WEBVTT

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(dramatic music)

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- [Narrator] The most
important thing we have to do

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is to restore the readiness of the force

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and right now of course, as you know,

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we're under a continuing resolution.

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- How can we do less, do
it better, do it faster

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and be more efficient, be more lethal,

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and ultimately create
a more ready and lethal

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joint fighting force?

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- How do we ensure that
the young captains,

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the young airmen, the
NCOs of today and tomorrow

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have that same confidence
under fire that I had when I

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went into combat in Desert Storm?

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- One of the major problems facing

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the Air Force Medical Service right now is

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currency and readiness
and it is not unique

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to RAF Lakenheath.

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It is a problem that is facing all

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of our services around the world

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- Because you can't teach
experience, you just can't.

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You can talk about surgery all day,

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I can talk about my diplomas all day,

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but until you actually do it,

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you don't know what you're doing.

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- You want surgeons
operating on you who know

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what they're doing.

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You don't want surgeons
who are not current

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or not proficient in surgeries
that they've learned how

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to do but they just
haven't had the opportunity

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to practice because of
the active duty population

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that we have.

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- Here at RAF Lakenheath,
we've taken advantage of a

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national health service that allows us

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to work in a similar environment
with a common language

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and similar training
backgrounds in order to bridge

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this gap for what we have currently

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for currency and readiness
to making sure that our

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medics are continuously ready to deploy

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at a moment's notice.

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- Lakenheath gives our
airmen the foundation.

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Having this partnership
with West Suffolk gives

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them the experience to be able to

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work with different people,
work with what they have.

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- So, in my experience from
being deployed to Afghanistan,

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it is very important that you're able

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to be adaptable and flexible.

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Working in the NHS allows
those skills to develop

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because you don't know
what you're working with,

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you don't know what situation
you're walking into.

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You don't know who your staff
are going to be, necessarily.

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- For us, this is a really,
really important program.

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We're heavily invested in it.

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We see some fantastic outcomes.

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We some fantastic sharing of ideas.

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We see real improvement
happening as a consequence

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of the sharing of lessons and people.

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We're absolutely committed to it.

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We want to do more of if it and we think

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this is an international,
innovative program

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that is really unique
and must be supported.

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(dramatic music)