(Submitted Photo)

NORWICH – The Chenango County Board of Supervisors lauded the U.S. military and local community volunteers last week with the passing of a resolution recognizing efforts that made that latest IRT mission a success.

IRT (Innovative Readiness Training) is a community-military partnership that offers the community no-cost healthcare services while at the same time providing real-world training to service men and women to handle disaster situations.

The IRT initiative is led by the U.S. Department of Defense in conjunction with Greater Chenango Cares, a local organization comprised of Southern Tier 8, Chenango United Way, Chenango Health Network, Chenango County Panning Department, the county bureau of fire, the sheriff's office, Chenango SPCA, and the Norwich City School District.

More than 175 volunteers helped this year, clocking roughly 1,400 donated hours over the ten-day event.

After successful missions in 2015 and 2016, the third Greater Chenango Cares IRT was held July 11-20 at the Norwich High School. Community members received medical, optometry, dental, and veterinary services without charge.