Gentry awarded Moldova’s “Honorary Rescuer” medal
| May 19, 2010 | |
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Bill Gentry, director of the Community Preparedness and Disaster Management program and lecturer in the UNC Department of Health Policy and Management, was recognized by the government of Moldova on May 3 with its “Honorary Rescuer” medal. The award acknowledges Gentry’s history of emergency preparedness and response efforts in the country.
Bill Gentry (left) accepts Moldova’s “Honorary Rescuer” award from Lt. Col. Ghenadie Barbu, chief of operations in Moldova’s Department of Emergency Situations.
Gentry works with local and national governments in the U.S. and a number of other countries, including Botswana, to plan and practice responses to various emergency scenarios, including flu pandemic, natural disasters and other catastrophic situations requiring immediate and long-term strategic action. In his exercises, he includes public health scenarios that address water and sanitation issues, disease outbreak and surveillance, hospital and clinic infrastructure interruption and the long-term effects of critical stress on mental health. Although not a member of the U.S. National Guard, Gentry often travels under its auspices. Three members of the North Carolina Guard, State Adjutant General William Ingram, Lt. Col. Craig Mix, and Capt. Lance Gaither, also received awards for their participation in training exercises designed by Gentry.
“I was surprised and proud to have been included in the medal award ceremony,” Gentry says. “The North Carolina National Guard is very proactive in including non-military subject matter experts on their Partnership for Peace missions, and this civil-military cooperative effort is at the crux of what the program highlights to participating countries.”
Moldova and North Carolina are partner governments in the Partnership for Peace initiative, introduced by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in January 1994 as a response to the aftermath of the Cold War. Program events reflect ongoing world issues and revolve around current peace support, disaster relief, counter-terrorism, and counter-proliferation operations. Typical scenarios include natural disasters, terrorist attacks or political disruption in partner nations.
North Carolina has been “partnered” with Moldova since April 1999 and with Botswana since February 2008. Gentry has made four trips to Moldova in the last two-and-a-half years and has begun work in Botswana after traveling there first in April 2010.
UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health contact: Ramona DuBose, director of communications, (919) 966-7467 or ramona_dubose@unc.edu. |
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