AES takes pride in caring for wounded

  • Published
  • By Staff. Sgt. Joe Davidson
  • 452nd Air Mobility Wing Public Affairs
MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, CALIF. --  Medical treatment of service members wounded in combat starts while on the ground in theater and continues during their in-flight return to the United States. 

The ultimate goal is to make sure patients return to a medical care facility near their homes after they are stabilized. And according to the men and women who treat the patients, the constant care is an enormous morale booster for the patient and their families. 

The team carrying out this critical mission has many dedicated members ready to provide support 24/7. This sense of duty is instinctive for March Air Reserve Base's 452nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron as they fly to the United States from locations such as Balad, Iraq and Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. 

Two members of the squadron, 22-year-old Senior Airman Lyndsey Wisniewski and 24-year-old Senior Airman Ty Treece, share that sense of duty and provide a youthful, yet seasoned perspective as professional first-term Airmen, eager to get the job done. 

"I feel it's an honor to take care of those who fight and die for our country," said Airman Wisniewski, who recently returned from a deployment to Ramstein Air Base, Germany where she provided care for combat injured from the area of responsibility (AOR) to Andrews Air Force Base, Washington, D.C. 

Wisniewski explained that a patient's condition upon arrival at Andrews and where that patient considers home determines which "re-distribution" care facility they will be flown to before making their way to a hospital near their homes. 

Andrews is considered the East Coast hub, Scott Air Force Base, Ill. is the Midwest hub, and Travis Air Force Base, Calif. is the West Coast location. Patients that are badly burned or in need of more extensive care are transported to Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. 

Airman Treece, a nursing student and pharmacy assistant at a VA Outpatient Clinic in Bakersfield, Calif. just returned from a mission to Travis, where he provided care to patients bound for hospitals close to the base. During this mission, Airman Treece was able to treat a patient using notes from an earlier treatment by Airman Wisniewski on a flight from Ramstein Air Base. 

"I had originally planned to be an international doctor," said Airman Treece. "I figured, what is better than helping your combat brothers fighting overseas." 

Most members of the squadron are fully qualified to fly on all fixed wing aircraft used in aeromedical evacuation. From the C-130 Hercules and KC-135 Stratotanker to the newest addition to fleet, the C-17 Globemaster III, considered the "Cadillac of Aerovac." 

Members undergo extensive training that can take as long as two years to complete. With this training comes familiarization and use of equipment such as ZOLL portable defibrillator, a Bag Valve Mask used to provide manual resuscitation and a Pulse Oximeter for measuring oxygen saturation in red blood cells. 

The 452nd AES flies about 35 to 40 missions a year to Germany, Iraq and Afghanistan and since the beginning of 2008, they have flown 28 missions. Like the other members of the Aeromedical Evacuation Team world wide, they provide critical support to our warfighters and help to boost their morale whenever and wherever they can. 

"The members of this squadron have sometimes an incredibly difficult mission to perform," said Col. Dalene Perdue, the 452nd AES Commander. 

"But they are all very dedicated and true to the job. I am proud to command such an outstanding team of Air Force Reserve professionals that are part the 452nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron."