Medical professionals from the U.S. military and five countries provided free medical care to hundreds of people in Guatemala, primarily farmers and their families, May 13-16. The global health engagement event took place at the Guatemalan Army’s Third Infantry Brigade base in Jutiapa.
The initiative was part of CENTAM Guardian 2025, a joint exercise sponsored by U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) and the Guatemalan Ministry of Defense. The exercise aims to strengthen regional security and stability through collaborative training and improve interoperability among participating countries.
Medical professionals involved in the efforts came from the U.S. Air Force’s 355th Medical Group, the U.S. Army Reserve’s 7454th Medical Operational Readiness Unit, and the Arkansas Air National Guard’s 188th Medical Group. Medical personnel from Guatemala’s Ministry of Health, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, and Honduras also participated.
“It definitely challenged me,” said U.S. Air Force Airman First Class Jennifer Vazquez, a medical administrative specialist with the 355th Medical Group who was participating in her first global health engagement.
A fluent Spanish speaker, Airman 1st Class Vazquez at times translated for patients as they described their symptoms to doctors and nurses, and for the medical professionals as they explained diagnoses and prescriptions.
In a particularly moving encounter, she and a military doctor comforted a young mother who, tests had revealed, was unexpectedly pregnant with her fourth child. The full experience, Airman 1st Class Vazquez said, affected her personally and professionally.
“I’m grateful to be part of the mission, to see different kinds of backgrounds and experiences, especially the experiences of the patients,” Airman 1st Class Vazquez said.
As patients arrived at the field hospital site, often on foot from communities around Jutiapa, they were welcomed by representatives of the Ministry of Health, then waited under canopies for their turns. The first stop in the field hospital was an assessment tent, from which they were guided into one of two clinics for consultations and tests. Depending on their conditions, many patients received information at a separate station on dengue fever, which is common in the region.
When a Guatemalan mother asked U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Kelly Morales, a doctor with the 7454th Medical Operation Readiness Unit, to examine an ulcer on her infant daughter, tests indicated hemangioma – a noncancerous growth of blood vessels.
The diagnosis and the doctor’s recommendation for treatment replaced the mother’s dread with hope, U.S. Army Sergeant Dayna Zelaya, a laboratory technician with the 7454th, said.
U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Peter Mudge, the commander of the 188th Medical Group and the officer in charge of the field hospital, said the change in the patients’ demeanor gave him joy. Going into the tents, they were worried; coming out after receiving treatment, they were happy.
Lt. Col. Mudge, who estimated that he has participated in 15 global health engagements, said adversity always is part of the experience.
Yet, he said, “When you put people together with a vision, direction, and a common purpose, they are able to solve problems and move on to make things better for patient care.”
“The teams crushed it the whole time on all fronts,” he added. “When everyone is learning and working together to make processes better, it’s amazing to watch.”
In all, 449 patients were treated and 886 prescriptions were filled.
On May 20, all of the teams were scheduled to complete combat casualty care training, including triage, stop-the-bleed, obstructed airway, and evacuation training. The following day, with soldiers from the Guatemalan Army’s Third Infantry Brigade, firefighters from Jutiapa and doctors from a local hospital carried out a mass casualty exercise.
The presence of medical professionals from the United States added to the credibility of the care that the patients received at the global health event – care that is usually postponed due to cost and distance, said Virginia Herzig, the chief of the search and rescue preparation department in the epidemiology and risk management directorate of Guatemala’s Ministry of Health.
The mass casualty training will strengthen the capacity of Guatemala’s global response teams, and together the two events accelerated the Ministry of Health’s readiness for its next mission, she said.
In June, the ministry will deploy its field hospital to Antigua, Guatemala, for up to six months. This deployment will support Antigua as it transitions from an aging hospital building to new facilities.
Since 2018, medical professionals from the ministry have been receiving classroom training from the Pan American Health Organization.
“With the invitation to CENTAM Guardian 2025,” Herzig said, “they felt motivated to finally integrate – to implement the medical emergency response team.”
