Photo By Staff Sgt. Stephen Underwood | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Joseph Randolph, aerospace medical specialist with the 439th...... read more read more
U.S. Air Force Academy, CO. -- A group of Reserve Citizen Airmen from Westover’s 439th Aeromedical Staging Squadron completed their two-week annual tour at the U.S. Air Force Academy to help provide medical care to basic cadets during their field training at Jacks Valley.
The 439th aerospace medical technicians helped basic cadets power through their training to graduate from Basic Cadet Training. BCT is an intense six-week program that transitions incoming civilians into military cadets ready for the academy’s four-year officer commissioning program.
More than 300 basic cadets marched out to Jacks Valley, the academy’s training site on July 13, to complete two weeks of field exercises including an obstacle and assault course aimed at teaching them leadership, teamwork, and perseverance.
Westover reservists joined members of the Air Force Academy’s 10th Medical Group to treat any injuries, ranging from dehydration to sprained ankles, providing a critical resource to ensure cadet health and safety and rapid response medical care.
ASTS members worked out of a field clinic at Jacks Valley with limited resources, while treating basic cadets at their point of injury. If a basic cadet needs further treatment, they are transported to the field clinic, where Westover reservists continue to treat patients.
“This is such a great experience because this is exactly how it will feel in a deployed environment with limited resources and having to make decisions on the fly,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Kevin Hernandez, 439th ASTS aerospace medical technician. “This is really giving us a unique training environment that you wouldn’t get working in a hospital setting.”
The ASTS specializes in the movement and care of patients during aeromedical evacuation. They are responsible for receiving, processing, and staging patients at a designated location before they are transported by air.
Out at Jacks Valley, reservists are participating in an En Route Patient Staging System, or ERPSS environment, which provides critical points of care before patients are transported to another facility. At the Academy, basic cadets needing further care are transported from the field clinic to the on-base clinic located a few miles away by ambulance.
“This is very much an ERPSS environment, where we help stabilize patients and provide them care, before moving them to the next point of care if they need additional treatment,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman JeanAnn Kasune.
“We’re limited in what we can do here, but once we see someone needs more advanced care, we send them over to the on-base clinic. That is exactly what we would be doing down range. What we’re seeing is mostly minor abrasions, nosebleeds, sprained ankles, and blisters. Mostly minor injuries associated with training.”
In total, 15 members with the 439th ASTS participated in the mission, including nine medical technicians and four health service management specialists, one clinical nurse, and one doctor.
U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Rozlyn Edwards said that the training presents a unique opportunity for her unit to gain skills in a real-world environment.
“This is a really cool opportunity for us to be hands-on and do what we are trained to do in a real-world environment,” Edwards said. As a reservist, sometimes you can get stuck in the day to day of the drill weekend. But this is what we train for and it makes it all worth it. It’s been impressive to see the younger Airmen really jump in and get involved. It shows we are fit to fight and are able to get right into the mission.”
U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Shelby Knight, an orthopedic surgical technician with the 10th Medical Group, said that having Westover reservists on-site has been critical to ensuring clinic staff can operate at full capacity.
“Having reservists here allows us to continue our mission in the clinic without having to pull our members to Jacks Valley,” Knight said. “Reservists have played a critical role in ensuring first response medical care to ensure the wellness of our basic cadets.”
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2025 14:50 |
| Story ID: | 546817 |
| Location: | CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS, US |
| Web Views: | 27 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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