Virginia Air Guardsmen Provide Tropic Care

More than 40 members of the Virginia Air National Guard’s 192nd Medical Group earlier this month completed a 12-day deployment to Kauai, Hawaii, where they participated in the first Tropic Care innovative readiness training operation. Tropic Care brought together nearly 300 airmen and sailors for medical training in real-world field conditions; they provided basic medical, dental, and vision services to the underserved local population. The Tropic Care task force completed more than 20,000 hours of training and delivered some $2 million in health care services to more than 10,000 residents, according to group officials. “For the medical group to accomplish so many training requirements while doing so much good for people in need is a truly amazing experience,” said Col. Brian Preston, 192nd MDG commander. “I gained experience in pharmacy, dental, and optometry,” added SrA. Deandra Covington, a 192nd MDG aerospace medical technician. The success of the inaugural Tropic Care sets the stage for more deployments like this, said group officials. (Kauai report by MSgt. Carlos Claudio)