U.S. Air Force medical and support personnel returned to Saint Lucia to conduct the Lesser Antilles Medical Assistance Team (LAMAT) 2026 mission in partnership with the Saint Lucia Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, continuing a long-standing collaboration focused on patient care and clinical knowledge exchange across the island.
The two-week engagement integrated U.S. Air Force active-duty and reserve medical teams with host-nation providers to deliver patient care and conduct clinical knowledge exchange across multiple Ministry of Health-designated facilities.
“This is not one nation providing care to another,” said U.S. Air Force Colonel Michele Curtis, mission commander. “This is professionals working side by side, building trust, sharing expertise, and strengthening readiness together.”
Medical teams provided general surgery, primary care, emergency medicine, dentistry, and preventive health services while working alongside Saint Lucian providers to exchange techniques and best practices.
“Collaborations such as LAMAT allow us to identify our greatest needs and make the necessary requests,” said Dr. Sharon Belmar-George, chief medical officer for the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs. “These are real people with real issues who need care.”
LAMAT 2026 was an eight-week regional health security cooperation campaign spanning four partner nations, designed to enhance U.S. Air Force medical readiness through real-world clinical engagement while supporting Saint Lucia’s capacity to manage health care demands and respond to public health challenges.
The Honorable Moses Jn Baptiste, Minister of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, emphasized the importance of collaboration during times of crisis, noting that partnerships like LAMAT demonstrate the value of sustained international cooperation.
As the final stop in the 2026 LAMAT mission, the Saint Lucia engagement builds on previous missions conducted in Saint Kitts and Nevis, Guyana and Suriname, reinforcing continued U.S. partnership across the Caribbean.
Now in its fourth consecutive year in Saint Lucia, the LAMAT mission reflects an enduring partnership and continued commitment to strengthening health care capacity across the region.
