Two dozen Airmen from Delaware Air Guard start aeromedical evacuation missions over holidays to help bring home America’s wounded warfighters

  • Published
  • By 021212
Starting tomorrow, Dec. 28, half-a-dozen Airmen, the first group of two dozen total Airmen from the Delaware Air National Guard's 142nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, will start leaving New Castle for missions that will take them to Germany, Afghanistan, other locations in Southwest Asia and Andrews Air Force Base, Md.

Their job is to integrate into the U.S. military's worldwide patient movement system that brings home America's warfighters from combat zones, especially Afghanistan, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and any other contingency operations that occur.

The Airmen's duty will last about six months per person. The 142nd AES is comprised of about 75 Airmen, and their members began serving in Afghanistan in October, 2001. Many unit members have served on multiple deployments in and around Afghanistan and Iraq over the past eleven years.

The Airmen serving on these missions include flight nurses, medical technicians and other skilled personnel. They work hands-on with wounded patients and also help coordinate patient flow through the U.S. military's aeromedical evacuation system. The Airmen work on the ground and in the air, setting up patient transport equipment on Air Force C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft to move wounded troops from combat zones to the U.S. Army Medical Department Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany and back to the states via Andrews AFB. Throughout the flights they provide patient care in the air to monitor the wounded troops, dispense medicine and keep patients as comfortable as possible before they return to U.S. hospitals for further treatment.

"The dedication and expertise of these skilled Airmen is remarkable, and their skills are a tremendous and necessary asset needed by our wounded troops of all service branches when they are injured in overseas combat zones," said Col. Mike Feeley, commander, 166th Airlift Wing.

The Delaware ANG has 1,100 members, and continually deploys personnel and subordinate units around the globe.

This release is in the public domain, and any part may be used as written.

Delaware Air National Guard:
Celebrating 66 years of Citizen-Airman service to our state and nation, 1946-2012

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