18
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Volume1 Issue7
N
ews and
E
vents
RCDCDomestic Operations:
HELPINGGOVERNMENTAND
CANADIANSATHOME
Inthe lead-uptothe100
th
anniversaryoftheRoyalCanadian
DentalCorps(RCDC) in2015, thisarticle isthesixth inaseries
commemoratingthehistoryandaccomplishmentsoftheRCDC
overthe lastcentury. Inadditionto lookingaftertheoralhealthneeds
ofCanada’stroopsduringcombat,peacemakingandpeacekeeping
operationsoverseas,andservingonhumanitarianand forensic
missions, theRCDCsupportsourtroopsbyprovidingassistanceat
homeduringnaturaldisastersandothercrises.RCDCalsoplayeda
keyrole inHealthCanada’sCanadianHealthMeasuresSurvey.
➊
TheOkaCrisis
(OpSALON), 1990
TheCanadianArmedForces (CAF)
deployed4,500personnel during thecrisis
inOka, Quebec, in1990. InAugust, the5
BrigadeFieldAmbulanceDental Platoon,
commandedbyMajor James Taylor,was
deployed to theMontreal area toprovide
dental treatment services to thebrigade
troops involved inOperationSALON.
Four treatment sectionsweredeployed
in support of CAFfieldunits. Theoriginal
focuswas toprovideemergencydental
care in thefield. However, as theoperational
timeframeexpanded, annual examinations
and routine treatmentswerealsoprovided.
RedRiverFlood
(OpASSISTANCE), 1997
In the springof 1997, amajor floodoccurred
along theRedRiverof theNorth inNorth
Dakota,Minnesota, andSouthernManitoba.
Itwas the river’smost severeflood since1826
andcausedover $500million indamages in
Manitobaalone.
TheprovinceofManitobacalled in the
CAF, theRCMPand theprovincial
departmentofnatural resources for
assistance in supportingapproximately
17,000civilians.Within2weeks, the initial
request for 100 soldiers tofill sandbags
quicklyescalated toa joint forceoperation
encompassingapproximately8,500CAF
personnel. TheRCDCdeployed thedental
teamofCaptainDanStuart andCorporal
AnnieMartin toprovideemergencycare
to themilitarypersonnel deployedon
OperationASSISTANCE.
IceStorm (Op
RECUPERATION), 1998
The ice stormof January1998caused
amassivepower failure that affected
more than1millionhouseholds in
east-central Canada. Emergencyefforts
werehamperedby fallen trees, broken
power linesand riversof iceblocking
the roads.NewBrunswick,Ontario, and
Quebec requestedaid from theCAFand
OperationRECUPERATIONbeganon
January8.
Theoperation involvedover 15,000
Army,NavyandAir Forcepersonnel—the
largestdeploymentof troops to serve in
response toaCanadiannatural disaster
and the largestoperational deployment
ofCanadianmilitarypersonnel since the
KoreanWar. All threefielddental platoons
weredeployed toprovideoral healthcare
to thenumerousmilitarypersonnelworking
to restore services. Inall, 13RCDCpersonnel
weredeployed.
