445th AES supports Total Force Haiti relief efforts

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Six reservists from the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, recently returned from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., where they supported on-going relief efforts for Operation Unified Response in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

A five-person crew consisting of two flight nurses and three AE technicians provided in-transit care on Air Force aircraft. The unit also sent three AE ground crew members to support the aeromedical evacuation operations team.

The medical crew and one AE ground crew member returned Feb. 13 while two ground crew members remain to continue supporting the relief efforts.

First Lt. Shannon Simon, an AE ground crew member currently at MacDill, said her role is to help support the AEOT. The AEOT, operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and is responsible for managing all the AE crews assigned to their "stage" or hub that includes five AES crews and three critical care air transport teams.

"I got here Jan. 23 and was literally out recovering my first mission within 48 hours of getting called by the unit to go," Lieutenant Simon said.

Lieutenant Simon said the AES mission at MacDill has been a Total Force effort. She's been working with AES members from the reserves, active duty and the Air National Guard. "We just went through our third rotation of AE crews. The initial compliment of crews included four active duty and three reserve. Our next rotation had two active duty, three Air National Guard and two reservists. Our latest rotation included three Air National Guard, one active duty and one reservist."

One function of working in the AEOT has been to support the ground medical personnel flying in and out of Haiti for the mobile aeromedical staging facility. Her team helped the MASF, currently working in a bare base location, with logistical issues and other issues that arise. The MASF would identify their needs to the AEOT and they would try to get them what they need or the work around they request, according to Lieutenant Simon.

"We've helped them with their logistical needs but we've also sent down pizza, Chinese food, sandwiches and a regular rotation of snacks to the medics on the ground in Haiti to give them a break from MREs and for morale," Lieutenant Simon said.

The AES mission has been used with increasing regularity as part of Operation Unified Response to move patients from austere locations in Haiti to hospitals and trauma centers in the United States. On the ground in Haiti, the air evacuations are directed by a combination of a medical air staging facility, which provides triage and stabilization, and an air evacuation liaison team, which arranges airlift with Air Mobility Command's Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott Air Force base, Ill.

"A typical day for us includes monitoring current and upcoming missions along with keeping track of patient information. The process begins when the TACC confirms that there is a mission ready to go. We then alert the AE crew and CCATT. After they are alerted, we prepare their gear and load it onto vehicles to be ready to take out to the aircraft. When the crew arrives, they conduct their briefings and review their patient load before heading to the aircraft. At that time, any configuration of the airplane that needs to be completed is done and the equipment is then loaded onto the aircraft. The plane is then air born. Once the plane has taken off and we are waiting for it to return, we continue to monitor that mission to see if there are any delays with the flight times, diversions to other airfields, or if they are coming back early," Lieutenant Simon said.

Lieutenant Simon said when the plane returns to back to MacDill, typically 12-14 hours later, everything is reversed. The AE and CCATT inventory all their equipment and make sure it is mission ready for their next mission. They identify any shortfalls or resupply they need at that time so they are always ready to go on the next mission.

As of Feb. 11, the AEOT has flown 23 missions and moved 213 patients from Haiti to the United States as part of Operation Unified Response.

Lieutenant Simon said one of the missions she was involved in made an impression she won't forget. "The earthquake probably saved the life of one 6-year-old little boy. He had a broken bone in his leg. The AE crew said while getting treated for his earthquake injury, a mass was discovered that may very well be cancer. If he hadn't been hurt in the earthquake, it may never have been diagnosed in Haiti. Coming to the United States for medical care will probably save his life and get him the care he needs not only for his leg injury but the mass," the lieutenant said.