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Bagram first to operate new transporter

  • Published
  • By Capt. Toni Tones
  • 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan --  The first Air Force High Deck Patient Loading Platform was designated operational with the transfer of five patients during a KC-135 channel mission from Afghanistan to Germany April 9. 

The HDPLP is a special purpose vehicle with an enclosed lighted and climate-controlled cabin designed to access high deck platform airframes, such as KC-135, CRAF 767 and KC-10, for servicing and enplaning/deplaning patients. The platform has various configurations, but the most common is for mixed capacity which holds up to six litters and 10 ambulatory patients or staff. 

There are only three of these vehicles in Air Force inventory; two at operational locations--Bagram and Ramstein Air Base, Germany--and one for testing at Scott Air Force Base, Ill. 

"This new capability enhances the safety of ambulatory and litter patients giving them every possible means of a full recovery," said Lt. Col. Robert Rocco, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron commander. "The controlled environment limits the amount of time the patient is exposed to outside elements, diseases and viruses which can lead to infections that can affect recovery." 

Staff Sgt. Hannah Laras, 435th Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility shift leader, added the new vehicle also provides a more comfortable and safer transport to the KC-135. 

"We used to use a K-loader and an aluminum ramp called the patient loading system to transfer patients, which wasn't very stable" said Sergeant Laras. "The PLS was not meant for recurring uses. Patient safety comes first and the new HDPLP ensures that." 

Anywhere from 125-150 patients are transported per month from the Craig Joint Theater Hospital here to Landstuhl Army Regional Medical Facility in Germany via semiweekly medical evacuation missions. These patients require specialized medical care unavailable at the forward deployed locations. 

"Patients already receive outstanding 'care in the air' through our AE missions and world-class support at the various medical treatment facilities," said Colonel Rocco. "With the procurement of this vehicle, Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines will get the same world class support as they're being transported from the hospital to the aircraft." 

The responsibility of getting the patients safely to the aircraft rests on the shoulders of 12 Airmen and Soldiers, assigned to the Patient Administration section, who operate and maintain the vehicle. The Soldiers, assigned from the 602nd Area Support Medical Company, serve anywhere from eight to 15-month tours, while Air Force members serve six to eight-month rotations. 

"This is a 100 percent joint endeavor," added Colonel Rocco. "We are getting the maximum strength by instituting the Army-Air Force approach of overlapping tours...this equates to continuity, experience and expertise. This winning team can't be beat." 

Getting the vehicle here and operational required multiple agencies support -- Air Mobility Command , U.S. Air Forces Central, 455th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron, Task Force Lifeliner, and a three-person training team from 435th CASF. 

"They were the unsung heroes in the process," said Colonel Rocco. "There are some unique requirements for this vehicle. Each agency ensured we got what was needed and we have the resources to remain fully operational for at least eight months." 

The vehicle cost $346,000, but if it saves one life it's worth it, said Colonel Rocco. 

"I want to be able to look and tell the parents, spouse or kids of a patient terribly wounded in Afghanistan that we are doing everything humanely possible to get their loved one to a hospital back home for follow-on care. This vehicle gets the Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors, Marines and coalition forces to the quality care needed to make a full recovery."