Medical personnel take training to the sky

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Katrina R. Menchaca
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
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.