Fairchild aircrew teams with Maxwell medics for aeromedical evacuation Published Sept. 22, 2006 By Senior Airman Christie Putz 92nd ARW Public Affairs FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE, Wash. -- Typically, the KC-135 Stratotanker is known for its aerial refueling, but a Fairchild aircrew that returned here Sunday had the opportunity to demonstrate one of the aircraft's other roles - aeromedical evacuation. The crew of three, all new to this type of mission, was teamed with an Air Force Reserve medical unit out of Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., to transport five patients between medical facilities in the Pacific region. "It was great seeing a different side of the tanker mission," said Capt. A.C. Blackwood, 93rd Air Refueling Squadron aircraft commander. She was joined on this mission by 2nd Lt. Matthew Ritenour, 92nd Air Refueling Squadron co-pilot, and Tech. Sgt. Lee Adkins, 93rd Air Refueling Squadron boom operator. "There is a completely different focus on AE missions," Captain Blackwood said. "We are there to transport the medical team wherever they need to go, and to make sure they have everything they need." The team left Fairchild the afternoon of Sept. 10, bound for Travis AFB, Calif., to pick up their team of medical professionals. Once there, Travis maintainers completed the tanker's patient transport configuration by loading in patient support pallets and additional medical equipment. The medical team is equipped to and completely capable of sustaining someone while in air, said Maj. Ray Gibson, 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, Maxwell AFB. Leaving Travis with two patients onboard, the aircraft headed to Hickam AFB, Hawaii., to complete the first leg of their seven-day mission. After checking the patients into the Hickam clinic and resting overnight, the aircrew and medics pressed on with the rest of their mission. Over the next week, they transported three additional patients from Kadena Air Base, Japan, and Anderson AFB, Guam. One patient was a military member who had been hit by an improvised explosive device during a recent deployment. Another was a girl with respiratory problems who was traveling with her mother to a new medical facility for further care. The most common ailments on aeromedical evacuation missions fall within the realm of orthopedic injuries, said Major Gibson. Included in this are injuries to the skeletal or muscular systems, as well as joints and tendons. On this particular flight, all the patients' conditions were stabilized prior to transport - but that's not always the case. In a deployed environment, as is the same with stateside, the majority of AE missions continue to be tasked to the better equipped C-17 Globemaster III or other Reserve airframes, as aeromedical evacuations fall within their primary scope of responsibility. The stateside missions are most often filled by Air National Guard units, but when a mission presents itself Fairchild is one of the bases ready to take the mission. The last aeromedical evacuation by the 92nd Air Refueling Wing was in July, and this year Fairchild has completed 13. "Our crews are ready and capable of executing the mission," said Lt. Col. Roger Watkins, 92nd Operations Group deputy commander. "They are trained and ready to go." With three more missions scheduled before year's end, it looks as though Fairchild aircrews will have a chance to put that training to good use.
