Romanians. The mission, named "Operation Faith, Hope and Charity," will involve some 48 medical professionals who will work with their Romanian counterparts to examine and treat patients, and to airlift, deliver and install over $1.3 million in medical equipment and supplies to public hospitals and clinics in the Counties of Dolj, Iasi, Prahova and Tulcea.

Among the services the team will be rendering are vaccinations, eye and dental exams, and some basic surgical procedures. The Americans, some of whom are also from the Alabama and Texas National Guards, will also work with their Romanian military and civilian counterparts to share experiences and training methods.

The U.S. Air National Guard (called "The Guard") is a component of the Citizen Militia of the United States. The vast majority of Guardsmen are American civilians who voluntarily agree to serve in the military reserves. Each year, Guard units perform training during a two-week deployment to exercise and sharpen their military skills. A growing trend is to combine this training abroad as part of a humanitarian assistance mission.

This mission, assisted by the U.S. Embassy's Office of Defense Cooperation, is being conducted in coordination with, and with the support of the Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Health and the Family, the Ministry of National Defense, and several private humanitarian organizations, Bunul Samariten Ploiesti, Rock Ministries Bucharest and Asociatia Calea Sperantei.

The Ministry of Health and the Family has spent a good deal of time and effort coordinating the needs and desires of each Judet with the Judet leadership and local private humanitarian organizations. The Ministry of National Defense has contributed significant resources in helping to organize transportation, lodging, and board for the U.S. Guardsmen, while they are in Romania for this mission. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also greatly assisted by expediting all special requests. This program is truly an inter-ministerial and bilateral mission. Without the tremendous support, assistance and patience supplied by all personnel involved, this mission would not have been possible.