Operation PACANGEL's impact

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Juan Torres
Yokota Air Base, Japan --  Being a medical professional in the military gives service members the opportunity to serve side by side with professionals from other nations.

Through Global Health Engagement, the Department Of Defense’s public health and medical-related actions and programs, medical professionals in our military are given the opportunity to participate in humanitarian missions, developing international partnerships and contributing to the U.S. government’s and host nation’s health objectives.

GHE enhances interoperability by helping partner nations build health capacity, combating global health threats like emerging infectious diseases and antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief initiatives.

During GHE month the medical professionals serving in our military, and their mission are highlighted.

According to the DOD, GHE improves foreign armed forces’ or foreign civilian authorities’ health system capacity, while promoting and strengthening their human and animal health systems in support of national security objectives.

“It’s important for us to participate in these health engagements because of its objectives and the impact they have in bilateral relationships,” said Capt. Duy Q. Nguyen, 374th Dental Squadron general dentist. “In missions, such as Operation Pacific Angel, we interact with many local professionals from different countries. By working with our multi-national counterparts we can exchange knowledge and techniques to enhance our relationship with them and the level of care we can provide for our patients.”

Operation PACANGEL is a recurring joint/combined humanitarian assistance mission sponsored by U.S. Pacific Command designed to bring humanitarian civic assistance and civil-military operations to areas in need in the Indo Asia-Pacific region.

According to the DOD website, healthy populations directly correlate to healthy nations and stable governments. Part of the DOD’s mission is to help ensure geopolitical stability and security. GHE activities support various soft-power goals connected to national security objectives.

The mission objective is to provide assistance to an area, and leave behind a capability for the host nation’s doctors to continue to provide the services.

“This type of engagement provides opportunities to learn from each other,” Nguyen said. “We learn from our counterparts while finding new and better ways to treat our patients as well as new information and techniques that are available. Our main goal is to treat their pain and control diseases. Because of these missions, we’re enhancing the medical profession throughout countries and improving our skillsets.”

Global health engagement has also been defined by an increasing commitment to building and supporting the health system capacities of partner nations, as a reflection of the reality that healthy partner nations can better contribute to global stability and security.

According to the DOD, GHE activities can include partner access, capability building activities, and international humanitarian crises and natural disaster response assistance. The U.S. military’s GHE strategies reduce long-term threats to our national security by assisting in the process of building stable, prosperous, and healthy societies.

“Different countries present a different perspective on how we see our patients and the problems that we face,” Nguyen said. “By participating in this global initiative, we can learn from each other, while elevating our understanding and preparedness to treat everyone.”