KC-135 crew airlifts wounded from Bagram

Published Feb. 11, 2009
By Tech. Sgt. Jason Schaap
931st Air Refueling Group Public Affairs

MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- A few Airmen from the 931st Air Refueling Group spent their Super Bowl weekend resting after a 12-day aeromedical evacuation mission in Afghanistan.

Eight reservists from the 931st manned a specially equipped KC-135 Stratotanker that made four back-to-back trips to Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, to pick up wounded and sick troops for evacuation to Ramstein Air Base, Germany.

"It was a long mission," said Staff Sgt. Trevor Derenthal, a crew chief assigned to the 931st Aircraft Maintenance Squadron.

Lt. Col. Tyoshi "T" Tung, a KC-135 pilot assigned to the 18th Air Refueling Squadron was the senior-ranking 931st member during the mission. It usually took around 21 hours for his crew to prepare, leave Ramstein, fly to Afghanistan, return to Ramstein and finish the job, he said. Twenty four hours of mandatory crew rest later, they would make the trip all over again.

"There wasn't much time for sightseeing," Colonel Tung joked. But that was more than ok, he added, because "it's all about the mission." Especially when evacuating wounded warriors.

The KC-135 is not the Air Force's first choice when using aircraft for aeromedical evacuation. But its ability to fly long distances makes it an excellent substitute when high operations tempos create aircraft shortfalls.

Aerial refueling, the primary capability of the KC-135, is not part of the evacuation mission. "The jets are wall-to-wall with (medical) equipment" and aerospace medical technicians, Tech. Sgt. Warren Bearup said. "Our purpose is to get there and get back."

Sergeant Bearup was part of Colonel Tung's crew. He is an 18th ARS boom operator and, like Sergeant Derenthal, works full-time for the 931st as an Air Reserve Technician. Between drill weekends, Sergeant Bearup is a civilian flight scheduler assigned to the 931st Operations Support Flight.

It was his office that acquired the Afghanistan mission after 931st crews successfully completed the same missions twice before. Aeromedical evacuations are another way to make sure "we're doing our part," Sergeant Bearup said, in addition to the millions of fuel pounds 931st flyers deliver every year.

There was an incident during this latest mission that clearly illustrated why the KC-135's airlift capability is so important and why Sergeant Bearup called aeromedical taskings so "rewarding."

It happened about an hour away from arriving back at Ramstein. A patient's oxygen intake became unexplainably low. A medical technician told Sergeant Bearup the situation was urgent. A call was placed to German air controllers.

"Without hesitation," the controllers cleared a direct path for the tanker through heavily congested air space, Sergeant Bearup said, and the soldier got to a care facility much faster.

The incident made things tense for a while, Colonel Tung said, and reminded his crew why "it's all about the mission."