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Patient support pallets help revolutionize AE mission

Air Mobility Command News

Release Date: 5/07/2003

By 2nd Lt. Dustin Hart Air Mobility Command Public Affairs

SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. (AMCNS) - When Pfc. Jessica Lynch came home from the war on a C-17 Globemaster III, she and the 49 other injured servicemembers on the flight were able to take advantage of a new aeromedical evacuation technology.

When that C-17 touched down April 12 at Andrews AFB, Md., it was one of the first times patient support pallets were used to return injured troops from the battlefield.

According to Air Mobility Command officials, the PSPs are increasing the capability of AMC's aeromedical evacuation mission.

"The vision of aeromedical evacuation is to have the capability to perform AE missions on any Air Force mobility aircraft," said Maj. Lisa DeDecker, the AMC branch chief of AE concept and development. "The PSP allows us to take advantage of all our existing airframes."

Now used on KC-135, KC-10 and C-17 airframes, the PSP is built on a standard cargo pallet, and provides supports for six stretchers or a combination of three airlines seats and three stretchers. Remaining mobility aircraft do not need to use the PSP because they already have some ability to support evacuation missions.

Although the C-17 is designed to support AE as a secondary mission, and has electrical outlets and oxygen sources for patient care, it is only configured to carry nine stretchers. The PSP allows the C-17 to support larger numbers of patient transfers. With PSPs, the C-17 can carry a maximum of 12 pallets to accommodate up to 72 patients.

"The retirement of the C-141 in 2006 has really brought this technology to the forefront as a critical need," said Maj. Tami Averett-Brauer, AE Allocation Division chief at AMC's Tanker Airlift Control Center. "When we started transitioning to the C-17, we knew that we would have situations that would require us to transport more than nine stretchers."

In addition to increasing patient-carrying capacity, the PSPs also save the Air Force millions of dollars each year.

"Purchasing the PSPs is far less expensive than the cost of modifying the existing fleet of aircraft to support needed AE missions," said Major Averett-Brauer

The C-141 has been an AE long-haul workhorse for many years. The C-141 was designed to perform AE missions and has a capacity to carry more than 100 stretchers.

In fall 1999, AMC formed an evaluation team to reevaluate the wartime requirements for aeromedical evacuation. The team's findings showed a need for alternatives to the aging fleet of aircraft performing AE missions, like the C-141.

From these findings, development of the PSP began and in April 2002, four prototype PSPs were sent to Pacific Air Forces for weekly operational testing. The first delivery of 25 production model pallets was made in February of this year.

"The pace at which we went from drawing board to a prototype is phenomenal," said Major DeDecker, who is currently the deputy commander of the 775th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron here. "It has been a valuable tool in the success of the AE mission in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The AE system moved 640 battle casualties and more than 1,300 other patients in the first 35 days of the war without the use of dedicated aircraft. That is a remarkable transformation."