Dentistry was the most requested specialty, with more than 800 consultations and more than 1,700 procedures performed throughout the Civic-Social Action (ACISO)
Air Force Agency, by Lieutenant Gabrielle Varela and Lieutenant Colonel Nunes
After more than twenty days of transporting materials, setting up the entire structure, sailing down the Negro River, and providing thousands of medical services, the Brazilian Air Force (Força Aérea Brasileira – FAB) rafts returned on Wednesday (June 7) to the port of the Destacamento de Apoio à Comissão de Aeroportos da Região Amazônica (DACO-MN) (Support Detachment to the Airports Commission of the Amazon Region), where the Campaign Exercise of Employment of Logistics, Health and Operational Intelligence (EXCELSIOR) was concluded.
This was an Aeronautics Command Action made possible due to the joint efforts of DACO-MN, the Campaign Logistic Support Group (GALC), the Campaign Hospital (HCAMP), the Mobile Support Squad (EMA), the Manaus Security and Defense Group (GSD-MN) and the Cellular Unit of Intendence (UCI). [Click here to download the original image]
The Exercise was a mobilization of the FAB for specialized health care to communities on the banks of the Rio Negro-AM, in the district of Moura, from 26 to 28/05, and in the municipality Barcelos, from 31/05 to 04/06. In all, 5,300 people were seen in the specialties of clinical medicine, dermatology, emergency care, pharmacy, physiotherapy, gynecology, neurology, dentistry, orthopedics, pediatrics, proctology, psychology, as well as religious assistance and social service. Dentistry was the specialty in greatest demand, with more than 800 consultations and almost 1,800 procedures carried out during the whole period.
Besides this, HCAMP also performed 172 preventive cervical exams, with results in real time; more than a thousand lab exams and imaging exams (x-ray and ultrasound); 83 social assistance services, and 163 religious assistance services. Almost 15,000 medicines donated by the Ministry of Health, through the Amazonas State Health Department, and by the Barcelos Municipal Health Department, were distributed.
FAB also donated more than five hundred pieces of clothing and accessories made, in part, of uncharacterized military uniforms. The initiative was a partnership with the NGO “Dress a girl”, which customizes shorts, dresses, dolls, and strips with bows. In this action, volunteers were mobilized to collect and cut uniforms, aiming for donations to the riverside communities.
[Click here to download the original image] The Civic-Social Action counted on more than a hundred military personnel from the areas of health, intendancy, communication, security and defense, among others involved in operating the rafts and providing services in the region.
The Air Force Commander, Air Lieutenant Brigadier Marcelo Kanitz Damasceno, during a technical-operational visit to the rafts, recalled the mission he commanded in 2012, during the Agate IV Operation, which also included an Air Force Field Hospital (HCAMP) to assist the Amazon population.
“The Air Force Command, faithful to the fulfillment of its constitutional precepts, is proud of actions like this one, together with the Brazilian people, which reinforce our commitment to the present and to the future, always based on the noble ideals that guide this military institution. “It is also worth highlighting the devotion, patriotism and professionalism of each one of those involved in this Exercise, who integrated the support, health and safety teams, and acted in management, as well as highlighting the resolute fulfillment of our noble mission of maintaining the sovereignty of the airspace,” said Air Lieutenant Brigadier Damasceno.
For the Exercise Commander, Brigadier Intendant Gilson Alves de Almeida Junior, this was an opportunity to strengthen logistical, health and stewardship capabilities, which are fundamental to the functioning of any military force.
“We recognize that the assistance to the riverine communities in northern Brazil is of relevant importance, and our commitment to the well-being of our population is not limited to our military, but extends to all citizens. I also emphasize the human resource, which are the military subordinate to our General Staff Command: the health team, the religious assistance team, the social assistance team, among others. They were fundamental for the success of our mission”, he pointed out.
In this Exercise, the FAB transported, through the rafts, the largest structure in years, being the largest convoy in length, with 146 meters long and 1000 tons displaced. “The Air Force took advantage of the rafts of the Commission of Airports of the Amazon Region (COMARA) to accommodate the structure of the Field Hospital. Our goal was to transport all this material from Manaus to Moura, from Moura to Barcelos, and back to Manaus. It was approximately a thousand kilometers over the Rio Negro, round trip in fifteen days,” said the Chief of DACO-MN, Lieutenant Colonel Airman Antonio Carlos Neves Trigueiro.
According to the Municipality of Barcelos, the last city served by EXCELSIOR 2023, the action of the Brazilian Air Force was of great importance, because there were many repressed demands. “We know that in the countryside there are several difficulties for these patients to reach the capital Manaus. We can only thank, in a special way, the entire team of the Brazilian Air Force that was here these days. The population is very satisfied. All the professionals are great, well prepared, with a care; we can’t even compare them; and there is also a humanization with the patients. Everyone was well received,” said the Secretary of Health of Barcelos, Patricia Leite.
Photos and video: Sergeants Figueira, P. Silva and Neris / CECOMSAER / Lieutenant Dantoniele / 7thETA