[Intensive care within the context of military long-distance transport]

Due to the changed task spectrum of the German Federal Armed Forces with participation in international deployments for UN and NATO the concept of Aeromedical Evacuation (MedEvac) gained a new quality for the Air Force as well as for the Medical Corps. The transport of mostly severely injured or critically ill patients requires both, medical equipment which has to be permanently adapted to the national standard, and qualified intensive-care-personnel. At present, the aircrafts used for such deployments are four C-160 Transall, one CL-601 Challenger and two Airbus A310, which, if necessary, can be equipped with one or more intensive-care "patient transportation units" (PTU). Contrary to the two other aircrafts, the CL-601 Challenger is only equipped for the intensive-care transport of one individual patient. The PTU corresponds to the technical equipment of the intensive care unit of a level-1-trauma centre and ensures an intensive-care therapy on highest level also during longer transportation. The work with this equipment, the characteristics of the long-distance air transport and the special situation of the military deployment causes special demands on the qualifications of the assigned personnel. Primarily planned for the repatriation of injured or ill soldiers, in the mean time, this concept is also essential for the medevac of civilian victims after mass casualties worldwide.