The Flying Emergency Room
One reason more soldiers are making it home alive.
By
Mike Klesius
Air & Space Magazine
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During the Vietnam War, it took an average of 45 days to return
severe casualties to the United States, and the survival rate was 75
percent. By the time of Operation Desert Storm, in 1991, getting wounded
patients home averaged 10 days, but their survival remained stubbornly
at 75 percent. Today, the Air Force has gotten the time down to three
days or less from virtually anywhere on the planet, and as for the
survival rate, “if you make it to a field hospital in theater with a
heartbeat,” says Justin Brockhoff, an officer with the Tanker Airlift
Control Center at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, “you have a 98
percent chance of living.”
Two major factors account for the improvement in survival rates.
First: Robust and sophisticated en route care, which is part of a
continuum of advanced care that begins at the moment of injury—soldiers
are trained and equipped to self-administer medical care, including
tourniquets and even intravenous fluids. Second, improved evacuation
logistics, thanks especially to aviation. Crews now move critical
patients more safely and effectively with a wider array of equipment and
airplanes. Much of this is orchestrated by planners at Scott, getting
data on flights from a variety of sources.
The base is home to the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, one of four active-duty aeromedevac units: Another is in North Carolina, one is in Japan, and one is in Germany. But Scott, about half an hour east of St. Louis, Missouri, is also the headquarters of the Transportation Command, the Air Force’s cargo-moving operation. “We’re like the quarterback: We make audible calls. We shift. We’re planning and tasking,” says Brockhoff of Scott’s NASA-style mission control, where banks of military and civilian staff watch flat screens and world maps sprinkled with icons representing airborne cargo, some of it U.S.-bound patients. “We’re here if they run into weather or maintenance problems.”
Scott also runs an Aeromedical Staging Facility, which can accommodate 40 patients overnighting on their way to other points for specialized care or discharge. “The facility is a little bit of home,” says Army Sergeant Leonard Hathaway, a coordinator in a Transportation Command program that welcomes home wounded soldiers. While visiting Scott, I talked to Private Tanner Williams, 20, who had just flown in on a sunny Monday morning. Williams was a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. If you could ignore his cast and crutches, he looked no different from a college kid watching TV in a dorm lounge. Williams had been stationed at Forward Operating Base Kalagush in eastern Afghanistan. The prior Wednesday evening, he had been part of a routine patrol when an improvised explosive device went off beneath his all-terrain vehicle.
The base is home to the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, one of four active-duty aeromedevac units: Another is in North Carolina, one is in Japan, and one is in Germany. But Scott, about half an hour east of St. Louis, Missouri, is also the headquarters of the Transportation Command, the Air Force’s cargo-moving operation. “We’re like the quarterback: We make audible calls. We shift. We’re planning and tasking,” says Brockhoff of Scott’s NASA-style mission control, where banks of military and civilian staff watch flat screens and world maps sprinkled with icons representing airborne cargo, some of it U.S.-bound patients. “We’re here if they run into weather or maintenance problems.”
Scott also runs an Aeromedical Staging Facility, which can accommodate 40 patients overnighting on their way to other points for specialized care or discharge. “The facility is a little bit of home,” says Army Sergeant Leonard Hathaway, a coordinator in a Transportation Command program that welcomes home wounded soldiers. While visiting Scott, I talked to Private Tanner Williams, 20, who had just flown in on a sunny Monday morning. Williams was a member of the Iowa Army National Guard. If you could ignore his cast and crutches, he looked no different from a college kid watching TV in a dorm lounge. Williams had been stationed at Forward Operating Base Kalagush in eastern Afghanistan. The prior Wednesday evening, he had been part of a routine patrol when an improvised explosive device went off beneath his all-terrain vehicle.
http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-flying-emergency-room-31127647/
Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/the-flying-emergency-room-31127647/
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Evacuating the Injured
A Marine Corps pilot flies CASEVAC missions in Iraq.
By
Air & Space Magazine
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I know that you said I don’t have to thank you, but I will
always have an appreciation for you guys at TQ and the military medical
system as a whole. Both of my sons know the story and always ask about
you guys and even at 6 and 7 say that they thank God that you guys were
there for me and my men. They know and understand that I wouldn’t be
alive without you guys. My seven year old built a CH-46E Sea Knight with
Legos and it looks pretty good. Take care and thanks again.
I remember reading that and bursting into tears. I got on my knees and thanked God that he and his family were grateful that he was alive, despite his having lost both his legs. Not only was he grateful that he had survived, but his kids were so glad to have their dad back with them. His email was an unexpected gift that helped relieve the weight I had felt about the missions we had flown. Sgt. Kriesel was grateful, and so was I.
That is what Marine Air is about—supporting the guy on the ground, whether through assault support or close air support. It certainly is not about us. It always has been and always will be about supporting the guy on the ground. It is clearly understood that when a pilot screws up—whether because of a bad decision, lack of attention to detail, poor planning, headwork, or situational awareness—many times it is the Marines on the ground who pay the price for the pilot’s mistakes. The driving force is the fear of failure and the thought of possibly letting someone down. People are relying on you to protect or save their life. Failure is simply not an option. If that doesn’t motivate a pilot, then Marine Air is not the business that person should be in.
Now, years later, I can say with certainty that the challenges of serving in Iraq combined with the lessons learned at the Naval Academy—along with the accompanying hurt, pain, adversity, and emotions—have built me into a much better person. I would not trade these experiences, the good and the bad, for anything. It was a gut check and trial by fire, a life experience that I will never forget. The lessons I learned are applied to every facet of my life every day.
The American way of life is not possible without the sacrifice of
the few. Edmund Burke wrote, “All that is necessary for the triumph of
evil is for good men to do nothing.” Those that sacrificed did something
and are some of America’s bravest sons and daughters. I can only hope
that the families of Ron and J.P., the crew of Morphine 1-2, and others
that made the sacrifice knew that when things sucked over there, they
were the ones that I thought of, that kept me going. I know that there
is nothing I can say or do to make their families’ pain go away, but I
hope and want them to know that there were people over there who found
strength and drive in themselves at the very thought of their son’s and
daughter’s sacrifice. I will forever remember what my passengers in the
back of the CH-46 did for our nation and how humbling it was to have
served them.
“Evacuating the Injured” by Rocky Checca is adapted from In the Shadow of Greatness: Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service From America’s Longest War, edited by Joshua Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz, and Graham Plaster. Reprinted by permission of the Naval Institute Press.
I remember reading that and bursting into tears. I got on my knees and thanked God that he and his family were grateful that he was alive, despite his having lost both his legs. Not only was he grateful that he had survived, but his kids were so glad to have their dad back with them. His email was an unexpected gift that helped relieve the weight I had felt about the missions we had flown. Sgt. Kriesel was grateful, and so was I.
That is what Marine Air is about—supporting the guy on the ground, whether through assault support or close air support. It certainly is not about us. It always has been and always will be about supporting the guy on the ground. It is clearly understood that when a pilot screws up—whether because of a bad decision, lack of attention to detail, poor planning, headwork, or situational awareness—many times it is the Marines on the ground who pay the price for the pilot’s mistakes. The driving force is the fear of failure and the thought of possibly letting someone down. People are relying on you to protect or save their life. Failure is simply not an option. If that doesn’t motivate a pilot, then Marine Air is not the business that person should be in.
Now, years later, I can say with certainty that the challenges of serving in Iraq combined with the lessons learned at the Naval Academy—along with the accompanying hurt, pain, adversity, and emotions—have built me into a much better person. I would not trade these experiences, the good and the bad, for anything. It was a gut check and trial by fire, a life experience that I will never forget. The lessons I learned are applied to every facet of my life every day.
“Evacuating the Injured” by Rocky Checca is adapted from In the Shadow of Greatness: Voices of Leadership, Sacrifice, and Service From America’s Longest War, edited by Joshua Welle, John Ennis, Katherine Kranz, and Graham Plaster. Reprinted by permission of the Naval Institute Press.
Read more: http://www.airspacemag.com/military-aviation/evacuating-the-injured-43013675/#lKt13LCA4jYZFoj6.99
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