The Navy Environmental Preventive Medicine Unit FIVE (NEPMU-5) Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Units (FDPMU’s) exercised their knowledge and skills developed through extensive field training to provide support and expertise during Operation Allies Refuge (OAR)/Welcome (W) mission. The operation provided Afghan evacuees and personnel essential support at secure locations outside Afghanistan.

The efforts provided by NEPMU-5 staff included a broad range of services including, medical screening for initial immigration processing, preventive medicine services, and COVID-19 testing and quarantine. Team members deployed to various locations to include; Fort Dix, New Jersey, Fort Pickett, Virginia, and Rota, Spain where their expertise in habitability inspections, communicable disease tracking and mitigation, and vector control proved invaluable.

“It was been an incredible experience to work with our partners at DHS [Department of Homeland Security] and CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” said Cmdr. Matthew Humphreys, a preventive medicine physician and FDPMU team lead who assisted at Fort Pickett. “I was consistently impressed with our team’s ability to collaborate across agencies to develop seamless, actionable policy."

“The training we received allowed us to begin executing our mission from the moment we arrived,” said Lt. Cmdr. Hanayo Arimoto, an entomologist who was assigned to Fort Dix. “The team came together quickly and began providing immediate support on everything from vector control to sanitation inspections.”

Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Mishell Dumont was in Rota, Spain where Afghans were screened and received care prior to their arrival to the U.S. “Working to protect national security and provide protection for vulnerable Afghans was so rewarding,” said Dumont, “and it is certainly an experience I will never forget.”

The missions left a lasting impression on those who had an opportunity to serve at a safe haven. More than 52,000 Afghan evacuees had been resettled in communities across the country at the close of 2021, with approximately 22,500 more in the process of completing their resettlement. NEPMU-5 team members continue to be on stand-by to offer their expertise and support.

For more news from Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit FIVE, visit https://www.med.navy.mil/Navy-Marine-Corps-Public-Health-Center/Field-Activities/Navy-Environmental-Preventive-Medicine-Unit-5/ or follow NEPMU-5 on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nepmu5.

The Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center (NMCPHC) develops and shapes public health for the U.S. Navy and Marines Corps through health surveillance, epidemiology and analysis, disease and injury prevention, and public health consultation. Learn more by going to www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil. Follow NMCPHC on social media at https://www.facebook.com/NavyAndMarineCorpsPublicHealthCenter http://twitter.com/nmcphc and https://www.instagram.com/nmcphc/