Friday, May 18, 2007

Double-patient aeromedical mission a first for Iraqi Air Force

An Iraqi Air Force C-130 operated by an all Iraqi Air Force crew lands at Forward Operating Base Sykes on March 30

Less than two months after its first aeromedical mission, the Iraqi air force has performed its first double-patient transfer.

An IAF C-130 with an all-Iraqi crew transported two patients at once from the 28th Combat Support Hospital to an Iraqi medical facility in Erbil on May 8.

Both of the evacuees were Iraqi soldiers from northern Iraq, stationed in Baghdad, who had suffered abdominal wounds and had undergone abdominal surgery in the U.S. hospital.

“The Iraqi's ability to ‘care for their own’ is much greater than is typically reported,” said Maj. Timothy Doherty, Task Force 3rd Medical Command Aeromedical advisor. “The doctors and pilots that conducted these missions are very experienced.”

The Iraqi pilots and crew have been training with the Coalition Air Force Transition Team for about two years for aeromedical missions.

Read the rest at Air Force Times

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