Kodiak Arctic Care 2026

Kodiak Arctic Care 2026 DoW Innovative Readiness Training event that delivers no cost health services to the Kodiak community

Innovative Readiness Training events not only provide no-cost medical services to communities, but also provide essentia...
05/20/2026

Innovative Readiness Training events not only provide no-cost medical services to communities, but also provide essential hands-on, real-world training.

During , service members received classroom and hands-on instruction which led to a culminating training event.

Shout out to Civil Air Patrol cadets with Unit PCR-AK-087 for your incredible acting skills and providing a more realistic training experience!

“19 years and this is my first IRT. It’s been incredible.As the Kodiak Arctic Care training team, we’re not just teachin...
05/19/2026

“19 years and this is my first IRT. It’s been incredible.

As the Kodiak Arctic Care training team, we’re not just teaching medicine — we’re building confidence, communication, interoperability, and the ability to respond effectively during real-world emergencies and mass casualty situations.

We were able to do that because of the training team. You go into any mission or event, you want to have a strong team – the strongest team possible. One of my favorite things about going TDY or being deployed, is that you come together with people from different walks of life and you’re expected to do so cohesively and execute the mission successfully. You’re only as strong as your weakest link, and I didn’t have any weak links on my team. It was incredible.”

MSgt Robert Ocampo
433rd Aeromedical Staging Squadron
Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas

“What’s really exciting is that this is my first IRT ever.It's been cool to be able to collaborate with the other milita...
05/19/2026

“What’s really exciting is that this is my first IRT ever.

It's been cool to be able to collaborate with the other military branches, and to see where I can fit in and provide value and also learn as much as possible.

I came here as a communicator, and I've been tasked to kind of be a Swiss Army knife and learn different skills and add value in different areas that I might not have had the most experience in.

It’s allowed me to really enhance my leadership skills, personal growth and professional development.”

LCpl. Kevin Matos
Marine Corps Reserve
6th Communication Battalion
Brooklyn, NY

“I heard about Kodiak Arctic Care 2026 only a few weeks ago and immediately knew it would be an amazing opportunity and ...
05/19/2026

“I heard about Kodiak Arctic Care 2026 only a few weeks ago and immediately knew it would be an amazing opportunity and something I couldn’t miss.

I’ve been serving as a religious affairs airman, supporting the chaplain and making sure service members receive the religious services and spiritual wellness they need. In the Chaplain Corp, our mission is the people and it’s truly a privilege to support service members to make sure they have what they need to keep their wellness and morale intact.

It’s been fantastic connecting with joint service members, as well as locals in Kodiak. One day, I spoke with a woman who told me about her life and how she ended up in Kodiak. I was even able to connect her with an optometrist who spoke Chinese, her native language. She hadn’t spoken it with someone in a while, so it was nice to help her experience a moment of familiarity.

That moment, and the IRT in general, has been special to me. Especially because I was a dental technician prior to becoming a religious affairs airman. Because I worked in the medical field, I understand what the providers are doing and how much goes into patient care.

Overall, the IRT has been wonderful. I've loved every part of being here and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.”

Tech.Sgt. Elisa Lonergan
U.S. Air Force Reserve
914th Air Refueling Wing
Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, NY

05/19/2026

As comes to a close, we want to take a moment to say thank you to the incredible community of Kodiak and the service members who made this training event possible!

It has been an incredible opportunity to serve the community and partner with Kodiak Area Native Association - KANA to provide no-cost medical, dental, vision, behavioral health, and nutrition services to the community.

Thank you for allowing us to be part of this community and for helping make this event meaningful.

From all of us at Kodiak Arctic Care — thank you, Kodiak ❤️

“I love IRTs. This is my third one. The work done during IRTs is always incredible. Healthcare can be expensive, so it’s...
05/18/2026

“I love IRTs. This is my third one.

The work done during IRTs is always incredible. Healthcare can be expensive, so it’s nice to see communities receive care at no cost.

For Kodiak Arctic Care, I’ve been checking patients in and out of the clinic and entering billing codes to track the value of services provided. These numbers are important because they show not only the amount of care delivered, but also how much money the Kodiak community has saved through these no-cost services.

All the IRTs I’ve supported have been medical missions, but Kodiak Arctic Care has been especially memorable. Kodiak is such a unique place. I love the views here and how welcoming the locals are. Everyone I’ve met has been so nice and those that’ve come to the clinic have been so thankful for the healthcare they received.

Being able to see the IRT’s impact on the community has been great, and it wouldn't happen without all the teamwork amongst everyone here. It’s truly been a team effort to keep things running smoothly and making sure patients get the care they need.”

Staff Sgt. Vittoria Marconi
Delaware Army National Guard Medical Detachment Medic
New Castle, DE

The NORA team is hard at work fabricating prescription eye glasses for the community of Kodiak, one of the no-cost ser...
05/18/2026

The NORA team is hard at work fabricating prescription eye glasses for the community of Kodiak, one of the no-cost services provided by the Innovative Readiness Training event.

Clinic services are open until 7 p.m. today, except dental services.

“I’m the noncommissioned officer in-charge of FSS. I’ve mainly been focused on food services, which has involved plannin...
05/17/2026

“I’m the noncommissioned officer in-charge of FSS. I’ve mainly been focused on food services, which has involved planning meals and supporting service members working in the kitchen.

My role has been a different, but fun adjustment. Since I’m working with other services, I’ve learned a lot about how they operate. For example, I’ve learned there are other facets to FSS in the Air Force besides food services, whereas in the Marine Corps I specifically focus on food services.

Here at the IRT, me and other NCOICs work together to make sure food service, beddown facilities and service member accountability operations are running smoothly.

I think my biggest impact on the mission has been leading food service operations and providing good meals for the service members who are working at the clinic for long hours providing care to the Kodiak community.

I’m happy to be here because I didn't get to support the IRT that took place in Kodiak last year. This year’s IRT is my first and it's exciting because I get to interact with other military branches and support an operation taking care of people in need.”

Staff Sgt. Sergio Hernandez
Marine Corps Reserve
Combat Logistics Regiment 4
Kansas City, MO

“When I first joined the military, it was to help people, and this was my first opportunity to actually go out and help ...
05/16/2026

“When I first joined the military, it was to help people, and this was my first opportunity to actually go out and help the people in the States.

A quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson that inspires me is:

'The purpose of life is not to be happy. it is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well'.

At first I wasn’t sure what I was getting into, they told me I was just gonna be a vehicle dispatcher, but it was a lot more than that. I get to stay back and actually help the people who need it.

Even if it’s just personal vehicles and not tactical vehicles, keeping track of keys and making sure people get their free time is something that we all kind of take for granted. You don’t always have your free time, especially with people working so hard in other areas, it’s hard to divvy out time, so you just have to be patient and grateful for everything you get to do. You don’t always have your free time, and you get to let other people enjoy themselves.”

Sgt. Cole Graf
Marine Corps Reserve
Combat Logistics Regiment 4
Kansas, MO

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