BROWNING, Montana — U.S. service members from more than 50 units across the country arrived in Montana last week for Blackfeet Tribal Health – Operation Walking Shield, an Innovative Readiness Training medical mission in Browning, Montana, July 15 to 29, 2024.

Approximately 200 service members from the Air National Guard, Army National Guard, Air Force Active Duty, Air Force Reserve, Army Reserve, and the Navy Reserve in collaboration with Blackfeet Tribal Health began operating a 10-day no-cost healthcare clinic providing medical, dental, vision, behavioral, and veterinary services to not only the Blackfeet Tribe but also the surrounding public, July 18.

“This is a huge opportunity for everybody to get these services not only Blackfeet but surrounding areas Cut Bank, Shelby, Great Falls, it is available to everyone,” said Mr. Garland Stiffarm, chief executive officer for Blackfeet Tribal Health. “A clinic like this has never been done before at Browning. It’s monumental and it’s a long time coming. I really thank the military for providing these services to us.”

The Blackfeet Tribal Health – Operation Walking Shield mission started with an application submitted by Blackfeet Tribal Health in October 2022 and mission planning included multiple site visits over the last ten months, culminating in this ten-day clinic.

“The process has been lifechanging, last year when we first came, we were strangers, but when this mission ends, we will leave more like family. This mission would not have been possible without Mr. Stiffarm and Blackfeet Tribal Health,” said Maj. Pranav Rane, IRT mission officer-in-charge and public health officer at the 179th Cyberspace Wing. “We have had long days, weeks and months leading up to this but to have our service members finally here, supporting the community in this capacity is better than I could have imagined.”

Medical, dental and vision access to members of the Blackfeet Tribe and residents of the surrounding communities is limited with 38 percent having no access to healthcare, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau website.

The Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) Program is a Secretary of Defense funded initiative that began more than three decades ago and provides mission essential training for service members through real-world engagement with communities in need of construction, medical, transportation or cyber services.

For many service members, the opportunity to serve their nation in this capacity and in this location is a unique one that may not present itself again.

“The most memorable part for me has been getting to learn about the culture of each patient before and after treating them,” said Airman 1st Class Edmond Thompson, a dental technician on his first IRT mission assigned to the 147th Attack Wing. “We’re getting to make connections with the community on a human level and that’s something money can’t buy.”

In 2023, the IRT program conducted approximately 60 missions in 31 states and territories delivering roughly 20 million dollars in value to American communities by providing life-changing care and resources.

The 10-day no-cost medical clinic, Blackfeet Tribal Health – Operation Walking Shield, will be open to the public providing medical, dental, vision, behavioral, and veterinary services between July 18 through July 27.

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