Challenges of Aeromedical evacuation in the post-cold-war era

Aerospace Power Journal, Winter, 2001 by Bruce Brig Gen Green

The next major AE development was the introduction of the Convair C-131A Samaritan. This pressurized aircraft, with a specialized interior for AE, offered fast service for the short air routes of Europe and North Africa. The C-131A, which made its debut on 26 March 1954, had a cruising speed of 235 knots; it had room for 37 ambulatory patients or 27 litter patients plus four ambulatory patients, as well as a medical crew of three. The aircraft configuration accommodated specialized medical equipment such as an iron lung, orthopedic bed, artificial kidney machine, or infant incubator. All Samaritans were distinctly marked with a red cross on the tail.

In June 1966, Headquarters USAF directed Air Force Systems Command to submit a proposed source-selection and procurement plan for a new AE aircraft. In July 1966, the Department of Defense agreed to initiate a modernization program, and in January 1967 it approved the expenditure of $34 million to purchase eight aircraft plus spares. Three contractors responded with proposals: McDonnell-Douglas (DC-9A), British Aircraft Corporation (BAC-1ll), and Boeing (B-737). On 31 August 1967, McDonnell-Douglas received the contract, with the first aircraft delivery scheduled for August 1968, followed by one per month for seven months. The rollout ceremony of the C-9A Nightingale occurred on l7 June 1968. The aircraft was tested and delivered to Scott AFB, Illinois, on 10 August 1968. Eventually, 21 C-9As were purchased between 1967 and 1971.

The Vietnam War

Advances in AE improved medical care during the Vietnam War. Rapid evacuation of the wounded from Vietnam's battlefields by helicopters, followed by jet transports, saved many lives. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) operated in-country aeromedical service and transoceanic jet service to hospitals at Clark Air Base (AB), Philippines, as well as Yokota AB and Tachikawa AB, Japan. Military Airlift Command (MAC)--the successor to MATS--helped evacuate many casualties from Vietnam, handling all patient movement to the United States. Although the Air Force acquired its first C-9A in August 1968, C-9As did not begin flying missions in Southeast Asia until March 1972. Ordinary transport planes--primarily the C-7 Caribou, C-130 Hercules, and C-141 Starlifter--equipped with litters flew most of the war's aeromedical missions. PACAF's 903d Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron provided the first mobile casualty-staging facility during this war.

Subsequent to Vietnam, AE supported a variety of contingency and humanitarian operations over the next two decades. The more notable ones included Operation Homecoming--the return of US prisoners of war from Vietnam; return of the 52 American hostages held in Iran for over 400 days; evacuation of casualties from the bombing of the US Embassy and Marine Corps barracks in Beirut; and evacuation of 167 casualties from Grenada. Officially designated mobile aeromedical staging facilities (MASF) were in the AE inventory and available when Operation Urgent Fury in Grenada took place in October 1983 but were not used.