Medical logisticians deliver medical relief

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Alicia Prakash
  • U.S. Central Command Air Forces Forward Public Affairs
SOUTHWEST ASIA (AFPN) --  When warriors are wounded in the field, many rely on the men and women of the 379th Expeditionary Medical Squadron medical logistics flight for the medicine and supplies needed to patch them up. 

With a staff of seven, the logistics flight works long hours keeping medical supplies flowing to field and theater hospitals and contingency aeromedical staging facilities in critical areas throughout the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility. 

“If we don’t give medics their supplies, (their patients) can’t survive,” said Master Sgt. Christopher Hale, 379th EMEDS Medical Logistics flight chief. 

At a desert air base in Southwest Asia, where daily temperatures routinely surpass 100 degrees, sits a 5,000-square-foot warehouse off the side of a white sand road, where the logistics flight orders, inspects and packages supplies for delivery. 

The flight maintains more than $200,000 worth of medical supplies and $2.3 million worth of medical equipment. They support 12 medical units throughout the AOR. From adhesive bandages to tourniquets, the medical warehouse stores the most requested medical supplies. However, keeping the warehouse stocked is an ongoing process. 

“I place orders daily though Camp As Sayliyah,” said Tech. Sgt. John Belcher, 379th EMEDS Medical Logistics NCO in charge of acquisitions. 

The ordering process can be challenging because of the distances involved with getting the supplies to where they are required. The United States Army Medical Materiel Center Southwest Asia at Camp As Sayliyah, Qatar, provides medical supplies to the logistics flight and other locations in Southwest Asia. 

When the supplies are not available at the Army center, orders are placed at the United States Army Medical Materiel Center - Europe, near Pirmasens, Germany. Sergeant Belcher and Staff Sgt. Shameka Shelton, 379th EMEDS Medical Logistics acquisitions NCO, purchase an average of $90,000 monthly in regularly maintained medical items. 

The flight also performs critical inspections on much of the medical equipment.
“If this stuff isn’t right when it goes out, someone could die,” said Staff Sgt. Tamara Thiecke, 379th EMEDS NCOIC of medical war reserve materiels. 

Medical supply technicians regularly inspect supplies for serviceability. They inspect everything from expiration dates and lot numbers on medicine to the package seals on sanitized supplies. 

In addition to providing general medical supplies, the flight provides repacked first-aid kits for mobility bags. The individual first-aid kits, totaling more than $650,000, provide immediate protection for wounded battlefield Airmen. 

When it comes to saving lives, medics in the field depend on the medical logistics technicians to help keep servicemembers in one piece. 

“We realize what we do is critical to the war effort, and we’re doing our best to make sure as many of our troops go home as healthy as when they left home,” Sergeant Thiecke said.