Airmen from various units who make up the 791st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Ramstein AB, Germany, routinely fly six aeromedical evacuation missions a week to Iraq and Afghanistan. The airmen of 791st fly troops with serious injuries to Landstuhl, Germany, making it possible for them to receive the necessary follow-on treatment within 12 hours. Overall, Air Force medevac teams in 2006 transported 9,860 total patients, including 2,354 critical patients from Iraq and Afghanistan. From the start of Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in October 2001, USAF has airlifted nearly 39,000 patients from the region.
In the face of Chinese war plans to disrupt U.S. command-and-control networks in the event of a conflict, the Air Force needs to focus less on its “connect everything” efforts and prepare its combat aviators to fight without a constant connection to higher-ups, according to a new report from AFA’s…
