The wartime need for aeromedical evacuation physicians: the U.S. Air Force experience during Operation Desert Storm

Air transportation has been the primary method of moving patients by the armed services of the United States since 1949. It is fast, reliable, and allows for centralized medical care. Aeromedical Evacuation (AE), performed by the U.S. Air Force under Department of Defense directive, was intended as a method to transport medically stable patients. Modern warfare has evolved into a process capable of generating large numbers of casualties in a short period of time that can overwhelm local medical facilities. Such casualties would then require immediate transportation in order to obtain appropriate treatment. The terrorist bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut and the 1989 military action in Panama (Operation Just Cause) are recent experiences where unstable casualties were transported by an AE system not designed to care for acute injuries while en route to definitive care. During Operation Desert Storm, Aeromedical Evacuation Flight Surgeons (AE/FS's) augmented AE crews and provided flexibility to transport critically ill patients. Future planning should augment designated AE crews with appropriately trained physicians and include equipment on aircraft to resuscitate patients that decompensate inflight.