Buckeye Hills Announces Medical Innovative Readiness Training for Meigs County

Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District (BHHVRDD) is pleased to announce that its support for the Meigs County Commissioners’ application to secure a Medical Innovative Readiness Training for Meigs County was accepted by the United States Department of Defense. Plans are now underway for a June 2015 medical mission in Pomeroy.

Innovative Readiness Training provides real world training opportunities for our nation’s military service members and units to prepare them for their wartime missions while supporting the needs of America’s under-served communities.

“We learned about this opportunity through the Appalachian Regional Commission,” said Buckeye Hills Exec. Director Misty Casto. “We could not be more excited about a project than one that helps us support our men and women in uniform while securing much-needed basic medical, dental and vision services for the residents of our Appalachian district.”

Casto added that Meigs County Commissioners and Buckeye Hills Executive Committee member Tim Ihle has been supportive of the efforts to secure a Mission from the outset.

“As in most rural areas, many residents in Meigs County lack access to medical services because of a shortage of medical, dental and vision providers, lack of transportation or a lack of health insurance coverage,” noted Casto. “We are thankful for the opportunity this mission will offer the area, as well as the exercise’s unscripted events that will test the Soldiers’ preparation for major medical interventions.”

The Innovative Readiness Training Program (IRT) is military training conducted in civilian communities to assist civilian efforts in addressing civic and community needs in the United States, its territories and possessions, and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. The support and services provided to the community are incidental to the training of the military units involved. IRT is a Department of Defense (DOD) program often involving joint operations between services. The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs (OASD-RA) is responsible for monitoring the program and controls any supplemental funding.

Soldiers’ conduct realistic, hands-on training in their primary military occupational specialty (PMOS), as well as collective training under their Mission Essential Task List (METL) tasks of provide command and control, deploy/redeploy and conduct health service support while improving the medical, dental and optical well-being of the Appalachian District. By the end of this event, the residents of the Appalachian District will have a positive perception of the U.S. Army Reserve, and the Soldiers of the Southeast Medical Area Readiness Support Group will have increased its proficiency in accomplishing the above listed METL tasks.

Maj. Gen. Bryan R. Kelly, the commanding general of the Army Reserve Medical Command in Pinellas Park, Florida, said he is looking forward to ARMEDCOM Soldiers partnering with the Buckeye Hills – Hocking Valley Regional Development District this summer.

“The Innovative Readiness Training exercises provide our Soldiers an unscripted, real-time training experience which keeps their skills sharp in a way that you cannot find in a classroom or in role-playing,” said Kelly, a resident of East Sandwich, Massachusetts. “We provide high quality medical, dental, and optical services, as well as, increase awareness of preventive health care measures serving to further enhance the district’s confidence in the Army Reserve.”

The Army Reserve Medical Command’s Command Sgt. Maj. Harold P. Estabrooks said the Innovative Readiness Training missions are among the most popular for the command’s Soldiers.

“Our Soldiers truly enjoy the Innovative Readiness Training missions,” said Estabrooks, a resident of St. Petersburg, Florida.

“As I travel around to visit and support these missions, the one constant is that our Soldiers want to help their fellow Americans,” said Estabrooks. “Selfless service is one of the seven core Army Values, and it is what motivates anyone who chooses a career in the military medical field.”

Buckeye Hills serves as the local development district for The Appalachian Region Commission and The Ohio Governor’s Office of Appalachia, a division of the Development Services Agency. To learn more visit www.buckeyehills.org.

To learn more about Innovative Readiness Training, visit: http://irt.defense.gov or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/innovativereadinesstraining.