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Alexander Prescott Richards
Senior Chief Petty Officer Hospital Corpsman, United States Navy
Navy Special Warfare Group 5
Naval Special Teams Hospital Corpsmen

Senior Chief Petty Officer Richards is a native of California.  He joins SEAL TEAM 5 as the command staff hospital corpsman who oversees the team of medics assigned to NSWGR-5 as well as the associated support staff.  Upon entry to the Navy, he attended basic training at Navy Recruiting Center in Great Lakes, Illinois and was recognized as stellar seaman recruit both academically and physically.   He was recruited by the Medical Corps for Special Warfare Command upon completion of boot camp and received basic Navy Medicine and Operational Training at NB Pensacola.  After completion of his medical training, SCPO Richards entered the UDT/SEAL pipeline and successfully completed Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training.  Upon successful completion of BUD/s, he was accepted into the Special Operations Combat Medic Course (SOCM).

He not only had to complete all Navy requirements for SOCOM but he had to successfully complete all required SEAL Qualification Training (SQT) before he was able to receive the coveted SEAL Trident.  After twenty four months of specialized training in combat medicine, Alex joined his first SEAL Team in Stuttgart, Germany.  He has supported numerous humanitarian missions including the former Yugoslavia during their civil war, as well as Operations Restore Hope and Enduring Freedom.

SCPO Richards joins NSWGR-5 upon the recommendation of the Command Master Chief of Navy Special Warfare Command. SCPO Richards’ educational credentials include a medical degree from Stanford University, and partial completion his residency and John Hopkins Medical Center.

Dr. Isabel Sophia Vasquez, MD
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Please welcome Dr. Isabel Vasquez to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) the latest volunteer for our mission in Afghanistan.  Dr. Vasquez is graduate of the University of Florida at Miami where she received her medical degree.  She performed her residency at Ryder Medical Center and upon completion accepted a staff surgeon’s position.  Her medical specialty is trauma surgery.  Isabel is a frequent clinic volunteer in Miami’s Little Havana where she was raised and currently resides.   An original native of Cuba, Isabel’s family left that country and fled to the United States where they were granted asylum and later citizenship.  Her father, Diego Vasquez, is Director of Logistics at Miami Methodist Hospital.  Isabel has volunteered for a difficult assignment near the Khyber Pass in eastern Afghanistan.  This region is considered “no man’s land” due to its remote location.  Currently, the region is not under control by coalition forces however it is under the unilateral control of Afghani and Pakistani Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

We welcome Dr. Vasquez to our team of surgeons and wish her all the best.