s—the largest and oldest multinational naval exercise. Fourth Fleet hosted the Atlantic phase of the exercise in
Key West, Fla. for the first time, welcoming 2,600 sailors representing navies from Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the U.S.

NAS Key West Commanding Officer Capt. Patrick Lefere observed, "Seeing this many ships down at the Truman Waterfront will certainly be a first in almost 40 years and we look forward to showing our UNITAS partners how much support this community gives our military men and women."

Naval Hospital Key West, the southernmost clinic in the Naval Hospital (NH) Jacksonville enterprise and the sole Navy military treatment facility (MTF) in the Florida Keys, went above and beyond to support the medical and dental readiness, training and security needs of its UNITAS guests.

"Naval Branch Health Clinic Key West was honored to play a supporting role during UNITAS 2012," stated NBHC Key West Officer In Charge Lt. Cmdr. Michael Grande. "While force health protection and overall mission readiness is Naval Hospital Jacksonville's number one mission, NBHC Key West staff does not often get the chance to play an interactive role with our partner nations. Not only did UNITAS provide our staff the unique opportunity to play an integral role in the exercise's medical and contingency planning, but it also allowed our providers to serve in a critical teaching role for our Navy Medicine operational personnel and partner nation medical personnel.”

During UNITAS, all ships had round-the-clock access to NBHC Key West’s Medical Officer of the Day. Clinic administrative staff worked with the 4th Fleet command surgeon and medical planner to prepare a medical support plan, ensuring all was in order well before the ships arrived.

NBHC Key West supported the medical and dental readiness, as well as acute care needs, of the U.S. and NATO sailors. NBHC Key West Fleet Liaison Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Jeffery Hunter coordinated visits for routine, acute and urgent care; pharmacy filled prescriptions; laboratory processed samples and studies; dental provided oral care; optometry provided vision care; and immunizations gave vaccinations.

NBHC Key West provided several training workshops for over 20 U.S. and NATO medical and dental personnel, including physicians, dentists, independent duty corpsmen, support staff and medical liaisons. Senior Dentist Cmdr. Vinh Doan presented on dental emergencies, while Optometrist Capt. Andrew Engle discussed treatment of superficial eye injuries. The training took place aboard HMCS Preserver, a 564-foot Canadian protector-class auxiliary vessel, and offered a rare opportunity for medical personnel at the MTF and pier-side to come together. Seven NBHC Key West corpsmen attended, exchanged ideas with their NATO counterparts, and toured the facilities.

Clinic staff also helped meet the safety and security needs of UNITAS, with three NBHC Key West corpsmen volunteering to stand guard at the Mole Pier as the auxiliary security force.

Grande concluded, “Without a doubt, this exercise showed that NH Jacksonville and NBHC Key West are standing by to assist at anytime!"