315th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
5/16/2014 - JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Members of the 315th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron here led the charge to provide crucial patient evacuation support during a large-scale national disaster exercise May 14 here and in Greenville, South Carolina.
The exercise, under the coordination of the South Carolina Army National Guard, hinged on an earthquake scenario, which resulted in loss of life, injuries, property damage and displaced victims seeking shelter according to Capt. Lee Knoell, assistant director of operations with the 315th AES and exercise planner for the drill.
"The reserve role during this exercise was to coordinate patient movement," Knoell said. "The AES was responsible for airlifting the patients and providing medical treatment en-route to the safe location set up by the National Disaster Medical System in the Greenville-Spartanburg area."
The NDMS is an all-encompassing entity that brings together several federal, state and local emergency response organizations in times of crisis and mass casualty. The Air Force plays an integral part in these situations by allowing access to cargo carriers and airborne medical technicians for the evacuation of injured individuals.
The 315th AES Airmen, along with participants from the 315th Aerospace Medicine Squadron and active-duty service members with the 628th Medical Group, worked together to analyze and process roughly 50 simulated patients, all played by cadets from five South Carolina Civil Air Patrol squadrons. These patients were evaluated and transported to the flight line from a casualty staging area according to the severity of the injuries indicated on their patient scenario cards. Most of the causalities were made up to look as if they had realistic injuries.
Ambulatory patients rode regular passenger buses, while those that required litter transport were transferred to either an ambulance bus - a large military bus that can be configured to hold patients on litters - or a dual use vehicle specially designed by the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in Charleston to interface with cargo planes like the C-17 Globemaster IIIs used at JB Charleston.
Transporting the patients carefully and efficiently was of the utmost importance according to Maj. David Ferguson, flight nurse and medical crew director with the 315th AES during the mission.
"We were sure to practice our patient movements and coordinate the litter carries carefully," Ferguson said. "It's also crucial to keep track of your patients, monitor their injuries and get them safely to the evacuation point so they can be seen and treated further."
Patients were transferred from the vehicles to the cargo area of a C-17, which had been configured with a center row of seats for ambulatory patients and a row of stanchions engineered to hold patients on litters. The group was then flown about an hour away to the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport where the emergency evacuation area had been stood up by the NDMS. Two flight nurses and four medical technicians accompanied the patients on the plane and completed training tasks by providing emergency care while in flight.
In addition, the loadmasters aboard the plane played a major part in keeping patients and passengers informed and safe during the trip.
"We basically just see to it that the aeromedical staff has everything they need to complete their mission," said Master Sgt. Michael O'Brien, Jr., loadmaster with the 701st Airlift Squadron. "We help coordinate the configuration of the plane depending on the needs of the patients and provide the necessary oxygen and electricity requirements for the medical equipment. We also keep track of all the passengers on board and ensure that everyone is following proper safety protocol."
Once on the ground in Greenville, patients were offloaded from the C-17, again under the direction of Ferguson and the AES crew. Local emergency response teams wheeled the litter-bound patients from the plane to the tented emergency care area using unique "rickshaw" carriers.
From there, the patients were immediately processed to be seen at local hospitals with the help of active-duty Soldiers from Fort Jackson in Columbia, South Carolina. The Soldiers arrived on scene early to ensure that the proper systems were already set up and waiting for the arrival of the cargo plane full of casualties. According to Ferguson, this was instrumental in providing rapid patient care and accountability.
"This is such an incredible exercise because it gets the Reserve and active duty of different branches working together, along with state emergency agencies, the Civil Air Patrol, local hospitals and the VA," said Ferguson. "Joint agency exercises usually start off with a little confusion at first, so we practice like this to learn how to coordinate effectively and work together more efficiently when a real disaster occurs."
The exercise offered valuable training insight for the flight crew as well, according to Lt. Col. Mark Jeffrey, 701st AS aircraft commander for the mission.
"The details were a little foggy in the beginning, which is likely how it would be in a real disaster situation," Jeffrey said. "Things were a little bit hectic but that makes for good practice. During an evacuation you could be told that you are transporting 60 patients and 100 could show up. You have to be flexible and willing to adapt."
And Knoell agrees. He said this exercise was a great opportunity to bring all the agencies together for a chance to practice their piece of the emergency evacuation puzzle.
"The first time I participated in one of these exercises, it made me feel really good," Knoell said. "It was reassuring to see multiple governmental agencies coming together under one umbrella to provide care and assistance during a time of crisis. We took the lead in the pre-planning stages to spearhead this event and it turned out to be an excellent training opportunity for all involved."
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