Photo By Joshua Garcia | Senior Airman Francis Nacapui, 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron...... read more read more
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SOUTHWEST ASIA - The physiological support detachment from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron supports the squadron's operational mission by providing life support functions for pilots who fly at more than 70,000 ft. PSD is a multimissioned shop consisting of equipment maintenance, physiological support and operational support.
U.S. Air Force Major Smith, 99th ERS director of operations, said the PSD is critical to the mission. They are the only personnel trained and certified to integrate the pilots into the full pressure suit and the aircraft.
"We maintain the pressure suit, and the survival equipment, we also have to don the suit onto the pilot and strap them into the aircraft," said Master Sgt. Mandeep Johal, 99th ERS PSD supervisor. "On the physiological side we are trained in handling individuals who may encounter a physiological incident such as decompression sickness."
The shop has aircrew flight equipment and aerospace physiology technicians who combine their career fields to perform the mission for a four year special duty mission.
"Our job is so unique, we don't have a technical training school," said Johal. "Everything is taught by on-the-job training."
The pressure suit and test equipment are so specialized, the PSD career field is the only career field in the entire Department of Defense able to use and maintain them said Johal. The technology used in the equipment dates back 20 years, however with the occasional updates to the suit and inspection equipment, PSD is still able to keep them operational.
While other maintenance shops send equipment to a Precision Maintenance Equipment Laboratory for calibration, Johal said PSD is trained to maintain and calibrate the equipment on their own. Along with maintaining the suit and the inspection equipment for the suit, PSD airmen also maintain everything that goes into the pilot's survival kit.
"Everything we do is specific to keeping the pilot alive in the event of an emergency." said Johal. "From high-altitude where the suit will keep him alive to on the ground evading the enemy, the survival kit we provide will help them survive and evacuate."
The second part of PSD's mission is the physiological support they provide to flight doctors during a physiological incident. Physiological incidents vary in degrees of severity, decompression sickness is the man physiological incident the PSD airmen face.
One of the more common types of decompression sickness is called "the bends," this occurs when a pilot goes up to altitude and pressure decreases, causing the nitrogen in the body to form a bubble. If a bubble gets stuck in joints it causes severe pain. This effect can be compounded when a bubble gets stuck in the central nervous system, heart and lungs, which could be fatal.
"Part of our expertise is to treat individuals who encounter a physiological incident," said Johal. "We provide training in an altitude chamber back at home station where they can see what the suit will feel like when fully inflated in the event of an emergency."
Johal, a native from Sacramento, Calif., said in the deployed location they assist the flight doctor during physiological emergencies by maintaining the oxygen equipment for the pilot.
"If the pilot comes down with an [in flight emergency] for decompression sickness they have to stay on oxygen," Johal said. "We would meet them at the aircraft, help extract the pilot and at the same time maintain their oxygen supply. We have a special oxygen converter so we can transport them to our building where we can put them on our main oxygen line."
PSD airmen duty day begins before the first launch and ends after the last landing. Smith said their duties require precision and care, because the pilot's lives are literally in their hands.
"Our motto is 'between life and death', the suit is the backup system to the pressurization system in the aircraft," Johal said. "If they lose cabin pressure and eject out of the aircraft while at altitude, the only thing that will keep them safe is that suit."
| Date Taken: | 10.21.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 10.21.2013 02:12 |
| Story ID: | 115447 |
| Location: | (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION) |
| Hometown: | BUENA PARK, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA, US |
| Hometown: | SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 104 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
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