Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne on his recent tour to Southwest Asia visited the 386th Air Expeditionary Wing, which is one of two units in SWA supporting a Contingency Aerial Staging Facility medical evacuation operation. The Rock Slater base newspaper reports that he said the CASF and medevac are key to SWA operations. “The miracle of this engagement and this time is medevac,” asserted Wynne. If a wounded airman, soldier, sailor, or marine “can make it to the CASF here,” the survival rate is “above 96 percent,” said Wynne, adding, “This is unheard of in warfare.”
Airmen and Guardians in the Active and Reserve component, as well as civilian employees, in “mission critical and high-risk populations” are now required to receive influenza vaccinations annually to “preserve force readiness,” according to a recent Department of the Air Force memo.