The first Air Force high deck patient loading platform was designated operational April 9 at Bagram AB, Afghanistan. The new platform was used that day to transfer five patients to a KC-135 tanker for a flight to Ramstein AB, Germany. The HDPLP is a special purpose vehicle with an enclosed, lighted and climate-controlled cabin that is designed to move litter and ambulatory patients safely and comfortably on the ramp to waiting aircraft for transport to their next stage of medical care. It allows for easy access of high-deck aircraft such as KC-135s and KC-10s that the Air Force uses for aeromedical evacuation. “This new capability enhances the safety of ambulatory and litter patients giving them every possible means of a full recovery,” said Lt. Col. Robert Rocco, 455th Expeditionary Medical Support Squadron commander. The Bagram unit is one of three currently in the Air Force. (Bagram report by Capt. Toni Tones)
Dick Cheney’s Legacy with the Air Force
Nov. 6, 2025
Dick Cheney, who died Nov. 3 at 84, is best remembered by most Americans as among the most powerful Vice Presidents in history, a consummate Washington insider who had previously served in the Nixon administration, was Chief of Staff for President Gerald Ford, a Congressman for a decade, and Secretary…
