Wednesday, September 23, 2009

USAF National Guard Restoring smiles

QUANG TRI PROVINCE, Vietnam - If anyone knows the importance of a smile, it's a dentist, and dentists like Maj. (Dr.) Diep Le....
Dr. Le, a reservist from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the United States when she was 5 years old. The doctor jumped at the opportunity to return to her native land because of the connection she has with her Vietnamese heritage.


Photo:Doctor Le (on the left) is a dentist and Air Force reservist from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Kerry Jackson)


"Being in Vietnam is an opportunity for me to do something I absolutely love, for people I have such a meaningful connection with," said Dr. Le. "It is an experience that I'll remember for a very, very long time."

Dr. Le is part of a team of Air Force medical professionals and civil engineers in Vietnam Sept. 15 to 24 to provide humanitarian assistance in cooperation with local authorities to Quang Tri Province residents during Operation Pacific Angel 2009....
more Photos HERE.

Pacific Angel is a Pacific Air Forces operation led by 13th Air Force at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii. Two previous iterations of Operation Pacific Angel 2009 were conducted in July -- one to Indonesia and another to Timor Leste.


These type of mission go on all the time here in the Philippines, and when they are in our area I try to report on it.

But this is the first time I was aware that they were helping in rural Viet Nam...

No comments: