Military gearing up for annual IRT training

The United States military is gearing up to launch its annual Innovative Readiness Training Operation Wellness this coming June.

Last week, military personnel came out to Saipan in preparation of the upcoming IRT Operation Wellness which is set to begin on June 8.

IRT Operation Wellness, which essentially provides medical services to members of the local community, is funded by the U.S. Department of Defense,

IRT’s program manager, U.S. Army Reserve Command Maj. Daniel LaVorgna, said that after the turnout of last year’s two-week exercise, they have decided to expand this year’s operation to a month.

Last year, the IRT team provided services to over 3,000 patients.

To accommodate such a large exercise, the military will be deploying 150 servicemembers from the U.S. Army, the U.S. Army Reserve, the U.S. Air Force, the U.S. Air National Guard.

Specifically, the IRT team deployed to Saipan from June 8 to June 28 will provide medical services including health screening, dental care, behavioral health counseling and screening, optometry with eyeglass fabrication, and veterinary care to members of the community on Saipan, Tinian and Rota.

LaVorgna said the IRT mission is a training opportunity for participating specialized servicemembers.

For his part, special assistant for Military Affairs, Daniel Aquino, thanked the IRT team whose members came from great distances—one even as far as Alaska.

He also thanked Gov. Arnold I. Palacios and Lt. Gov. David M. Apatang for their full support for the mission for the people of the CNMI.

He said the IRT mission will help ensure that the CNMI community is healthy.