New simulator provides medical training Published Jan. 22, 2003 By 1st Lt. Robert J. Krause Air Force Print News BROOKS CITY-BASE, Texas -- Thirty-three students from the Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine here recently simulated caring for sick and injured patients aboard a Boeing 767 without ever leaving the ground.In an effort to provide realistic hands-on training, school officials recently acquired a full-size 767 fuselage that has been configured as a patient-transport aircraft.Officially known as the Civil Reserve Air Fleet Aeromedical Evacuation Shipset Simulator, the training device joins the C-130 Hercules and C-9 Nightingale mock-ups already at the school.The first class of flight-nurse and medical-technician students trained on the mock-up Jan. 21.With the recent announcement of the retirement of the C-9, it is becoming more likely that Air Force officials will call upon civilian airlines in times of emergencies, said Col. Laura Alvarado, school commander. The training device gives medics the ability to train on an aircraft they may have to use in the future."We have to be prepared to use any available platform," Alvarado said.The fuselage holds a working mock-up of an aircraft that only exists on paper: an aeromedical-evacuation version of the 767. The 767 currently flies only as a civilian airliner and cargo hauler.In a medical configuration, the 767 can carry 111 litter-bound patients plus electric generators and oxygen tanks. The Civil Reserve Air Fleet contract with civilian airlines requires them to be able to convert a 767 into a medical configuration in 72 hours."I was really surprised by how detailed it is inside the mock-up," said 1st Lt. Patrick Boyle, a flight nurse student.The mock-up allows the school to simulate a wide spectrum of scenarios, from disaster-relief operations through small-scale contingencies to major wars."Having this training device keeps us from having to learn on the fly, which improves the quality of care we can give," said Capt. Kari Dufour, a flight nurse instructor.