Mobile aeromedical staging facility touches lives in Iraq

  • Published
  • By Maj. Jon Anderson
  • Combined Forces Air Component Commander Public Affairs
OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM (AFPN) --  From Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to Tallil Air Base, Iraq, may seem a long way, but for Air Force Reservists of the 433rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, it was the chance of a lifetime to practice skills that are literally a matter of life or death to a wounded soldier.

Their journey to Tallil began on March 29th when they crossed Iraq's border as part of a four-mile long convoy that ended 14 hours later at the base, they said. Within six hours of arrival they had set up a mobile aeromedical staging facility and were ready for patients. The 15-person team provided care for 174 wounded United States and British soldiers during their short time in Iraq. Their efforts required flight scheduling for 18 C-130 Hercules medical evacuation missions and demanded a close working relationship with the Army's 86th Combat Support Hospital at Tallil, ambulance crews and the Air Force's Tanker-Airlift Control Element on base to prepare and move patients to the flight line, according to team members.

MASF members also had to contend with doing most of their missions under blackout conditions, with frequent dust storms and little to work with except for their exceptional "can do" spirit.

In addition to staging patients for medevac flights, the members of the Tallil MASF also provided expert medical care. They performed intravenous infusions, dressing changes, oxygen treatments and for some, badly needed bed baths to wash away dried blood, said Lt Col John Barry, the MASF team chief. "We were honored to add little personal touches such as offering them coffee, cold water and cigarettes, all of which were difficult to get at Tallil," he said

A little-known capability of the MASF is its extensive communications section, Barry said. Connected to the airlift system with advanced communications gear, MASF members quickly coordinated airlift for patients and critically needed medical and non-medical supply deliveries throughout the military medical system in Iraq, he said.

So while the whole team stayed ready 24 hours per day, resting only when they had no patients to move, the MASF communications team had to maintain constant contact with the airlift system so they could move patients at a moment's notice, Barry said.

While the MASF has now returned to Lackland, their spirit of compassion and "can do" will always be part of what made Tallil a critical part of the airpower victory in Iraq. Barry sums it up best for the many patients he and the MASF team touched while in the combat zone, "To everyone whom we cared for and worked with, we feel honored to have been a part of your lives."