Vance Warrior of the Week - Airman 1st Class Curtis Mendiola Published June 17, 2009 VANCE AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- Name: Airman 1st Class Curtis Mendiola Duty: Dental Assistant, 71st Medical Operations Squadron Hometown: Dededo, Guam Favorite PT regimen: Hitting the heavy bag, lifting weights, spearfishing Mission contributions: Airman Mendiola went above and beyond by requesting additional training in the dental laboratory, allowing the dental flight to maintain a two-day access to care rate and increasing laboratory productivity 15 percent. He accepted the challenge of learning the new electronic treatment record program, ensuring 100 percent clinic wide utilization four weeks ahead of Air Force standards. Airman Mendiola is the "go to" assistant within the dental clinic. He assisted with 20 patient encounters for a total of $9,850 in services rendered, helping the wing maintain the number one dental readiness rate in the Air Force.