Reservists receive patients coming and going

Published Aug. 17, 2006
By Master Sgt. Doug Moore
445th Airlift Wing

ANDREWS AIR FORCE BASE, Md. -- Mobilized reservists and volunteers from the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, are completing another tour of duty here in August.

This is the fourth four-month rotation for the Air Force Reserve Command squadron, part of the 445th Airlift Wing, to serve as the primary AE for relocating patients returning to the United States from Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

"We recover patients coming from different theaters throughout the area of operations and then move them around the Continental United States in aircraft available to us," said Lt. Col. Penny Harnish-Main, aeromedical evacuation operations officer for the Detachment 1, 375th AES at Andrews.

"Once the patients arrive at Andrews AFB, they are taken to Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, Bethesda Naval Hospital or the aeromedical staging facility here at Andrews AFB for further treatment," said Colonel Harnish-Main.

The next step is to move the patients to their final destinations throughout the United States or to more follow-on care.

"We fly primarily on three types of aircraft - the C-130, C-17 and KC-135," the colonel said.

The C-130s are used for local flights along the East Coast, while the KC-135s and the C-17s are used for the cross-country flights.

While interacting with the aeromedical staging facility and all squadrons involved with the flightline throughout the mission is beneficial, the main objective is the care and comfort of the patients.

"The flight nurses and technicians are here to do whatever is necessary for the smooth flow of patients," said Lt. Col. Valerie Jarreau, a 445th AES member and officer-in-charge of the 375th AES, Detachment 1. "We try to go out of our way to make the patients as comfortable and welcome as possible since this is their first stop back on U.S. soil."

The operation, run almost 24/7, is supported by five five-person aeromedical evacuation flying crews and 10 ground support crew members who handle the 25-plus missions each week.

"Without the assistance of our dedicated medical service core officers, aviation resource managers, health services management staff, and medical equipment repair and logisticians working together to support the crews, the mission couldn't happen," Colonel Jarreau said.

"It is amazing what these aeromedical crews are doing in the medical arena," said Maj. Christopher Paige, medical crew director instructor for the 86th AES at Ramstein AB. "No other medical organization in this country or the world for that matter is moving patients like these people do. They are quickly moving lots of patients over long distances in a relatively short period of time.

"A soldier could be fighting on the frontline in Iraq one day, become injured, receive treatment and be flown back home to the United States all in a matter of days," the major said. "It is simply remarkable."

Andrews AFB is providing ideal upgrade training for the AE crews, according to Colonel Jarreau.

"We use all three primary aircraft and every aeromedical evacuation support system available to enhance the transition of new nurses and technicians," she said. "We use the Litter Station Augmentation Set, the Patient Support Platform, and the Patient Loading System every week in our jobs, while most new personnel never see all these aircraft and equipment in one location." (AFRC News Service)