Saving servicemembers' lives one flight at a time

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Craig Seals
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) --  Some might say doctors don't make house calls anymore, but that's exactly what the Airmen of the 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight at Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, do on a daily basis. They bring the hospital to the wounded.

A typical aeromedical evacuation, or AE, crew turns whatever aircraft they are on into a flying hospital. A typical AE crew consists of a medical crew director and two highly trained in-flight medical technicians.

When a severely injured or gravely ill servicemember must to be moved, the AE crews often are augmented with a critical-care air transport team. When augmented with a CCAT team, the aircraft is turned from a flying hospital to a flying intensive care unit.

A typical CCAT team consists of a physician, an intensive care nurse and a respiratory therapist. Together, the two teams can move patients who otherwise would be too unstable to move to higher levels of care.

"Being on a CCAT team is a deployment," said Capt. Jenna Jamison, a CCAT team intensive care nurse. "One team rotates through for 120 days and one team from Balad rotates every 30 days."

Making a hospital mobile requires a lot of equipment as well as a sense of urgency.

"The seriousness of patient care is higher due to the stress of combat environments," said Tech. Sgt. Andy Baker, a 455th EAEF medical technician. "It's a much higher ops tempo when we go out there to get the patients, so we have to maintain a more heightened sense of urgency."

"We usually load patients while the engines are still running," said Capt. Chris Capozzolo, 455th EAEF chief nurse. "It's a pretty tactical load and high paced."

While AE and CCAT teams load and treat injured servicemembers, military patients aren't the only ones requiring treatment and transport.

"We take care of not only our own guys, but contractors, Afghan nationals and enemy injured as well," said Captain Capozzolo.

Treating injured service members gives the AE and CCAT teams a special sense of pride.

"Taking care of the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines is the most important thing we do," said Captain Jamison. "Giving these guys the comfort of knowing we'll get them home is the greatest feeling. They are the best patients in the world."

The sense of pride and satisfaction is one that is shared throughout the AE and CCAT teams whether back at home station or here in a combat theater.

"We get the same sense of fulfillment here, just with a different set of circumstances," said Sergeant Baker. "The appreciation of the patients when we get them the care they need; that's where the feeling comes from."

Still others get that feeling of accomplishment from another source.

"Back home we train all the time to do our jobs over here. Now that we're over here we get to work so much more with the patients," said Senior Airman Amber O'Neil, a 455th EAEF medical technician. "Our job is so exciting and it's never the same."

Injured servicemembers may be in pain, but they can all rest a little easier knowing that AE and CCAT team members are keeping their promise to take care of sick and injured members by moving them to higher levels of care or bringing them home using the equipment, skills and sense of urgency they deserve. 

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