TOP STORY >>Dental team cares for Iraqi counterparts

By Senior Airman Terri Barriere
332nd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs

VICTORY BASE COMPLEX, Iraq — They deployed with a purpose -- to advise and train Iraqi military dental specialists to care for their own. They’re redeploying with a reward -- the experience of lifetime.

The Airmen of 732nd Air Expeditionary Group Special Operations Iraqi Transition Team came to Iraq to provide various types of dental care and counseling -- routine cleanings, fillings, extractions, root canals, partials and teeth replacements -- for members of the Iraqi Special Forces, in addition to providing mentoring and advice to Iraqi dental specialists.
They didn’t expect their work would produce lasting relationships and forge a greater understanding between them and their Iraqi counterparts that would reach far beyond the scope of their mission.

“We’ve been told we have a great reputation with the brigade,” said Capt. Lonny Giesler, an SOITT dentist deployed from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark. “We’ve made a lot of people happy by showing them we care about them and that helps build good relations. If they know we’re here to help, they’ll definitely be more willing to work with us in other areas.”

According to the captain, those relationships are enabling the clinic to treat an average of 12 to 16 patients a day -- more then ever before.

It has also opened the door to some unique experiences for these Airmen.

“I’ve learned so much about their lifestyle since I’ve been here,” said Staff Sgt. Anisa Hernandez, an SOITT dental technician and advisor deployed from McConnell AFB, Kan. “The things you see on TV and read about you can’t understand until you are actually here living with them.”

Sergeant Hernandez, who openly admits to being uneasy about the deployment at first, was frequently invited by the local women to have dinner with their families. She said her most memorable experience was an evening spent seated on the floor of an Iraqi home making dinner with two of the family’s younger daughters. These are the moments she said she will carry with her.

“It feels good to have earned their trust,” she said. “Knowing they look out for me now, makes me feel good. I was kind of uneasy at first being the only female, but once they understood I was here to teach them and help them, they opened up.”
The team hopes to broaden the scope of care the clinic provides. Currently, the clinic caters to Iraqi Soldiers but also handles emergency cases involving their families.

“We work with the basics, but still manage to provide a spectrum of treatment,” said Lt. Col. Robert Beck, an SOITT dental advisor deployed from Offutt AFB, Neb. “You just have to prioritize problems and time. We’d deal with the bigger problem first, then move on to the smaller things.”

As this is the first time the American dentist has worked with the Iraqi military, the colonel said other than minor technical set backs; working with the Iraqi soldiers has been rewarding.

“They make very good patients,” he said. “They are open to the treatments and take everything without complaining. They are a tougher class of patients.”

As the SOITT Airmen prepare to go back to their friends and family, they leave confident knowing they have successfully completed their mission and left the clinic better for those who will come after them.
But for some it’s bittersweet.

“I wouldn’t have traded this deployment -- this experience for the world,” Sergeant Hernandez said. “I would not have been able to experience this anywhere else.”