Photo By Senior Airman Ty Pilgrim | U.S. Air Force medics assigned to the 31st Combat Air Base Squadron participate in...... read more read more
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HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. -- Medics assigned to the 31st Combat Air Base Squadron (CABS) gained proficiency with an air transportable clinic, becoming the first medical personnel to undergo specialized, expeditionary training during an Air Force Unit of Action’s pre-deployment training window, Feb. 8-20, 2026.
The 31 CABS, assigned to the 31st Air Task Force, recently conducted its second 200-level field training exercise which saw 31 CABS dispersed to Tyndall Air Force Base’s Silver Flag campus and the 31 ATF command element operating out of Hurlburt Field. For 31 CABS medics, the exercise also marked a unique, first-time partnership between a Unit of Action and special operations medics, enabling expanded learning opportunities and significant achievement of training objectives.
“What is unique about this event was that the Unit of Action medical team received comprehensive austere, contested, expeditionary medical training that included damage control resuscitation, fresh whole blood, prolonged casualty care, and patient movement,” said the 31st Air Task Force’s surgeon general.
While most CABS members trained under the standard Silver Flag curriculum, medical personnel followed a course of instruction developed by 31 ATF’s medical planner in coordination with Special Operations Forces Medical Element (SOF-ME) personnel from the 1st Special Operations Wing. This is also the first time medics assigned to a Unit of Action are sourced almost exclusively from the supporting wing, enabling high-level teamwork and enhanced training opportunities.
“The Tactical Operations Medical Skills lab and I share the same office,” said 31 ATF’s medical planner. “Knowing they train highly skilled medics who embed with special operations forces, I turned to them for guidance on how to create a training plan and gave them some of our parameters. They offered to partner with the SOF-MEs to actually cadre the week of instruction.”
That training plan included quickly establishing an air transportable clinic—a self-contained facility designed to provide medical support to deployed forces in austere locations. The ATC is rapidly deployable and is designed to begin receiving patients shortly after setup. It supports a large contingent of personnel at a forward operating base for an extended period with minimal resupply.
The facility, easily palletized and shipped as cargo, is an Air Force medical capability containing defibrillators, ventilators, and EKGs as well as an array of medicine and other supplies.
With the ATC up and running, SOF-ME cadre trained 31 CABS’ medics in planning support for a forward operating base. The cadre, made up of a flight surgeon and independent duty medical technicians, led instruction on point-of-injury care, litter carrying, evacuation planning, prolonged casualty care, treating of traumatic brain injuries, and establishing a walking blood bank.
The training culminated in a hyper-realistic, hours-long mass casualty and trauma care scenario with personnel from Tyndall’s 325th Medical Group acting as wounded individuals to stress response capabilities and push the medical team to operate at near-max capacity.
“With this unique, first-time training opportunity, 31 CABS medics better understand how to provide care in an austere environment,” said the ATF’s medical planner. “They can provide care if the ATC is the only thing they’re given. They’ve learned not only how to use their equipment but to work together as a team.”
The 31st Air Task Force continues evolving to meet updated national priorities and efficiently use Air Force talent and resources. On its path to deployment, 31 ATF is preparing the force of the future by training Airmen in a manner consistent with how they will operate when they deploy.
The 31st Air Task Force is an O-6 wing headquarters consisting of a command and control element, supporting a combat air base squadron with up to 2,500 Airmen capable of providing base operating support and sustaining up to three mission generation force elements required to execute agile combat employment at any deployed location.
| Date Taken: | 03.16.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 03.16.2026 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 560612 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 58 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, 31 ATF medics enhance capability with air transportable clinic, by 2nd Lt. Daniel White, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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