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Saturdays are normally a pretty quiet day at the Ramstein Dental Clinic, but March 6 was an exception. Despite snowy weather, 34 members of the 86th Dental Squadron volunteered their weekend time to teach the skills of the Dentistry Merit Badge to 83 Scouts from across the KMC. And since many of the scouts are dependents of active-duty members, they were able to get their annual dental exam as well as their merit badge.
This “two for one” scenario was the brainchild of Capt. (Dr.) Ben Gantt, an Air Force dentist and enthusiastic Scout leader. As the unit commissioner for the Barbarossa District, Dr. Gantt serves as an adviser to two Scout troops in the local area.
“I saw a unique opportunity to not only help several Scout troops at once, but also to deliver annual exams in an environment that was much more fun and educational,” Dr. Gantt said. His commander, Col. Carroll Palmore, also a Scout leader, agreed. He suggested opening it up to Scout troops from across the district. They recruited many members of the squadron to volunteer their time to make it possible.
“This was a great opportunity to reach out to the youth in the community and explain what we do,” said Airman 1st Class Jacqueline Grubbs, one of the dental technicians who offered up her off-duty time to help out.
In addition to demonstrating procedures for taking X-rays, Airman Grubbs explained about the opportunities in her career field.
Col. Rod Phoenix, a former Boy Scout, was pleased to not only provide required dental care, but to have the chance to explain to his patients exactly what he was doing and why.
“This was a great combination,” he said, “because I knew today’s patients were really engaged and paying close attention about preventive care.”
For Col. John Parker, scoutmaster of Troop 69, the day meant a ready made advancement opportunity for the boys in his troop.
“There are over 100 merit badges in Scouting, and in a military community, we are very fortunate to have experts in a wide variety of career fields to act as counselors. Today’s event was a perfect example of that,” he said.
Units participating in the day’s events were Troop 69 from Vogelweh, Troops 12, 156, 166 and 232 from Ramstein, Troop 96 from Baumholder, Troop 84 from Kaiserslautern and Troop 164 from Sembach.
