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International Aeromedical Evacuation and En-Route Medical Care Conference at Joint Base Lewis-McChord
The first-ever, U.S.-led international in-flight medical care conference kicked off July 20 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord with a call to action from the top officer in Air Mobility Command.
Addressing hundreds of doctors, nurses, paramedics and medical specialists from all over the world, he shared stories of how it all began. World War I pilots and medics used their own time and money to fashion a stretcher to the back of a biplane in 1913. It wasn't until seven years later that patients flew inside an aircraft, the general said.
“In the beginning, there were no dedicated AE teams,” Johns said. “It was a pick up game until we fully understood the importance of having specially-trained Airmen ready to perform this mission during war and humanitarian operations.” By the time of the Persian Gulf War, military leaders applied the lessons they'd learned. “We realized we had to be prepared and make aeromedical evacuation a part of our military institution,” Johns said. Over seven months of conflict, AE moved more than 2,000 patients, he said.
The general also highlighted the success of Total Force Airmen, saying “88 percent of AE missions are flown by the Guard and Reserve.”
As he summarized the past 100 years of AE, the general offered a challenge to the group to “capture and keep the lessons learned from recent conflicts and humanitarian operations so we can continue to grow this incredible capability.”
He then called attention to how AE is really an international effort, crediting the French for using a lighting system to help medics see better in KC-135 aircraft. The Air Force is adopting the same system as a result of its success. Johns also highlighted the efforts of British emergency medical teams who have proven themselves capable partners when it comes to aeromedical evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.
“Blood type knows no nationality and wounded don't worry about what flag is on the tail of the aircraft when they are transported to care. This is a mission that takes down borders and brings nations together,” Johns said. For Capt. Sam Millar, who is here from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, and oversees AE missions all over the Pacific, the conference will be “a great opportunity to talk to other people in the community and learn how they do business.” “We really have come a long way to do what we do to save lives,” the captain said.
Overall, Johns welcomed everyone to the conference, which takes place July 20 and 21, and features experts from around the Air Force, as well as Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Jordan and New Zealand, sharing their stories, advice and lessons learned. Retired Airmen and many civilians will also speak to the group. Officials said representatives from 28 nations to attend the various events.
Air Force surgeon general lays out future of aeromedical evacuation
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Charles Green was the keynote speaker on the second day of the first-ever, U.S.-led international in-flight medical care conference and discussed the future of aeromedical evacuation.
“The world of medicine and medical practice is changing,” Green said. “It requires us to adapt as well. We have to capitalize on the strength of in-teroperability by sharing lessons learned and skills sets with each other. No matter where you come from, we all have a vested interest in finding effective ways to help people.”
The two-day conference gives participants the chance to share with each other their various experiences as they take the AE mission into the future.
According to Cole, the new tri-service training facility in San Antonio will give a baseline of skills to all medics in the military. Additionally, the new School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, will provide medics, flight nurses and critical care teams the knowledge, skills and abilities they need to successfully care for servicemembers during aeromedical evacuation in a new state-of-the-art training facility.
As medical professionals look to the future of the AE mission, they must also en - sure the care provided is seamless, not only from the ground to the air, but also between different services and different nations. Green stressed the importance of standardizing the equipment and supplies medical response teams use because of the increasing number of missions that find teams from different countries working together.
For example, on a recent mission out of Afghanistan, an American team and a British team were both flying on a C-17 Globemaster III, each team working with their own gear to save injured Soldiers. In the future, these collaborations could become more difficult if medical teams don't have compatible tools.
“If you show up with a piece of equipment without the right plugs or wires, it's effectively useless,” Green said.
In fact, one improvement Green hopes to see is more wireless equipment that can be used aboard aircraft, as “once you get three or four machines hooked up to a patient, it just becomes a mess and a lot more difficult to work.”
“Innovative pieces of technology have let us do more to help people - (many) surgeries now mean the patient walks out hours later instead of days,” he said. “But there will always be ways we can get even better. Wireless equipment would be one great improvement.
” Additionally, medics are unable to get accurate blood pressure readings while in flight, but there are new technologies out there that might provide the needed information. He also said experts are looking at ways of using lasers to make bloodless incisions during surgery.
Over the last ten years, AE professionals have moved more than 90 thousand patients by air - 10 thousand of those were critical care patients. And of those 90 thousand, only four patients have died while in the care of aeromedical specialists, Green said.
“In the future, we'll be able to do even better,” the general said.
The conference attendees heard from panel experts from around the Air Force, as well as Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Japan, Jordan and New Zealand, sharing their stories, advice and lessons learned. Retired Airmen and many civilians also spoke to the group. Representatives from 28 nations attended various events.
The conference coincides with the leadup to the 2011 Air Mobility Rodeo, a biennial international competition that focuses on mission readiness, featuring airdrops, aerial refueling and other events that showcase the skills of mobility crews from around the world.
Report by Staff Sgt. J.G. Buzanowski Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 Public Affairs
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