Photo By Staff Sgt. Jerry Zuetrong | Army Reserve Cpl. Dylan Hearing, left, a behavioral health specialist from the New...... read more read more
In a dynamic display of joint medical readiness, Army Reserve Soldiers and U.S. Air Force personnel teamed up during Exercise Ultimate Caduceus 2025, a large-scale training exercise, to test large-scale casualty evacuation operations and reinforce critical interoperability between services.
Hosted at Travis Air Force Base, Calif., this year’s scenario brought together Reserve Soldiers from the San Diego, California-based 7246th Medical Support Unit and 7452nd Medical Operational Readiness Unit out of Elkhart, Nebraska, Air Force aeromedical teams and several local civilian healthcare systems across California.
“This is a patient movement exercise,” said Capt. Marianne Rose, officer in charge of the patient insertion team with the 7246th MSU. “It’s about moving large numbers of patients from OCONUS to CONUS, and continuing their care within the U.S. — from military hospitals to VA systems and even the civilian sector. This exercise allows us to see how that would actually work in a real-world setting.”
A central component of the training involved coordinating between different service branches, each with its own protocols and communication styles.
“We all speak different languages — Army, Air Force, civilian healthcare,” Rose added. “This kind of joint environment helps us iron out those differences and figure out how to work as one cohesive team under pressure.”
Working at the ground level, Staff Sgt. Jessica Gerber, a medical laboratory technician with the 7246th MSU and a civilian paramedic, noted that the patient loading and evacuation process improved noticeably each day.
“It’s that ‘slow is smooth, smooth is fast’ mentality,” Gerber said. “It’s gone from clunky to streamlined because we’re learning from every rep.”
Gerber, on her first Ultimate Caduceus exercise, said there is value in adaptability.
“All medical Soldiers need to be ready to perform any task, regardless of specialty," she said. "I’m a lab tech, but I may be carrying litters in the field. This training makes that real.”
She also encouraged junior Soldiers to embrace opportunities like this.
“This isn’t tailored specifically to us, but the knowledge and expertise around here — just watching and listening — is invaluable," said Gerber.
The 7452nd MSU of Army Reserve Medical Command also had a significant presence during the exercise. Maj. Edwin Pampo, a medical surgical nurse, said he played a hands-on role in stabilizing patients arriving to the David Grant Medical Center on base.
“Our job is to assess, treat, and hand patients off to the appropriate level of care,” Pampo said. “It’s about getting them medication, treatment, and confirming they’re stable enough to move forward — either home or to another facility.”
From a leadership perspective, Pampo said there is great empahsis in how crucial real-world training is for Reserve Soldiers, many of whom may not regularly work in clinical settings.
“This is a rare and important chance for our enlisted Soldiers to get hands-on experience — especially those who may never have treated patients before," said Pampo. "It bridges the gap between classroom learning and combat readiness.”
He also praised the interoperability between the various military forces.
“The Air Force has been great to work with—very humble, very professional. It’s easy to plug in and collaborate with them," said Pampo. "This kind of partnership is what strengthens joint operations.”
Pampo said that as large-scale combat operations, global threats and humanitarian crises increasingly demand rapid medical responses, Ultimate Caduceus ensures that Army Reserve and Air Force medical units remain ready, interoperable and mission capable.
“This whole experience has been eye-opening,” Rose said. “It’s not just about treating patients—it’s about learning how to communicate, adapt, and operate on a massive scale. That’s the kind of readiness we need.”
| Date Taken: | 08.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.02.2025 14:35 |
| Story ID: | 544600 |
| Location: | TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 180 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Army Reserve and Air Force Join Forces for Large-Scale Medical Evacuation Exercise at Ultimate Caduceus 2025, by SSG Jerry Zuetrong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
