T
he Air Force has been augmenting the Army in Afghanistan in the air as well as on the ground. Buried in an article about an Air Force medic is the fact that USAF medics and HH-60 Pave Hawk combat search and rescue aircraft have been flying medical evacuation missions normally handled by Army medevac forces. On one of his first missions in country, TSgt. Stephen Thackery flew to the scene aboard a Pave Hawk, while two other USAF medics, TSgt. David Denton and TSgt. Nicholas Falcon flew on Army helicopters. These medics are veteran aeromedical evac technicians, but as ILO medics, they often work alone to aid transport of critically injured troops from the point of injury, rather than with a team of medical professionals transporting stabilized patients. (Kandahar report by Capt. Michael Meridith)
As Air Force leaders consider concepts of operations for Collaborative Combat Aircraft, sustainment in the field—and easing that support by using standard parts and limiting variants—should be a key consideration, according to a new study from AFA's Mitchell Institute of Aerospace Studies.