AMISTAD 2026 strengthens readiness, partnerships in Paraguay

Across four clinics in Paraguay, U.S. military medical professionals are providing care alongside Paraguayan healthcare workers during Amistad 2026, strengthening partnerships while sharpening the skills needed to operate in challenging environments.

The two-week health security cooperation brings together medical personnel from across the Total Force to work alongside partner nations throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. In Paraguay, teams are providing audiology, optometry, dental and primary care services in communities where local healthcare providers know their patients not just by name, but as neighbors.

For U.S. Air National Guard Lt. Col. Peter Mudge, 188th Medical Group commander and the Amistad 2026 Paraguay mission commander, value extends beyond the number of patients seen each day.

“One of the best parts of this mission has been seeing the relationships that form when people come together with a shared purpose,” Mudge said. “Our Airmen and Soldiers have been welcomed by the Ministry of Health and the local healthcare teams, and in a short amount of time they’ve built genuine connections.

You see the friendships form, the knowledge shared and the trust built in real-time. That’s what makes this mission meaningful and what makes these relationships so strong.”

Those relationships are built through shared work. U.S. personnel operate alongside Paraguayan healthcare professionals, exchanging knowledge, adapting to local conditions and learning from one another while delivering care.

One of the mission’s key benefits is the opportunity for military medical personnel to practice in environments that differ significantly from the hospitals and clinics where many work at home.

“It challenges them to operate in a different environment,” Mudge said. “They don’t always have access to the same resources or systems they’re accustomed to in U.S. civilian healthcare settings. They have to be agile and adaptable while still providing quality care with the resources available.”

The guardsmen are medical professionals who bring years of civilian medical experience to the mission. That experience, combined with the realities of operating in an unfamiliar setting, creates opportunities to strengthen skills that are critical during contingency operations and humanitarian response missions.

For one Air National Guard optometrist working at Unidad De Salud Familiar Divino Niño Jesús, the mission has provided a chance to both serve patients and collaborate with local healthcare professionals.

“I’ve been working closely with an ophthalmology student and a nurse from Paraguay,” said U.S. Air National Guard Lt. Col.Kirk Drennan, 151st Medical Group optometrist. “We’ve been able to exchange knowledge back and forth. Sometimes I’ll point out a condition and explain its long-term effects. Other times he teaches me things I didn’t know.”

That exchange of expertise is designed to outlast the mission itself.

“Hopefully, that knowledge continues after we leave and helps expand access to care in the future,” Drennan said.

While readiness and interoperability remain central objectives, the impact on patients provides a visible reminder of why those partnerships matter.

“One of the things I love about this profession is that we can make an immediate difference in someone’s life by improving their vision,” Drennan said.

From identifying patients who need specialized treatment to helping someone see clearly for the first time in years, providers witness the effects of their work firsthand.

“You can literally see the expression on their face change when things come into focus,” Drennan added. “Those moments are incredibly rewarding.”

For Mudge, success is measured not only by the care delivered during the mission, but by what participants take home with them.

“Success is our team leaving with an outstanding experience, building relationships with the Paraguayan people and partnering with them to provide the best medical care possible at each site,” Mudge said.

Long after the clinics close, the knowledge shared, skills sharpened and connections forged in Paraguay will continue to benefit both nations and the people they serve.

“The medicine matters, but the people matter more,” Mudge said. “When you spend two weeks working side by side with someone, caring for patients and overcoming challenges together, you build a level of trust you can’t create any other way. That’s what I’ll remember most from this mission.”