Members of Forward Deployable Preventive Medicine Unit Team 4 completed a seven-day simulated exercise to evaluate deployment readiness at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, April 19-26.

Fifteen Sailors assigned to Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 5 San Diego's FDPMU platform took part in the Operational Readiness Evaluation (ORE). The team was augmented by three members of Hawaii-based NEPMU-6, along with observers from the Republic of Singapore Armed Forces, as part of a greater effort to strengthen and validate Preventive Medicine capabilities in the United States Pacific Command (PACOM) area of responsibility.

"The visit from our Singaporean partners provided an excellent opportunity for subject matter expertise exchanges," said Lt. Cmdr. George Vancil, Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center FDPMU program manager. "We look forward to working with them during Pacific Partnership 2016."

Exercise planners and coordinators from NMCPHC were on site to evaluate the performance of the FDPMU as they completed the ORE. Scenarios tested the team's capabilities to identify and evaluate environmental health hazards, conduct disease vector surveillance and infectious disease assessments, while assessing health outcomes in a deployed environment.

Lt. Nickita Brown, NEPMU-5's FDPMU coordinator, was also on hand to gauge the team's potential for success.

"Based on their performance during this training evolution, I am confident in their success this summer as they provide public health services throughout the Pacific," said Brown.

"The FDPMU is the most capable and advanced preventive medicine unit across the services," concluded Vancil.

FDPMUs provide health services support (HSS) to Navy and Marine Corps forces by rapidly assessing, preventing, and controlling health threats in the theater of operations to enhance organic preventive medicine assets. Teams that successfully complete the ORE are certified as fully capable to support deployed forces with flexible and sustainable force health protection services.

For more news from the Navy Environmental and Preventive Medicine Unit 5, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/nepmu5 and follow NEPMU5 on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/nepmu5.

For more news from Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, visit http://www.navy.mil/.