The “Home Run” Exercise:

Lt. Gen. Norman Seip, 12th Air Force Commander, says the recently completed New Horizons-Nicaragua 2007 humanitarian and training exercise “really hit a homerun” in the scope of its accomplishments from health care to construction activities. The US Southern Command-sponsored three-month exercise comprised some 250 airmen, soldiers, and marines operating under the lead of the 820th Expeditionary RED HORSE from Nellis AFB, Nev., partnered with about 35 Nicaraguan military personnel. US medical personnel participated in New Horizons’ three separate Medical Readiness Training Exercises at nine locations throughout Nicaragua. They treated nearly 21,000 patients, and at least one man “walked four hours to receive medical care,” Seip told the Daily Report in written response to questions. Medics dispensed nearly 53,000 prescriptions, extracted 3,000 teeth, and provided 2,000 eyeglasses. On the construction front, exercise participants built a three-room school, a five-room medical clinic, painted an older school; unscheduled efforts included repairing more than 44 miles of roads, drilling two water wells, and repairing another well. Veterinarian personnel made visits to 28 locations, treating more than 8,300 animals. Seip says that the “most valuable part” of this event—the one that “pays dividends year after year”—is the exchange of information and techniques.