Dental team serves in Panama Published Sept. 28, 2010 By Master Sgt. James Bunce 81st Dental Squadron KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, Miss. -- Team Keesler was the point team in dentistry for this year's New Horizons exercise, an annual U.S. Southern Command humanitarian assistance mission conducted in August. The 81st Dental Squadron deployed 20 members for two weeks as the lead team in support of the six-week New Horizons Panama mission. The team, led by Lt. Col. (Dr.) Andre Henriques, a prosthodontist, consisted of prosthodontist Lt. Col. (Dr.) Stephanie Stouder; oral surgeon Maj. (Dr.) Jeffrey Brown; pediatric dentist Maj. (Dr.) Stephen Gasparovich; and general dentists Capts. (Drs.) Rachael Parrish and Jeffrey Styskal. The team also included dental technicians Senior Airmen Aaron Bentancourt, Gilberto Quijano, Veronica Reesey and Rebekah Rush; Staff Sgts. Billy Bales, Hilary Barnes, Rebecca Escajeda, Ashly Garcia and Claudia Holcomb; and Tech. Sgts. Tisha Hargrove, Jeffery Bryington and Zackery Leos. Tech. Sgt. Elvin Muniz-Bonilla served as dental laboratory technician and Master Sgt. James Bunce was the noncommissioned officer in charge. Keesler was the only unit that staffed their entire two-week rotation from its own manpower pool. The other participating bases were mission-lead Langley Air Force Base, Va., and Hurlburt Field/Eglin AFB, Fla., which augmented their teams with medics from several other bases. The missions benefitted Keesler medics, who received valuable field training while providing a much needed service to the community of Chitre, Veraguas. Two members of the team were invited to the District of Santiago Panama, Veraguas Province, dental meeting to present professional lectures on infection control and prosthodontics to more than 50 dentists, dental assistants, dental students and dental school professors. Keesler's team treated 1,215 patients in 10 days, accomplishing 4,296 dental procedures worth almost a half-million dollars. Since New Horizons started in the 1980s, Airmen have built schools and community centers, dug wells, provided medical care and constructed clinics annually at the request of numerous countries in the spirit of cooperation and friendship. New Horizons missions are an ongoing commitment by the U.S. government to assist with theater security cooperation and are requested by the host nations. By sharing experiences, information, vital skills, tactics and techniques, the Air Force continues to build enduring partnerships with nations in Central and South America and the Caribbean.