LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- Wilford Hall Medical Center's orthopedic spine surgery team here performs the Air Force's first total-disc arthoplasty procedure. During the five-hour procedure, surgeons removed and replaced a failed disc in the back of Tech. Sgt. Loren Dick with a new three-piece medical device consisting of two metal endplates of medical-grade cobalt chromium alloy and a sliding core made of medical-grade plastic. Sergeant Dick is an acquisition logistics manager from Scott Air Force Base, Ill. (U.S. Air Force photo by 1st Lt. Benjamin Silva)