Bandage Missions provide critical in-flight medical care

Photo By Tech. Sgt. Aaron Allmon | Medical personnel help load a litter patient from a forward operating base in Al Asad, Iraq, aboard a 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron C-130, during a Bandage Mission. These missions travel to different forward operating bases throughout Iraq and pick up patients and transport them to the Air Force Theater Hospital at Joint Base Balad, Iraq.  

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10.12.2008

Story by Staff Sgt. Andrea Jenkins 

United States Air Forces Central     

By Staff Sgt. Andrea Thacker
U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Everyone knows when someone gets seriously injured, an ambulance is just a phone call away, but who do you call when you're in the middle of a war zone and the hospital you need to get to is a hundred miles away?

Service members in Iraq call upon the Airmen from the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron to care for their medical needs as they are transported to the Air Force theater hospital at Joint Base Balad.

During these medical transports, known as bandage missions, a five-person crew of medical technicians and nurses provide the same medical care one would expect from a hospital's emergency room.

"We conduct these missions to provide necessary medical care to all of our deployed troops and ensure that they have the best care in the world even while they're deployed here in Iraq," Maj. Brandon Bailey, 332nd EOSS medical crew director. "What you would see at an in-patient care facility at a hospital -- that is what we do on the plane."

Bandage missions are scheduled to be flown four times a week, but the Airmen remain ready at a moment's notice to carry out urgent or priority missions.

"These patients are depending on us and our skills. In the long run it's all worth it because we feel like our mission is important and we're making a difference," said Tech. Sgt. Kristy Wellman, 332nd EOSS medical technician and bandage crew member.

The number of patients varies each mission. It could be anywhere from 10 patients to a C-130's full capacity of 74.

During a mission, the team monitors patient's vital signs, treats pain and controls bleeding. They've seen everything from severe multiple traumas resulting from battle-related injuries to sports-related injuries and diseases, said Major Bailey, a Butler Ala., native.

Providing urgent medical care is hard enough, but trying to care for patients onboard an aircraft with low visibility and limited space means team work is vital. However, the bandage crews have learned to overcome these obstacles.

"We have an experienced crew, and after working together for a while, we just know what the other person is thinking - it's like we can read each other's minds," Major Bailey said. "It would be nice if we came to work and were bored, because that would mean all of our service members were okay. However, we know that we have the skills and experience so when and if something happens, we can take care of them."

Once patients are transported to the Air Force Theater Hospital, some are treated and returned to their units, while others are then evacuated to Germany for further medical care.

"[Our mission] is amazing and humbling," Major Bailey said. "These service members out there know that if something goes wrong, we are here to treat them and get them the medical care they need."

While the medical crews fall back on their training to provide excellent medical care, all bandage crew members believe in the importance of their mission, and they also understand the cost.

"I love everything about what I do. I love to know that I'm able to provide the medical care needed to get them back to a higher echelon of care safely," said Sergeant Wellman, a Blythe, Calif., native.

• Date Taken: 10.12.2008
• Date Posted: 10.12.2008 08:21
• Story ID: 24847
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)