The Mother of All Field Tests

Hurricane Katrina tested USAF medical disaster response like never before, according to Air Force Surgeon General Lt. Gen. George Peach Taylor Jr. Speaking Monday at the AFA conference, Taylor said the roots of the Air Force’s disaster response were established after the terror attacks of four years ago. On the Katrina response, Taylor said, “There are some remarkable stories that are going to come out.” The New Orleans airport became the hub of a massive aeromedical evacuation effort, in which medical personnel had to separate triage patients from routine patients and critical care patients, who needed immediate evacuation. Taylor said, at the effort’s peak, two C-130s laden with patients were taking off every 90 minutes.