Aeromedical missions bring total force partners together

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jonathan Stock
  • Air Mobility Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AFNS) --  Almost 56,000 Soldiers, Marines, Sailors since October 2001 have been aeromedically evacuated supporting expeditionary operations by the total force team of active-duty, Reserve and Guard Airmen.

In the Air Mobility Command aeromedical evacuation community, every day entails a combination of total force assets and communication challenges in order to save lives.

"Almost all aeromedical evacuation missions out of Ramstein (Air Base, Germany,) involve the Guard, Reserve and active-duty members working together," said Maj. Trevon Miller, a 183rd Airlift Squadron C-17 Globemaster III aircraft commander from the Mississippi Air National Guard.

AMC aeromedical evacuation missions are coordinated multiple times a week to fly into a designated theater, such as Iraq or Afghanistan, and take patients out of the war zone to get the appropriate level of care for the individual. The flight schedule often includes a routine layover at Ramstein AB to drop off patients at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and pick up patients needing further attention while en route to the patient's next level of care in the United States.

Each mission requires multiple units from locations around the world to make the patient transfer as smooth as possible.

Since 2005, Major Miller has participated with his Guard unit on a steady stream of aeromedical evacuation missions acquired through AMC to support wartime requirements. His unit currently has three aeromedical evacuation missions and one cargo airlift mission each week.

"An aeromedical evacuation mission is more satisfying as there is more investment than carrying a bunch of pallets," Major Miller said. "This may be the best mission out there, since it's something worthwhile to get these (people) back home that have made a sacrifice."

An example of the value in using the total force package in aeromedical evacuation missions is Maj. Carolyn Newhouse. She is a flight nurse and flight instructor with the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron from McChord Air Force Base, Wash. She is also a nurse practitioner at a local urgent care center in Tacoma, Wash. As an Air Force reservist having flown more than 100 missions to help patients during their transition, she understands the vital role aeromedical evacuation crews and pilots must share to complete the mission successfully.

"It is both the pilots' and aeromedical evacuation crew's responsibility to keep communication flowing between each other in order to move patients safely," Major Newhouse said. "We discuss the number of patients for weight concerns due to takeoff and landing procedures, altitude restrictions due to patient's health, and any patient specifics in order to protect both the aircrew and patients while in flight."

Gaining valuable experience while working alongside Guard and Reserve units is active duty Capt. Norman Ellis, a 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse from Pope AFB, N.C.

"The active-duty units cannot complete the mission alone and have a great opportunity to learn while working with veteran Guard and Reserve units," Captain Ellis said.

As a flight nurse deployed with the 10th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight at Ramstein AB with Major Newhouse, Captain Ellis said he believes the relationship between the aeromedical evacuation and flight crews remains strong because of the mission, although each comes from a different background and has different responsibilities while at home.

Unity and teamwork are the main principles being instilled in today's Airmen. The men and women who make the aeromedical evacuation mission happen know firsthand just how much cross-organizational experience helps to complete a mission with a purpose.

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