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Air Force air evac crews adapt, train onboard mix of planes

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Charlie Miller
  • 445th Airlift Wing
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Caring for patients on an aircraft is no easy task.  Throw in patient emergencies, problems with the aircraft or an unfamiliar aircraft and the challenges become even greater. 

Aeromedical crews faced these and other issues during an Air Force Reserve Aeromedical Evacuation Jamboree here April 28-29.  About 80 medical people from five squadrons in California, Florida, Maryland and Georgia participated in the training.

"On every aircraft taking care of patients is the same, but not every aircraft is the same; they have somewhat different set-ups, different systems," said Col. John Starzyk, chief of air evacuations for 4th Air Force, March Air Reserve Base, Calif.

During two-hour airborne exercises, evaluators threw a variety of curveballs at the medical personnel. "Patients" played by fellow Airmen feigned a number of medical emergencies such as heart attacks and seizures. A full-size, anatomically correct dummy went into complete cardiac arrest. There was also a simulated on-board fire, loss of cabin pressure and a power outage. The scenarios were designed to be as close to reality as possible. The crews faced these emergencies while working on aircraft they might have never flown on before.

"What we train on today we may well see in theater. This (training) helps us immensely," Colonel Starzyk said.

"By coming here to the middle of America we save money and resources as we work together," he said. "East Coast meets West Coast, north meets south."

After the reservists leave, they will be cross trained on the C-17 Globemaster III, the C-130 Hercules and the KC-135 Stratotanker. All are the aircraft used for air evacuations.

"In a real-world scenario, if I'm deployed and they say they need a flight nurse on this plane or that plane I'll feel comfortable," said Capt. Jennifer Pairis, a flight nurse with the 452nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, at March ARB.

"I'll feel confident about the safe return of the guys back home because of this kind of training. Here, we've been able to train on planes we don't normally fly on," Captain Pairis said.

Senior Airman Priscilla Waters of the 94th Airlift Wing from Dobbins ARB, Ga., said everyone benefited from seeing how other units take care of patients.

"We had a chance to put our hands on a C-17 with its different patient positioning," Airman Waters said. "Seeing the other aircraft gives you a different training perspective."

All the medical technicians and flight nurses are universally qualified.

"We are expected to know how to treat patients on all aircraft," said Staff Sgt. Stephanie Strickland from the 94th AW.

Medical treatment in theater is designed to support moving patients from the point of injury to the right level of care at the right place in the least amount of time.

"It's very realistic here," said Staff Sgt. Rachel Reed of the 445th AES. "This is how we would be deployed. This has been an awesome opportunity to train on three separate aircraft, especially the C-17. We had egress training on the KC-135, and I learned a lot."

"This has been a great opportunity to work with different units," said Capt. Ladonna Schreffler, 445th AES. "It might be an old saying but 'we practice like we play' works well here. Everyone came from across the country and worked as a team."

Staff Sgt. John Wallace is a medical technician with the 459th AES, which flies on 459th Air Refueling Wing KC-135s at Andrews AFB, Md.

"For the new fliers as well as fliers with a lot of hours under their belts, this is excellent training," Sergeant Wallace said. "AE is always changing and this gives us a chance to learn and learn from other fliers how to do our jobs faster and more efficiently which affects the patients and the mission."

During the Vietnam Conflict it took up to 45 days for the injured to get back stateside. During Operation Desert Storm that was reduced to 10 days. Now it's three days, thanks, in part, to training exercises like this jamboree.

"This is training we should do every year or even every six months," said Master Sgt. Jerrard Mack of the 622nd AES at MacDill AFB, Fla. "Learning from the experts can't be matched. You have all the great AE minds here at one time. This training is invaluable, especially for the new fliers who get all this exposure to different aircraft," Sergeant Mack said.

Air Force Reserve AES members currently care for more than 60 percent of all military medical evacuees, and all the AES Airmen are volunteers, Colonel Starzyk said.

"You are used to your own location, your own procedures so to go somewhere else for training like this is very, very valuable," said Maj. Sandra Lindsay of the 622nd AES. "It's great recurrent training." (Air Force Reserve Command News Service)