ELLWOOD CITY, Pa. -- As Dover residents were filling the stands of the Dover International Speedway for the NASCAR Cup Series last month, 42 of the city’s Air Force reservists were en route to the Borough of Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, to train alongside fellow service members in an Innovative Readiness Training mission.
A Department of Defense program established in 1992, IRTs are designed to serve American communities in need while providing realistic military training benefits. There are currently five types of IRT missions: medical, civil engineering, cybersecurity, transportation and aerial spray.
Operation Healthy Ellwood, one of 40 IRT missions for the 2025 fiscal year, provided over 3,500 no-cost medical, dental, vision, behavioral health and veterinary services, totalling an estimated $1.2M-worth of care. The clinic ran for a total of 10 days from July 23 to Aug. 1, 2025.
“It’s great to know that I have an impact,” said Tech. Sgt. Alexis Arthur, 512th Aerospace Medical Squadron ophthalmic craftsman, when asked about her participation in this mission. “I know that I have an impact in my regular routine, but to see that people who otherwise would not have gotten care, or maybe that care would’ve been prolonged by three, six months or even longer, and now they’re getting that today, that’s pretty special.”
In a joint service environment where approximately one in four service members are assigned to the Liberty Wing, the 512th’s impact was significant and noticeable, according to Senior Master Sgt. Dawn Senido Leitch, 512th Aerospace Medical Squadron health services management superintendent and Operation Healthy Ellwood mission noncommissioned officer in charge.
In addition to supporting clinic operations, Dover reservists from all career fields partook in hours of hands-on and classroom training. From suturing laboratory-grade preserved pig legs to providing medical response during a two-hour mass casualty incident exercise that incorporated more than 100 players, the more than 15 formalized joint training opportunities increased participants’ deployment readiness and overall military preparedness.
“I’m so proud of everyone for their roles in making this mission successful and I love that our folks got to experience something like this,” said Senido Leitch. “Although it was everyone’s boots on the ground taking care of everyone, our medical, services, administrative and public affairs Airmen’s contributions these past few weeks cannot be overstated.”
Led by the Air Force Reserve Command, Operation Healthy Ellwood was the final medical Innovative Readiness Training mission funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense for FY25. Community applications for FY27 IRT missions are due Sept. 30, 2025.
For additional information, including application eligibility, visit https://irt.defense.gov/.