MAXWELL AFB, Ala. -- Eleven members of the 908th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron took part in Air Force hurricane evacuation efforts in September.

Two AE crews comprised of four flight nurses and six flight medics were assigned to a Total Force team operating out of Little Rock AFB, Ark., Aug. 30 - Sept. 14, while one medical administrator helped direct the operations of a mobile aeromedical staging facility team dispatched to Corpus Christi, Texas, Sept. 11.

Little Rock AFB served as the hub for aeromedical evacuation operations for Hurricanes Hanna, Gustav and Ike. The aircrews transported patients from area hospitals and nursing homes in Beaumont, Brownsville, Corpus Christi, Harlingen, and McAllen, Texas to Dallas medical facilities.

The 908th AES teams were among 28 on call at all times. The 908th teams flew two missions during their nearly three-week stay but remained poised to respond when called. The first mission took place Aug. 31 when a 908th AE crew took part in a mission to provide in flight care to 13 elderly patients, two on ventilators, during a flight from Beaumont to Oklahoma City, Okla., aboard a C-130.

During the second mission, a 908th AE crew provided care to six elderly patients during a flight from Beaumont to San Antonio Sept. 12. An account of this mission was featured in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette newspaper Sept. 13.

Flight nurse Lt. Col. Jeffrey Starr, who participated in similar efforts for Hurricanes Ivan and Katrina, said this deployment was "the most intense by far."

The evacuations efforts were better planned and organized than previous ones and there were ample crews and help, he said, but the degree of illness and fragility of the patients made them more involved.

"The types of patients are totally different than what you're used to," he said.

Neither the increased intensity nor the fragility of the patients lessened the satisfaction, however.

"We love doing this job," Starr said. "I tell people truth be told we'd pay to do this job. You get a great feeling. All of us would like to have flown more. These (the evacuees) are our neighbors."

Flight medic Tech. Sgt. Melinda Ford expressed sentiments similar to Starr's. This was her first hurricane evacuation effort and although the population was different, geriatric versus battle wounded, she said, "I like to think of them as my relatives. You provide the best care when you think of them as family members."

She related a story about an older patient on her first mission, Ms. Annie, whom she had difficulty making comfortable.

"At the end of the mission she told me she loved me, it made me cry," the flight medic said.
Tech. Sgt. Sean Kassebaum, flight medic, and Capt. George Hilyard, medical administrator, found themselves performing tasks unlike those performed by the other AES members. Their duties were administrative and managerial in nature.

Kassebaum, who was at Little Rock, was key member of an aeromedical evacuation operations teams, or AEOT, charged with managing the 28 AE crews and 16 critical care teams assigned to the Little Rock staging hub.

AETs are made up of two flight nurses and three flight medical technicians while CCATs comprise one critical care flight nurse, one critical care doctor and one respiratory technician. Active duty, Guard, and Reserve military personnel comprise the teams.

Sergeant Kassebaum said all the teams have massive amounts of equipment that must be taken care of, all the crews have strict guidelines about the amount of rest and sleep they have to have and how long they are allowed to be on alert, a considerable challenge. His prior experience with Hurricanes Rita and Katrina evacuations efforts made this challenge "a piece of cake" although hectic.

"It was just slamming and jamming," the fight medic said. "Go out set up the aircraft, go back pick up the crews, load up all their equipment, go out to the airplane unload all the equipment and in a couple hours do just the opposite when they come home."

It's the most unglamorous part of the AE world, but vital, Kassebaum said.

"It makes me feel good. I know I was a very important cog."

Captain's Hilyard duties were similar to Kassebaum's. He served as the aeromedical evacuation officer for a mobile aeromedical staging facility team from the 6th Air Mobility Wing at MacDill AFB, Fla. The staging facility is outfitted with more than $750,000 in medical supplies and equipment to handle up to 600 patients with minimal to intensive care needs. The mission of the MASF team is to receive patients from any type of situation and prepare them for flight. The MASF team arrived in Corpus Christi Sept. 11, a day after Hilyard's arrival.

The 23-member MASF team moved about 55 people, most of them elderly patients from nursing homes, before Hurricane Ike's advance forced them to shut down and move north.

The captain said he provided much needed AE expertise to the MASF team, something they were in dire need of. The patients were frail and many were already in need of critical care so CCATs (critical care teams) were already on site.

Many didn't want to leave and many had no idea where they were going so they were understandably agitated.

"I went from tail to tail of the airplanes finding out who was onboard, getting them ready to move out and helping to keep them calm," the medical administrator said. "I hit the ground running and it didn't stop until the next day."

Taking care of the elderly patients and being able to help was rewarding, he said.

For the Senior Airman Angela Burton, a flight medic on her first live mission, the deployment proved equally rewarding and satisfying.

"It was a great learning experience and I derived a great sense of self satisfaction from being able to help. We helped many elderly people who probably didn't have many options. The crews were great; I was able to glean a lot of knowledge," she said.

Despite the heat and the long days, no one complained. "Everyone wanted to be there. I'm glad I was able to participate in something like this before I deployed to a war type situation because you learn a lot. It helps you identify your strengths and weaknesses. It was certainly rewarding," the young flight medic said.

The participating AES members: medical administrator Capt. George Hilyard; flight nurses Lt. Col. Jeffrey Starr, Maj. Tracy Shamburger and Capts. Cinnamon Kellenberger and Richard Foote; and flight medics Master Sgts. Apen Phillips and Donald Washington, Tech. Sgts. Melinda Ford, Caterina Durham, and Sean Kassebaum, and Senior Airman Angela Burton.