Pickens solves tech problem, travels Alaska with solution

Courtesy photo HOSPITAL CORPSMAN KEVIN PICKENS, originally from Jasper, was called up by the Navy reserves and is serving a tour of duty in Kotzebue, Alaska.

Navy reservist Kevin Pickens, originally from Jasper, is long ways from his family in Texas. When he left Houston in mid- April, it was 80 degrees; when he arrived in Kotzebue, Alaska, 33 miles north of the Arctic Circle, it was 10 degrees above zero.

Pickens serves as a hospital corpsman (HM3) assigned to the 4th Dental Battalion. He was sent to Kotzebue as part of Operation Arctic Care, a Defense Department initiative that "provides a unique multi-service training experience," according to a press release by Tommie Baker of Elmendorf Air Force Base.

"The mission ... is to provide cold weather training to our folks while at the same time providing assistance to rural areas in Alaska," said Navy Cmdr. Steve Paulette, officer in charge of Arctic Care 2007.

"Little did he know, but not only would (Perkins) provide dental assistance, but he'd also solve a persistent problem with a particular program and software that had been haunting the information technicians in Kotzebue," Baker said.

"I noticed they had a Schick CDR, a system that provides sharp, clear images right on the computer screen in real time," Pickens said. "It requires just a fraction of the radiation of traditional film X-rays and allows us to explain our diagnosis and show the problem to the patients without ever leaving their side."

It was a program Pickens was familiar with from his civilian job. Pickens recognized that the program had been installed incorrectly, and with help from tech support, he was able to re-install the program and get it up and running.

Pickens will travel to four more sites in the Northwest Arctic Borough to fix their systems, sparing the local health centers the expense of thousands of dollars to have someone sent up to fix the problem, according to Baker.

"This has been a great experience, but I look forward to getting back to my five month old daughter, Joious Skye, and the rest of my family," Pickens said.