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Airmen and soldiers from Air Forces Southern, the 355th Medical Group and the 349th Combat Support Hospital are readying medical personnel, packing supplies and shipping medical equipment that will be used in treating thousands of patients in support of their upcoming deployment to Belize for New Horizons '14.

"We are so incredibly grateful to the Belizean government for all of the exceptional support they provided in the planning of this exercise and we look forward to once again joining forces on the ground in a few short weeks," said Lt. Col. James Smith, 12th Air Force (AFSOUTH) deputy command surgeon.

During last year's exercise in Belize, Air Force and Army medical teams worked side-by-side with Canadian doctors, the Ministry of Health in Belize, as well as Belizean doctors and medical personnel to provide care for more than 14,828 Belizeans during the medical readiness training exercises (MEDRETES).

A group of highly-skilled professional medical personnel will soon come together once again to provide routine and essential medical treatment to more than 15,000 Belizeans.

"The U.S., Canada and Belize have pulled some of the best-of-the-best together to form this year's joint and multi-national medical team," said Col. Bruce Edwards, New Horizons Belize Expeditionary Medical Operations Squadron commander. "Our team is looking forward to growing partnerships, sharing information, and training with our Canadian and Belizean medical colleagues."

Medical services provided during this year's exercise will include general health, internal medicine, obstetrics/gynecology, pediatrics, dental and dermatology.

The MEDRETES will take place in Belize City and Corozal. Medical personnel will also be setting up in remote locations throughout the jungle and in local villages to provide indispensable care to Belize's indigenous population.

"This training will improve our skills to provide essential and emergency care during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts throughout the globe," said Edwards. "Medical practitioners will receive training that helps them prepare for overseas deployments by providing care to people in rural areas that may not have had easy access to health care in the past."

New Horizons, an annual U.S. Southern Command sponsored exercise, began in the mid-1980s. The exercise objective is to train military civil engineers and medical professionals to deploy and conduct joint operations.

Since its inception, airmen and members of other services working under USSOUTHCOM have built schools, community centers, provided medical care and much more to form partnerships between the United States and Central American, South American and Caribbean nations.

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Belize Defence Force leads security team for New Horizons exercise

Soldiers from the Belize Defence Force have been leading the charge in providing round-the-clock teams to safeguard vital New Horizons assets since exercise construction and medical equipment arrived at the Port of Belize last week.

BDF security at each site is critical in allowing the New Horizons engineers to quickly move various shipping containers and maintenance vehicles (tractor trailers, dump trucks, excavators, pickups, forklifts, backhoes and gas trucks) from the Port of Belize to various construction site staging areas in Belomopan, Belize City and Hattieville.

Civil engineers from both the U.S. and Belize will begin construction on a hospital ward in Belmopan, three schools in Belize City, and one school in Hattieville once the New Horizons exercise kicks-off, April 2. The Belize Defence Force will lead 24/7 security details at each one of the five construction sites until the end of the exercise in late-June.

Last year, during New Horizons, Belize Defence Force soldiers, contractors throughout Belize, and U.S. airmen, soldiers and Marines worked side-by-side to build community centers, medical clinics and schools, and to reinforce hurricane shelters.

The New Horizons exercise began in the mid-1980s and is an annual exercise to train military civil engineers and medical professionals to deploy and conduct joint operations. Since then, Airmen and members of other services working under U.S. Southern Command have built schools, community centers, provided medical care and much more to form partnerships between the United States and Central American, South American and Caribbean nations. The Exercise's principal objectives are to provide U.S. military members an opportunity to train for an overseas deployment and all of the logistical requirements it entails and to promote bilateral cooperation by providing real opportunities for U.S. and partner nation military engineers, medical personnel and support staff to work and train together.

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