Air and evacuation crews fly a noble

  • Published
  • By Master Sgt. Rick Sforza
  • 4th Combat Camera Squadron
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  An American flag flies over the cargo area of a C-17 Globemaster III aircraft, swaying and shifting gently as the aircraft turns and climbs into the sky on a mission Maj. Jason Ausdemore calls a "noble cause."

Most Americans are unaware of a mission of mercy, a humanitarian mission, that passes 35,000 feet above them every week. And the third week of June was no different. A C-17 Globemaster crew and an aeromedical evacuation team were in the air, bringing home wounded Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines.

For the past three years, the 729th Airlift Squadron at March has teamed up with staged aeromedical evacuation teams deployed to the 775th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight at Travis Air Force Base for the Integrated Continental United States Medical Operations Plan mission. Together, the members of this team support a flying hospital capable of carrying 36 litters, as well as additional ambulatory patients.

The mission has returned hundreds, if not thousands, of patients to their homes.

At the start of the mission, a team of three aeromedical evacuation technicians and two flight nurses, in concert with loadmasters and ground crews, move through the task of preparing the cargo area of the C-17 to receive the wounded.

Maj. Jason Ausdemore, a 729th Airlift Squadron pilot and aircraft commander for the June 17-20 mission, attributes the "seamless" coordination as one of the benefits of having the 729 AS crews and the 775 EAEF teams fly this mission together on a weekly basis.

"The interaction is seamless, organized and efficient," said Major Ausdemore.

While Major Ausdemore notes the variety of missions the C-17 was designed for, he says the ICMOP mission "is one of the more important missions we do...(we transport) the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines from the combat zone after they've been wounded to the base where they deployed from so they can get medical care at home."

During the trip home, the patients are surrounded by military medical professionals.

"The care they receive from the medical crews is phenomenal," Ausdemore said.

Members of the medical team say they are committed to the service of the wounded.

"I feel like it's an honor to help and to provide care for the wounded," said Capt. Nicholson, a flight nurse and medical crew director for the mission.

Captain Nicholson, a dual qualified flight nurse for the Canadian and U.S. Air Forces, is on a three-year exchange program from her home country, Canada.

"I feel honored the Americans have allowed me, a foreigner, to work alongside these very proficient people (medical crews). The wounded are receiving the best care we can give them. We're here aboard a C-17: the Cadillac of air evacuation."

Major Ausdemore believes having military personnel who care for and transport the wounded is immeasurable.

"The fact the military is willing to commit assets to such a noble cause is something you can't put a price tag on; this is for the people who chose to serve their country."

Editor's Note: Photographing the ICMOP mission was Master Sgt. Rick Sforza's final assignment as an Air Force reservist. Sergeant Sforza retired last month after 10 years in the active duty Air Force and 13 years in the Air Force Reserve. All 23 years of his service were with combat camera.