Military training may bring free health services to Chenango County
NORWICH – Chenango County legislators, in conjunction with the Southern Tier East Regional Planning Development and the United States Department of Defense, are aiming to bring a large-scale military training exercise to Chenango County that could benefit thousands of residents with free medical, healthcare and human services.
Southern Tier East Regional Planning Development (STE) has filed an application to the U.S. Department of Defense for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) site to be located within Chenango County. IRT provides real world training opportunities for U.S. service units to prepare them for wartime missions while simultaneously supporting the needs of underserved communities.
Designation of an IRT site in Chenango County would bring an estimated 150 military personnel to the area for training in various fields of human service that would be provided to all community residents free of charge. The purpose, explained STE Director Eric Miller, is to improve military readiness while also meeting some of the community’s most urgent civil needs, including access to basic health care, dental care and veterinary assistance.
Although the STE application to the Department of Defense proposes an IRT site in Chenango County in 2015, local officials say the application may be expedited, potentially bringing IRT training to the region as early as summer, 2014. The IRT site would also be immediately accessible to residents of surrounding Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga counties.
While an IRT site in Chenango County has not been officially confirmed, local representative say the county has been earmarked for one in 2014 and remain optimistic that it will happen. Last week, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted an official resolution endorsing the IRT program and the application submitted by STE.
“Earlier this year, we put in a letter of interest because we noticed there were no reserves training opportunities in the northeast. It would be a great opportunity for the area,” Miller said, citing the nearly 3,600 local residents expected to benefit from free medical services. “If there’s an overseas emergency, the Department of Defense needs to have the training to set up a small medical complex for military personnel ... By having them train here, it prepares them and it helps the region out significantly.”
The proposal would bring IRT to the area for a total of 14 days from start to finish, Miller said; ten days of which will be designated for providing community services. STE and the Chenango County Planning Department are presently considering potential campsites for military personnel in the Norwich area that may include Norwich schools and the Chenango County fairgrounds, among other public facilities.
IRT training exercises are often held in southern regions of the U.S., Miller pointed out. “The Department of Defense is very interested in doing training here in the northeast because it also adds to the savings of not having military from the northeast transported down south,” he said.
In addition to medical services, IRT training also includes potential for engineering services that could help recondition flood prone areas throughout the county, according to Chenango County Planning and Development Director Donna Jones. Moreover, it’s expected to have a positive economic impact for local hotels, grocery stores, restaurants and other local businesses that will be utilized by the military workforce.
“We are very confident that this is something that will happen,” said Jones. “It’s something that is very needed in the area. It will help fill a big gap for residents who are not receiving these types of services, especially those who live in the most rural parts of the county.”
Officials say they expect another press release regarding IRT in Chenango County by late spring.
Southern Tier East Regional Planning Development (STE) has filed an application to the U.S. Department of Defense for an Innovative Readiness Training (IRT) site to be located within Chenango County. IRT provides real world training opportunities for U.S. service units to prepare them for wartime missions while simultaneously supporting the needs of underserved communities.
Designation of an IRT site in Chenango County would bring an estimated 150 military personnel to the area for training in various fields of human service that would be provided to all community residents free of charge. The purpose, explained STE Director Eric Miller, is to improve military readiness while also meeting some of the community’s most urgent civil needs, including access to basic health care, dental care and veterinary assistance.
Although the STE application to the Department of Defense proposes an IRT site in Chenango County in 2015, local officials say the application may be expedited, potentially bringing IRT training to the region as early as summer, 2014. The IRT site would also be immediately accessible to residents of surrounding Broome, Cortland, Delaware, Otsego and Tioga counties.
While an IRT site in Chenango County has not been officially confirmed, local representative say the county has been earmarked for one in 2014 and remain optimistic that it will happen. Last week, the Chenango County Board of Supervisors adopted an official resolution endorsing the IRT program and the application submitted by STE.
“Earlier this year, we put in a letter of interest because we noticed there were no reserves training opportunities in the northeast. It would be a great opportunity for the area,” Miller said, citing the nearly 3,600 local residents expected to benefit from free medical services. “If there’s an overseas emergency, the Department of Defense needs to have the training to set up a small medical complex for military personnel ... By having them train here, it prepares them and it helps the region out significantly.”
The proposal would bring IRT to the area for a total of 14 days from start to finish, Miller said; ten days of which will be designated for providing community services. STE and the Chenango County Planning Department are presently considering potential campsites for military personnel in the Norwich area that may include Norwich schools and the Chenango County fairgrounds, among other public facilities.
IRT training exercises are often held in southern regions of the U.S., Miller pointed out. “The Department of Defense is very interested in doing training here in the northeast because it also adds to the savings of not having military from the northeast transported down south,” he said.
In addition to medical services, IRT training also includes potential for engineering services that could help recondition flood prone areas throughout the county, according to Chenango County Planning and Development Director Donna Jones. Moreover, it’s expected to have a positive economic impact for local hotels, grocery stores, restaurants and other local businesses that will be utilized by the military workforce.
“We are very confident that this is something that will happen,” said Jones. “It’s something that is very needed in the area. It will help fill a big gap for residents who are not receiving these types of services, especially those who live in the most rural parts of the county.”
Officials say they expect another press release regarding IRT in Chenango County by late spring.
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