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Driving flying hospitals honor for aircrew

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Stacia Zachary
  • AFCENT Combat Camera Correspondent
SOUTHWEST ASIA --  Getting wounded Service members out of the field and to a hospital is one of the primary roles of the aeromedical evacuation mission. Getting them back to duty is another. For the aircrew responsible for their transport, the mission is more than troop or cargo movement. These missions take on a personal element because they have a name and face.

"Every mission that we fly is important but it's really important when we carry injured (Service members)," said 1st Lt. Lindsay Volaski, 746th EAS C-130 co-pilot. "There's a lot of stuff going on down there that we're not really seeing. So when you see the patients, it kind of hits home a little. (It's) kind of humbling to see injured in the back."

Flying patients into and out of theater requires an orchestrated effort of logistical support to include the aircraft serving as a flying hospital during transport.

"The C-130 (Hercules) is most frequently for these types of missions," said Lt. Col. Larry Kroecker, 746th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron aircraft commander. "This aircraft is ideal to get patients out of places that have limited access for one reason or another. It's good for tactical and low-level flying ... an important thing to consider when you have to hop from base to base."

Prior to take off, there is a lot of coordination between the AE crews and the aircrew. During a preflight brief, the medical crew director and the aircraft commander will identify issues or concerns and determine the best way mitigate any risks associated with the problem.

"It's a two-way street. What we're going to let them know is if we have a critical patient with an injury that flying will affect," said Maj. Mark Gosling, 379th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron MCD and flight nurse. "They'll let us know if our requests can be accommodated. If the front end has certain limitations, this could impact our mission so we need to know all the factors involved and form a plan accordingly."

For the aircrew, AE missions do not follow traditional form. While the aircraft commander still maintains control of the aircraft, the aeromedical evacuation staff is in charge of the mission and dictates its progression.

"I'm in charge of the aircraft and the employment of the aircraft but the MCD is in charge of the mission," the colonel said. "The mission is the patient and it's good to be on the same page so that we can take the best possible care of the patient while transporting them."

An AE mission involves the transportation of Service members and other injured people from one location to the next. Sometimes, it's a matter of getting the Service members back to the fight after they have recovered.

"The mission today is an (AE) mission where we stop in to various places in Iraq and pick up injured and wounded and take them to the hospitals as well as drop off returning Service members who are cleared to return to duty," Colonel Kroecker said.

While at war, the AE mission to transport Service members includes routine with a two dedicated lines a week going into Iraq and Afghanistan and the flexibility to accommodate more if the need arises.

"Once a week for here (Iraq) and then once a week for Afghanistan," the colonel said. "Of course, if there are calls for more lines there, mission will get scheduled but this is the typical schedule."

While the Geneva Conventions doctrine strictly outlines Red Cross and medical assets as off limits, the flying hospital is not identifiable as anything other than a C-130. As such, the pilots have to take the necessary precautions to keep its precious cargo out of harm's way.

"The problem is no one will know we're a flying hospital because we're not white and we don't have a giant cross painted on the side. So we need to take all precautions necessary we would normally take to ensure the safety of the aircraft and the personnel on board," Colonel Kroecker said. "The enemy wouldn't know the difference between us and any other C-130 so we need to be as cautious as possible."

Many of the challenges the aircrew face when piloting a flying hospital result from trying to ensure the comfort and safe passage of the patients onboard.

"Depending on what the wounds are, we can have altitude restrictions. And there can be turbulents so we try to fly a smooth platform," Colonel Kroecker said. "That's the biggest thing -- keep in contact with the AE crew if they have a patient who has severe medical issues. If so, we will need to divert and get that patient to a hospital so as much notice as we can get to coordinate getting on the ground and getting the patient to a hospital, the better."

When typical missions means transporting pallets, other cargo or personnel, the opportunity to do something more for the ground troops is a welcome change.

"It's good for us because we typically have been doing a lot of airdrops and troop insertions," the colonel said. "Most of what we do is haul around cargo and on occasion move people back and forth. So, it is good to do something for the war effort and pulling the wounded guys out."

"Driving the flying hospital" is a responsibility the pilots are honored to have.

"Part of the reason I picked this airframe to fly is I wanted to do missions like this," Lieutenant Volaski said. "This mission is nice because you can see the people in the back and you can see that you're helping out. It's a mission I am honored to be a part of."

For aircrew members that are also first-time deployers, knowing Service members are hurt and witnessing the effects of war first-hand is a heady experience.

"It's different seeing it first hand," said Senior Airman Drew Schubauer, 746th EAS loadmaster. "You hear the reports that another person was killed or hurt and you feel bad about it. It becomes a little more real, though, when you see the person who the news is talking about."

In an environment where the crew is generally removed from the intimate experience of war, being a part of an AE mission makes the war a bit more personal.

"These missions definitely remind you that we're fighting a war and it makes everything that much more real," the lieutenant said.

While the aeromedical evacuation staff's job means routinely operating out of a flying hospital, for the aircrew who operate the flying hospital, it's a mission that holds personal significance to them.

"It's more than just dropping off people and you know they will eventually go and do something," Lieutenant Volaski said. "To actually make a difference in some way that you can actually see who you're helping - that's important to me."

(Editor's note: The 328th Airlift Squadron at Niagara Falls International Airport, N.Y., has redeployed. The 440th Airlift Squadron, assigned to Pope Field, Fort Bragg, N.C., is the current unit forward deployed here.)