YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Tech. Sgt. Joseph Mooney, a member of the 374th
Medical Operations Squadron, is carried on a litter during a simulated
medical evacuation exercise at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July, 29, 2012.
During the exercise, Mooney was loaded onto a helicopter the purpose was to do live on loading and off loading of patients under the rotors, and to experience the in-flight environment to perform patient care. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy Moless)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Tech. Sgt. Christopher Baker, 459th Airlift Squadron flight engineer, briefs Airmen from the 374th Medical Operations Squadron on safety procedures around the helicopter during a simulated medical evacuation exercise at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July, 29, 2012. Medical personnel practiced loading patients on to litters, litter carrying procedures, and loading them onto a helicopter. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy Moless)
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- (Front to back) Tech. Sgt. Joseph Mooney and Senior Airman Zakaria Mergener, both members of the 374th Medical Operations Squadron, place themselves in the stand-by position prior to moving a litter during a simulated medical evacuation exercise at Yokota Air Base, Japan, July, 29, 2012. Medical personnel practiced emergency responses to stay ready for an emergency situation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Stacy Moless)
by Senior Airman Katrina R. Menchaca
374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
7/5/2012 - YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan -- Airmen from the 374th Medical Group and 459th Airlift Squadron came together to participate in an aeromedical evacuation training exercise here June 28.
During training, medical personnel learned how to properly load patients onto litters, move them on and off of a helicopter and maneuver them under the rotors. Medical personnel participated in the training to experience in-flight patient care.
"It's important to be trained and qualified in these skills because when we deploy we have to be proficient in this, people's lives may depend on it," said Airman 1st Class Justin Lozano, 374th Aerospace Medicine Squadron medical technician.
Medical units that have an aeromedical staging facility or aeromedical evacuation requirement, such as the 374 MDG at Yokota, must complete this training annually.
Tech Sgt. Angela Quinones, 36 AS independent duty medical technician, explained the importance of the training.
"It is very important for the medical technicians to learn how to safely and efficiently evacuate a patient," said Quinones. "Every second it takes a technician to figure out how to load a patient on the helicopter is a second that could threaten his life."
The training prepares medics to respond to humanitarian and contingency operations that involve helicopter operations.
For Lozano, being in the back of a helicopter was a new experience.
"Being able to fly in the helicopter was amazing," said Lozano. "It was a completely new experience for me. I've trained in plenty of planes, but this was the first time I've ever been in the back of a helicopter."
Airmen and their families can take comfort knowing that Yokota's medical personnel aren't just waiting to respond to the unexpected. Rather, they're preparing to confront emergency situations head-on.
