 Over the past week, the U.S. Army Reserve has provided hundreds of free medical exams to the public around the Cass Lake area, all thanks to a program called Walking Shield. I'm sure Elmore shares how anyone can be a part of the free offer. If you're in need of a checkup, but you don't have the cash, you may want to add a trip to the Buggle-Nay G. Shig School in Cass Lake to your calendar this week. The U.S. Army Reserve is teamed up with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Cass Lake Indian Health Services to provide free medical care to the public. Collectively, you can call it the Walking Shield. Walking Shield has two major objectives. One is to provide sorely needed clinical services to a worthy community, but it's also an opportunity for U.S. Army Reserve soldiers to train ourselves to be able to mobilize when we're needed. The clinic has first come, first served. First you sign in and then you get your vitals checked. Then you're off to whichever area you need to be in for services. Very friendly at the front desk. Gave the kids some snacks and very friendly staff with very good to the kids. They're friendly and they would give them their fun balloons. There are exactly 40 medical professionals who are working in the clinic. So far, they've provided over 1,000 different services. Those dental services include teeth extractions and dental fillings in general exams. We provide optometry services where they're able to do general screening evaluations, but also do a little bit more comprehensive exam to screen out for other chronic illnesses. Whether you have a toothache, your vision's a little blurry or you're just not feeling like yourself and you feel like you just need to talk to someone, the Walking Shield is here for you. And the best part is you don't even need an appointment. At the end of your visit, everything is wrapped together for you in a nice little bell. And finally, we have case management that takes a look at all the clinical services that the patient has received. They provide patient education on what they've received. They provide patient education on what the different clinical disciplines have recommended they should have. If you need follow-up care, people who are already patients with a cast like Indian Health Services can continue their appointments there. Otherwise, the free clinic will work to connect you with other facilities close to where you live. I'm sure that I speak on behalf of everybody here. We're honored that they would give us the opportunity to be able to impact their health and try to improve it. Reporting in Cass Lake, Shawmore, Lakeland News. The free clinic will be open through this Thursday at 4.30 in the afternoon. It opens every day at 9 in the morning. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News, please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.