Photo By Tech. Sgt. Luther Mitchell | U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Arthur Tewasiliig, right, 818th Mobility Support Advisory...... read more read more
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Airmen assigned to the 818th Mobility Support Advisory Squadron recently trained six medical members with the Ghanaian Armed Forces on aeromedical evacuation in preparation for a U.N. deployment.
Throughout the continent of Africa, the United Nations is engaged in multiple peacekeeping operations. Ghana, one of 32 African countries that are part of the African Union, pledged to assist the U.N. in the assistance of transporting the sick and wounded to higher levels of care.
The aeromedical evacuation patient movement training focused primarily on the physiology of inflight patient care while also training GAF medical personnel on patient movement processes from point of injury to higher echelon of care and pre-mission training in crisis response.
“This training has an enormous impact, not just to the GAF, but to the region as a whole as it will provide a sustainable AE capability that is able to provide continued support to U.N. PKOs, or peacekeeping operations, and domestic mass casualty events should the situation arise,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Arthur Tewasiliig, 818th MSAS air advisor.
The training equipped GAF to support current U.N. PKO, and transform their Airbus C-295 and Mil Mi-17s aircraft into air ambulances. This training event was a collaborative effort between the 818th MSAS and all branches of the Ghanaian Armed Forces.
The program culminated with GAF members learning cargo documentation in advance of mission execution, as well as pallet build-up and loading on Airbus C-295 aircraft using newly acquired forklifts and the 463L pallet platform to deploy more rapidly and effectively.
“The largest impact this training may provide is that the 463L pallet system is universal with other partner nations like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Australia and many others,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Sandre Lillington, 818th MSAS air advisor. “Now with Ghana being able to utilize this platform up to U.N. standards, it will give the opportunity to quickly cross load cargo from Ghanaian Airbus C-295s to any other partner nation’s aircraft.”
The previous method included loading and securing cargo manually inside of an aircraft. The second element to the cargo handling training was certifying six GAF members as instructors to ensure a self-sustainable training program which would lead to autonomous operations.
The new capability to load aircraft with 463L pallets and utilize forklifts expedited cargo upload and download times, giving more flexibility to generate more sorties in a shorter period of time.
The added knowledge and credibility that comes with being able to support the U.N. with their cargo needs, the GAF can be seen as not only capable of rapid cargo delivery, but also to teach these new capabilities and techniques to other African nations.
“Through expedited cargo handling, it could assist patient movement through the use of rapid deployment and reconfiguration of the C-295 for medical evacuation during engine running off-loads, as well as allowing the GAF to provide regional assistance during humanitarian and disaster relief efforts without the United States being present,” said U.S. Force Staff Sgt. Derrek Webb, 818th MSAS air advisor.
The 818th MSAS air advisors brought tactics and training that can assist the stability of the region, as well as strengthen bonds between nations, as they are now more capable to respond to any U.N. mission or humanitarian need.
| Date Taken: | 03.29.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 03.29.2022 08:22 |
| Story ID: | 417371 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, NEW JERSEY, US |
| Web Views: | 188 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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