RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany - The Mississippi Air National Guard's 172nd Airlift Wing makes it look easy: how they fly aeromedical evacuation missions (aerovac) to the other side of the world, land in a combat zone, pick up the wounded and fly home -- readily volunteering to do it over and over again.
Airmen from the 172nd were on such a mission March 2, looking rested and eager to get airborne from Andrews Air Force Base, Md. -- the first stop on their aerovac mission to Iraq and back.
It was one of a series that occur weekly for the 172nd, which transports patients from Balad Air Base, Iraq, to Ramstein Air Base, Germany and stateside.
The medics at Balad know the Mississippi Guard well, and they know that their C-17 Globemaster IIIs are the fastest way out of Iraq for their wounded warriors. The wing has perhaps the most seasoned and professional aerovac crews flying into and out of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
How seasoned? They performed more than 350 aerovac missions since October 2005. More importantly, they've carried thousands of sick and wounded to life-saving hospitals and medical specialists.
Professional? They are THE airlifters for a large number of aerovacs flying out of Balad, and they receive a lot of praise from passengers.
"The Mississippi crews are outstanding," said Maj. Patrick Perretta, a New York aeromedical director deployed to Germany with the 791st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.
Each aerovac draws upon a host of skills and units. Perretta and his medical team joined the Guardmembers on the Ramstein flightline. Together, they prepared: the crew attended operational briefings, combed through preflight checklists and loaded cargo; the medics hung oxygen and power lines to configure the C-17.
It was a five-hour flight into Balad, located in northern Iraq and approximately 68 kilometers north of Baghdad. Nearing their destination, pilots Lt. Col. Nap Bryan, Capt. Brian Childress and 1st Lt. Wes Carter put on night vision goggles and prepared for the combat landing. The stealth is necessary, as a security forces flight chief at Balad said recently, "There are constant attacks here." Everyone wore protective flax-vests and helmets.
After the plane touched down on the dark flightline and rolled to a halt, Senior Master Sgt. Robert Lundy, loadmaster, emptied the cargo bay. The medics filled it with patients and gear.
The patients, mostly U.S. Army Soldiers, walked aboard if able; others were carried on litters. Their conditions ranged from stable to critical. Lundy ensured the aircraft was setup for them.
"We make sure the medical crew has all the equipment they need, and we give them assistance," Lundy said. From the C-17's forward loadmaster station, Lundy controlled the lights, heating and air conditioning as well as the oxygen system used by the medics.
It normally takes three Airmen to fly a C-17: two pilots and a loadmaster. But the aerovac missions require additional pilots to rotate crew rest and technicians to maintain it downrange. It's all manned with voluntary deployments. They fly nearly 40 hours to complete one, round-trip mission in five days. Nearly 40 maintenance personnel deploy 60 to 120 days to maintain the aircraft at Ramstein.
The wing began the aerovacs in 2005 with 18 flights per month: four flights per week from Jackson with two aircrews flying alert missions from Ramstein. Now, they fly 12 missions a month from their base in Jackson. "As long as we have people who continue to volunteer, we will continue doing it," said Childress. Â Volunteers abound even on this most sobering of mission, where the cargo bay atmosphere consists of quiet reflections among the sick and wounded mixed with the hustle of in-flight care and consoling done by medics and crew.
Childress said that the crew does all it can to make the patients as comfortable as possible. And the C-17 is engineered for that.
The Air Force calls the $200 million plus C-17 its most flexible cargo aircraft. Â A brightly-lit, spacious cargo bay -- 88 feet long, 18 feet wide and 12 feet high “ confirms the claim. Â An environmental system maintains cabin temperatures suitable for burn patients, and its cargo bay is engineered to be quieter than other aircraft.
The wing, which was the first Guard unit to fly the plane, boasts a mission capability rate of more than 90 percent.
Crew chiefs that fly along maintain the C-17s during missions. They refuel it in Balad, said Master Sgt. Howard Errington, maintenance technician. "Should the crew have a problem with the aircraft, they consult us," he said. Errington is also deployed with the flightline maintenance element in Ramstein.
It was early in the morning when the aerovac returned to Ramstein. The patients were offloaded and transported to awaiting medical teams.
The medics said those with severe injuries go to combat support hospitals. Those needing advanced care go to nearby Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. Stateside flights bring patients to Walter Reed Army Medical Center and Bethesta Naval Hospital in Washington or Brooke Army Medical Center (burn patients) in San Antonio.
After an overnight rest, the crew flew out of Ramstein to bring a group of patients to Andrews. The eight-hour flight left them time to wonder what events their patients faced during deployment that put them on the aerovac. To date, more than 32,000 coalition forces have been medically air-transported in OIF for combat wounds, non-hostile injuries and diseases.
At Andrews, a cold winter breeze flowed through the open cargo doors. Â It brought with it a group of people who gathered around the patients to welcome them home.
"There's a sense of satisfaction knowing you've taken care of the wounded, that we got them where they needed to go in the most comfortable and expedient way possible," Childress said.
The air crew watched them go. Then they prepared for a final flight to Mississippi, their home. The mission, it seems, is not as easy as it looks.