AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (AE) NOTICE - AF

1 BY ORDER OFAIR FORCE TACTICS, TECHNIQUES, ANDTHE SECRETARY OF THE AIR FORCEPROCEDURES NOVEMBER 2003 Tactical DoctrineAEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (AE) NOTICE : This publication is available digitally on the AFDPO WWW site at: : HQ USAF/SGMD (Lt Col Fred P. Stone)Certified by: HQ AFDC/CCSupersedes AFTTP , 19 Jul 2001.(Maj Gen David F. MacGhee)Pages: 41 Distribution: FSUMMARY OF REVISIONS: This AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (AE) doctrine revision updatesand clarifies information throughout the document including roles, responsibilities, andrelationships at all levels. Chapter 2 clarifies and further delineates functions in the TankerAirlift Control Center and theater Air Mobility Control Centers. Chapter 3 summarizes AEMilitary Support to Civil Authorities and incorporates Contract Approval Review Boardcertification requirements in accordance with Office of the Secretary of Defense policy.

2 Chapter4 expands on Special Mission Forces including Special Operations, marine expeditionary forces,and combat search and rescue. Coalition support, detainee missions, and inter-fly agreementshave been defined. Unit type codes were updated and reflect changes in functions and interfacepoints. The Allowance Standard Working Group has replaced the Equipment Review WorkingGroup and, in Chapter 5, the Global AE Training Team and AE Steering Group have beenreplaced by the Global AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION Integration Team. Professional trainingincludes the recommendation for trauma and/or Emergency Medical Technician : The Air Force Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (AFTTP) 3-42 series ofpublications is the primary reference for combat support capability. This document, AFTTP , provides tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTP) for AE of patients across the range ofmilitary operations, from steady state/peacetime engagements through war-winning AE is only one component of the larger Department of Defense (DOD) mobility airliftenterprise, the guidance is designed to assist planners in the successful integration of AE intoairlift operations and interface successfully with ground medical : This publication applies to all Air Force military and civilian personnel(including Air Force Reserve Command [AFRC] and Air National Guard [ANG] units andmembers).

3 The doctrine in this document is authoritative but not : The Air Force AE system provides a critical patient movement capability that cutsacross traditional Service lines. Since World War II, the preponderance of AE patients generatedduring wars and contingency operations have come from Army and Marine Corps groundAFTTP 1 NOVEMBER 2003 2combat units. Therefore, it is important that the AE system integrates well with the medicalcomponents of all Services, not just those of the Air Force. Moreover, during the past decade, ithas become increasingly important that the Air Force AE system continue to develop itscapability to integrate with components of our Nation's 1 NOVEMBER 2003 3 TABLE OF CONTENTSPageChapter 1 AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (AE) AE Mission.

4 AE Concepts .. Health Protection ..6 Chapter 2 COMMAND, CONTROL, COMMUNICATIONS, AND COMPUTERS (C4) Command and Control (C2).. Control Agencies .. Contingency AE Structure .. and Space Expeditionary Medical 3 Across the Range of Military Operations .. Engagement and Crisis Response .. and Contingency Operations .. CONUS Contingency AE .. AE Interface With the Joint Community .. AE Interface with the Patient Movement Process .. Mission Coordination and Operational Considerations .. Critical Care Air Transport Team .. Special Considerations ..22 Chapter 4 PLANNING AND SUPPORT of Casualties .. Planning Factors .. EVACUATION Policy .. Consideration .. Airfield Capability .. Potential Hostile or Terrorist Operating Support .. Resupply .. Equipment Technician (BMET) Support .. Communications .. Ground Determining Crew Support.

5 AE Interface with Special Mission Detainee Missions .. Inter-fly Agreements with MAJCOMs, Coalition Operations Phasing and Force Sequencing ..27 AFTTP 1 NOVEMBER 2003 AE Unit Type Code (UTC) Employment Concept .. AE UTC Selection and AE Mission Support Equipment .. AE Equipment and Supplies .. Patient Movement Items (PMI)..32 Chapter 5 Objective .. Responsibilities .. Aircrew Training/Qualification .. Contingency Operations Training (AECOT) and Training .. Training .. Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) Training .. Professional Training .. Adopted 1 GLOSSARY OF REFERENCES AND SUPPORTING 2 PATIENT MOVEMENT PLANNING AND EXECUTION 1 NOVEMBER 2003 5 LIST OF FIGURESPageFigure AE Structure .. 9 Figure of Options Available for AE Patient Movement ..15 Figure Interface With the Patient Movement Process.

6 18 AFTTP 1 NOVEMBER 2003 6 Chapter 1 AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION (AE) AE The Air Force AE system provides fixed-wing movement of patients requiringsupervision by AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION crewmembers (AECMs) to locations offeringappropriate levels of medical care. The AE system can operate as far forward as fixed-wingaircraft are able to conduct air/land operations. The AE system is designed to be flexible toenable it to operate across the spectrum of potential scenarios, including but not limited to,humanitarian and disaster relief operations, small-scale contingencies (SSC), major theaterwars (MTW), and military support to civilian authorities (MSCA). AE is currentlyintegrating their unit type codes, processes, and procedures into mobility operations;designing elements that can be plugged in to provide additional capability, when and whereneeded, and interface with joint, coalition, and special operations that are versatile in The highly lethal potential of today s battlefield, the reduced medical footprint, andthe evacuate and replace philosophy, have made the AE mission even more critical than inthe past.

7 Moreover, the EVACUATION of patients by air to facilities offering required levels ofcare must compete with other critical wartime airlift AE Concepts. AE can significantly improve casualty recovery rates by providing timelyand effective transportation of the sick and wounded to medical facilities offering appropriatelevels of care. The AE system provides: (a) integrated control of casualty movement by airtransport; (b) clinical and operational support personnel; (c) equipment for in-flight supportivecare and ground support operations; (d) critical care air transport teams (CCATT) to monitor andmanage specific patients requiring intensive care; (e) staging facilities on or in the vicinity ofairheads and air bases for the administrative processing and care of casualties entering, en routethrough, or leaving the AE system; (f) command and control (C2) of all theater AE forces andAE operations; and (g) support to the communication network between airlift C2 Force Health Protection: The concept of force health protection (FHP) represents the setof health programs that protect America s fighting forces.

8 Casualty care and managementsupport the warfighting commanders of all Services, coalition forces and civilians assigned to themilitary through the provision of essential care in theater, followed by rapid AE to definitivetreatment without sacrificing quality of 1 NOVEMBER 2003 7 Chapter 2 COMMAND AND C2 functions exercised over AE missions are consistent with those for all air mobilitymissions and are conducted in accordance with the C2 processes described in JointPublication 3-17, Joint Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures for Air Mobility Operations;AFDD 2, Organization and Employment of Aerospace Power; and AFDD 2-6, Air MobilityOperations. In contingency operations, AE specific items will be outlined in the operationorder (OPORD) in Annex C Appendix 30 and general patient movement guidance in AnnexQ.

9 AE assets should be integrated within the inherent mobility structure established tosupport airlift operations through the Air Mobility Division (AMD) to the wing and down toeach Patient EVACUATION from point of injury to initial treatment at a health care facility isthe responsibility of each Service component. AE is not the only mechanism for movementof patients by air. Casualty EVACUATION (CASEVAC), a term used by all Services, refers tothe movement of unregulated casualties aboard vehicles or aircraft. Medical EVACUATION (MEDEVAC), on the other hand, traditionally refers to US Army, Navy, Marine Corps, orCoast Guard patient movement using predesignated tactical or logistic aircraft temporarilyequipped and staffed for en route care. MEDEVAC has generally implied the use of rotary-wing aircraft with medical attendants (MA).

10 AF AE begins once a validated patientmovement request (PMR) is passed to the AF component agency for EVACUATION of patients between points within the theater is referred to as intratheaterevacuation, while EVACUATION of patients between theaters is referred to as intertheaterevacuation. In both cases, en route care is provided by trained AECMs, qualified flightnurses (FN) and AE technicians (AET), the AF AE support network, and may be augmentedby CCATTs or medical Operational Steady-state/Peacetime. Great strides have been made to standardize the AE system toensure peacetime processes mirror wartime processes. This allows for the system to exerciseits wartime infrastructure in peacetime and enhances wartime training. C2 of AE assets, toinclude tasking authority for AE and mobility forces, resides with the normal airlift andmobility C2 structure.