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AAF medics train ANA to save lives

  • Published
  • By Capt. Jeff M. Nagan
  • 438th Air Expeditionary Wing
HERAT, Afghanistan --  As coalition forces draw down, the need for a professional, capable and sustainable Afghan Air Force becomes increasingly important, particularly in its ability to move casualties from the battlefield to a care center, which could mean the difference between life and death.

Two Afghan Air Force flight medics from Kabul Air Wing traveled to Herat in western Afghanistan, Jan. 26, to train 19 Afghan National Army soldiers in the fundamentals of loading and offloading patients from the two primary airframes for casualty evacuation.

Although the Afghan Air Force has medical personal that specialize in casualty evacuation, they are not on every flight, said Sgt. Maj. Ghulam Sakhi Haidari, senior Afghan Air Force flight medic. This requires ground personnel to have training and experience in moving patients to and from aircraft.

“It’s very important to train ground forces to load and unload patients on their own,” said Haidari, who has been an Afghan Air Force flight medic for nine years. “Ground forces will have access to the Mi-17 and C-208. It’s important they know how to move, load and unload patients from those aircraft.”

The class was divided in two, with each Afghan Air Force medic teaching a group on each particular airframe.

“I learned how to configure the aircraft for patient loading and unloading,” said Sgt. 1st Class Hafizullah, 207th Zafar Corps medic based out of Herat. “The training was very vital for preserving the lives of my Afghan National Army brothers on the battlefield.”

The Mi-17 Hip is a transport helicopter capable of carrying more than three litter patients along with several mobile patients. However, its overhead and tail rotors present certain challenges when transferring wounded personnel, added Haidari. Through proper training, however, ground forces can safely load and unload patients.

The C-208 Grand Caravan is a small, fixed wing aircraft that can carry one litter and several ambulatory patients. Although the Mi-17 can reach remote areas inaccessible to other aircraft, the C-208 has greater transport range. In the past, the Afghan Air Force has combined both airframes to get patients to care faster, dubbed the hub-and-spoke principle of casualty evacuation.

“The goal is to get the patient from the point of injury to a safer place to get care, such as hospital,” said Haidari.

Although Herat marked the last major location for training on aircraft specific casualty evacuation, Afghan Air Force flight medics will return as early as March for follow-on training, said Haidari. In the meanwhile, they provided videos to also assist in training particularly in some of the more remote operating areas.

“Afghan Air Force medics won’t always be there,” said Haidari. “But I am ready to go anywhere and train anyone in Afghanistan.”