Hundreds of Mozambicans lined a dirt road at dawn August 5, 2010 to receive medical care from U.S. service members and medics with the Armed Forces for the Defenses of Mozambique (FADM).

The villagers were offered optometry and dental care, along with basic medical assistance as part of Exercise SHAERED ACCORD 2010, a 10-day exercise designed to increase U.S. Africa Command partner nation capacity for peace and stability operations.

Adequate medical care is hard to come by in Mozambique. It is a country that has an average life expectancy of 41 years due to the impact of preventable and treatable diseases like malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

Patients sought treatment for everything from the common cold -- which in Mozambique can be fatal - to severe arthritis. Regardless of the aliment they treated, medical personnel involved said they felt satisfied with being able to make a difference for so many people.

"I think it's phenomenal to be able to help," said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Melissa Hamilton, a hospital corpsman with 4th Landing Support Battalion. "[Being here] carries a huge impact -- especially with the vitamins we were able to provide. Many people here have such a poor diet, and they don't get a lot of the nutrition they should. Many of the problems we're seeing are just from that."

Hamilton also said many older patients showed signs of arthritis from years of farming, a trade some Mozambicans rely on both as a source of income, and as a means to feed their families.

U.S. Navy Commander Greg Klein, a dentist with 4th Medical Battalion, said many patients traveled up to two hours on foot to receive treatment, and the American and Mozambican service members didn't disappoint. They set up a full-service dental clinic able to pull rotten or damaged teeth.

"Most of the remote villages don't have dental care," said Klein, a reservist who works as a civilian general dental practitioner. "They have to travel into Maputo [Mozambique's capital city] to get their care, so they have to wait and wait in long lines there."

Klein explained that although long lines still exist at the satellite dental clinic, the line is much closer to home, and that can make the difference in a person receiving treatment. Because of the clinic's location, three American and two Mozambican dental officers were able to see more than 80 patients for small fillings and tooth extractions.

For Klein, the work is a passion easily transferred from civilian life to serving in Africa.

"I've gotten a lot out of it already personally," said Klein. "There is such gratification in working on the people here. Everyone leaves with a smile and it's a great feeling."

SHARED ACCORD is an annually scheduled, bi-lateral U.S. Africa Command-partner nation event. It is designed to build partner nation capacity for peace and stability operations. Previously, SA has taken place in locations such as Benin, Ghana, and Senegal. The exercise is coordinated by U.S. Marine Forces Africa. The exercise is scheduled to conclude on or around August 10. All troops will return to their home bases in Europe and the U.S. at the end of the exercise.

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