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Air Force aircaft, crews airlift injured from Haiti

  • Published
  • By Capt. Justin Brockhoff
  • 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  An Air Force C-130 Hercules and its crew airlifted four injured civilians from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., early Sunday, as part of on-going U.S. efforts to provide relief in the quake-stricken region.

The patients suffered injuries ranging from crushed limbs to broken bones according to officials. Doctors on the ground in Haiti made the request for military airlift after determining the patients' needs would be best met by medical care in the U.S.

Mission planning was accomplished by the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center at Scott AFB, Ill., the lead agency for worldwide military airlift, air refueling and aeromedical evacuation operations. 618th TACC officials plan and task global air mobility missions, and then provide command-and-control for the missions from the TACC's 24-7 operations floor.

"We received the request for aeromedical evacuation and immediately got on the phone to assign a plane and medical crew to pick up the patients," said Master Sgt. John LaCroix, manager of the 618th TACC's Aeromedical Evacuation Division. "Time is always critical, so there's a delicate balance of being fast and being thorough when we're putting these missions together. We have to be sure to send the right people, with the right training and equipment to care for the patients while in the air."

A 302nd Airlift Wing C-130 and its crew, already at Pope Air Force Base to fly cargo to Haiti, were re-tasked with the higher priority patient movement. They were joined by an aeromedical evacuation crew consisting of two nurses and three emergency medical technicians from the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, and the team departed for Haiti within hours of receiving the call.

The aircraft landed at Toussaint L'Ouverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince at 12:30 a.m., Eastern Time. Upon arrival, the aeromedical crew prepared and loaded the patients into the aircraft, and then departed for Fort Lauderdale, where they were met by ambulances that took the patients to a local hospital.

Aeromedical evacuation plays a critical role in global military operations daily, including in current operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2009, AMC aircrews and aeromedical evacuation crews flew 19,025 patient movements worldwide, averaging out to more than 52 patient movements per day.

"Our teams will do anything we can to save lives, which is exactly why we have aeromedical evacuation professionals on our operations floor 24/7," said Lt. Col. Duncan Smith, chief of the 618th Tanker Airlift Control Center's aeromedical evacuation branch. "Business for us is getting patients to the care they need, no matter what. In some cases, it means we get to help save lives and you can't beat that feeling."