Realistic training keeps 445th AES reservists prepared

  • Published
  • By Stacy Vaughn
  • 445th Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  Sixteen reservists from the 445th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and one reservist from the 911th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Pittsburgh Air Reserve Station, participated in a three-day aeromedical evacuation training exercise using a C-130 Hercules from Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Vienna, Ohio.

Maj. Todd Mulhorn, 445th AES operations officer, said the training was very involved and realistic to what the AES reservists may encounter. "Our reservists practiced loading and unloading equipment and simulated patients, with the aircraft engines off and then with the engines running. We also conducted our training airborne with two flights each day," Major Mulhorn said.

A five-person aeromedical evacuation team usually consists of a medical crew director, a flight nurse, a charge medical technician and two aeromedical evacuation technicians. The crew carries with them the necessary equipment to turn any cargo aircraft in the Air Force inventory into a flying ambulance almost instantly.

The AE technicians begin each mission by considering the type of aircraft they will use because different airframes require specific types of medical equipment and litter configurations. Before heading out to the aircraft, they must "pre-flight" their medical equipment with operations and calibration checks. The inventory often includes everything from high-tech monitors, oxygen tanks and regulators to defibrillators. After coordination with the aircraft commander and loadmaster on where to put the equipment and patients, they the aircraft. Next the technicians bring their patients on board, check vital signs and secure the patient for takeoff. Once airborne, the patient's vital signs are re-checked and patient care continues throughout the flight. 

As the medical crew director, Capt. Shari Ellis said she coordinates with both the loadmaster and her fellow AES members with safety being a key priority. "I have a lot to do before the first patient can come on board. We have to make sure that all the equipment is checked and working properly before we signal for the first litter to come on board," Captain Ellis said.

Capt. Ellis added that safety is factored in with every move they make. As patients are loaded on the aircraft, she directs the litter bearers on how many litters to bring on the plane at a time and where they go. "For example, I'll call out for two litters. When those two litters are on the aircraft, I make sure they are tied down and secured on the aircraft before I call for the next one or two," Captain Ellis said.

Senior Airman Aaron Gable, 757th Airlift Squadron loadmaster, coordinated with Captain Ellis before, during and after the patients were loaded. "My job is to control the cargo. I have to monitor the weight and balance of the cargo that is being loaded onto the aircraft for the AES crews and make sure there are no safety issues. I make sure no one is hurts while they're down here (in the cargo area), before, during and after takeoff and landing," Airman Gable said.

Maj. Michael Bogacki, AES operations officer, said while airborne, different aircraft and patient emergencies scenarios were run to test the reservists' abilities. "We had some of our people role play patients. One patient, for example, role played going into cardiac arrest. We also ran through aircraft emergency scenarios such as loss of air pressure," Major Bogacki said.

Major Mulhorn said this type of training offered a realistic taste of the real world missions AES crews are involved in and showed that working as a team proves crucial in today's environment. 

"The training was very beneficial to us. We had six nurses in training that went through this and this gave them a real taste of what's expected of them and what they can encounter out there."