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Recently, members of the 352d Special Operations Maintenance Squadron, 352 SOW had the opportunity to tour the East Anglian Air Ambulance (EAAA), a charity organization providing helicopter emergency medical service (HEMS) for the people of East Anglia. EAAA’s Chief Executive, Patrick Peal, the honorary commander of 352 SOMXS, led them on a tour of his facilities and to see one of the helicopters that are the foundation of crisis response management for the charity. The event showcased the two team’s ability to learn from each other through sharing of maintenance techniques and procedures.
The honorary commander program was developed to create one-on-one opportunities to educate key community members about the missions of the U.S. Air Force. The program provides a unique opportunity for local area community members to shadow 352 SOW leaders to encourage an exchange of ideas, share experiences and foster a supportive relationship with the community.
“Patrick hosted 10 of the 352 SOMXS squadron’s maintenance personnel to see how [the EAAA] performs maintenance and to see their flight operational routines,” said Lt. Col. Christopher Fontana, 352 SOMXS commander. “We try to do some cross-sharing of information with what we can, EAAA being a helicopter operation and us being a hybrid helicopter operation- we look to find some cross flow of processes and maintenance operations.”
The combination of a quick response time, advanced critical care on scene, and rapid onward transfer, when appropriate, can be vital in saving lives and improving patients’ prospects of making a full recovery. Behind the demanding mission is also a crucial step- making sure the equipment is up to the task for rapid deployment.
“It’s interesting to see how they operate and how high their reliability rates are just as a by-product of what they do on a comparatively small budget,” said Master Sgt. Bryan Thompson, 352 SOMXS lead production superintendent. “They were able to bring down their chief engineer to talk about how they maintain their aircraft how they support their mission.”
While the budget and spectrum of the SOW and EAAA may vary quite a bit, the principles behind the mission are the same.
“While we have a different budget, we definitely have challenges that we face maintaining the CV-22 Osprey,” said Fontana. “I hope what they can learn is our processes- especially when it comes to heavy maintenance. To share where we have been able to streamline that process and create a more fluid maintenance and repair timeline can help everyone on maximizing the aircraft availability.”
For junior Airmen, the real-world meaning behind the mission and the similarities brings into mind the bigger picture.
“Application of what we train; it brings perspective. It makes [new Airmen] see what we push here: efficiency and smart ways of doing business. That’s the way the entire worlds operates, not just us,” said Thompson. “They are facing some of the same challenges we face with supplies and aircraft, with a very similar recovery and maintenance processes.”
Since EAAA’s launch in 2000 they have attended over 20,000 lifesaving missions, touching the lives of thousands of people.
“They carry a critical care doctor and paramedics on their flights. That critical care doctor, that skill set he brings and administers in that golden hour of care, is crucial and having that resource available for the local populace is incredible,” said Fontana. “I feel honored to be affiliated with that organization. They are extremely professional and they obviously love what they do.”
An EAAA crew is comprised of specialist pre-hospital doctors and critical-care paramedics, operating out of two high-tech helicopters from 07:00 until 19:00 from their Norwich base and from 07:00 until 01:30 from their Cambridge base. EAAA were the first air ambulance in the country to attend helicopter emergency medical incidents in the hours of darkness to unknown and unlit sites.
The EAAA mission statement brings home many of the same qualities and values that drive both organizations:
“We are committed to delivering outstanding care, quality, and value to the community. We thrive on challenges, looking for innovative ways to grow and improve the service further through an open culture of continuous improvement, by scrutinising our actions, sharing knowledge, and learning from past events.”
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| Date Taken: | 11.23.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 11.28.2017 07:10 |
| Story ID: | 256605 |
| Location: | RAF MILDENAHALL, SFK, GB |
| Web Views: | 161 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Mission of Maintenance- SOMXS Air Commandos compare Maintenance techniques with East Anglian Air Ambulance, by Philip Steiner, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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