Scott trains for hurricane relief Published June 4, 2009 By Airman 1st Class Amber Kelly-Herard 375th Airlift Wing Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The thought of a hurricane hitting Scott seems a little far-fetched considering Scott is located in the Midwest; however, the reality is that Scott plays a large role in hurricane disaster preparation and recovery. U.S. Northern Command, which is responsible for the Department of Defense's hurricane response, is supported by U.S. Transportation Command and other aeromedical evacuation assets. To prepare for the upcoming hurricane season, which runs from June through November, Team Scott participated in a hurricane exercise last Wednesday through Friday. "When a hurricane is about to begin, we can land 48 hours before and are gone within 24 to eight hours before it hits," said Maj. David Hampl, 375th Medical Group medical services corps officer and on-site administrator for the exercise. When conditions are favorable, the hurricane response team creates a Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility in a hardened structure. In this case, the facility was Hangar 1. In a worst case scenario, the response team would set up in tents. The MASF team consists of 13 people and includes medical personnel and a Critical Care Air Transport Team. "Once we land, it takes us about one hour to become operational," said Major Hampl. "We work with the Department of Health and Human Services to pre-evacuate potential hurricane victims from hospitals, so that we can relieve paramedics and ambulances who are needed elsewhere." The facility also requires communication before it is operable. Staff Sgt. Kristin Scharf, 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron radio operator, was the communications expert for the exercise. "We have lines that have access to exclusive, secure systems so that we can still communicate if normal communications go down," she said. "We track patient movement and records until they have reached another hospital." Major Hampl said their communications system is vital. "Communication also helps us order supplies, schedule pick-up times and order more equipment," he said. "Without comm we're just camping." While on the ground, the CCATT reassess the patients and decides whether they are stable enough to fly or not. Their three-member team consists of a critical care physician, critical care nurse and a respiratory therapist. They are able to care for five critical patients or two to three patients on life support. The next step for aeromedical evacuation is loading patients on the aircraft. Capt. Wanda Parks, 375th AES flight nurse, receives the patients from the MASF. "We have to get a report on all the patients and develop a load plan," she said. "We control the mission. We determine what equipment we need and set it all up. We're basically a flying hospital." The AES crew normally consists of two nurses and three technicians. They also take the CCATT. The C-130 is capable of holding up to 72 litters of patients. Capt. Christopher Nidell, 375th AES flight nurse, explained how their job is different from the MASF. "The altitude affects the physiology and it varies for each patient. Normally, the first couple hours are the worst." Once in the air, the patients are moved to the nearest operating hospital. The exercise at Scott was not only a lesson for the hurricane response teams, it also provided senior leaders a close view of what the crews do. Last year, Team Scott provided assistance during Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, enabling 9,000 people and about 600 medical patients to be evacuated. More than 1,379 tons of equipment were also delivered to support relief efforts.