‘Aerovac brings ‘em back!’ Published June 30, 2010 By 1st Lt. Inna Hernandez 375th Operations group executive officer SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- It's a scorcher on the flightline. The sun reflects off the pavement making it even hotter. There's no breeze--just humidity. Medics from the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, as well as launch and recovery personnel, are hard at work out there. Despite the conditions outside and long hours, the crew doesn't complain. Instead, like a well oiled machine, they move together as a team, off loading litters, moving luggage, medical equipment, and body armor off the aircraft. In the midst of the heat, the work load, and exhaustion, the AE mission is always evident as the crew checks on patients ensuring their comfort and safety at this stop on their journey home. This is what always matters the most, the patients and their families because "Aerovac brings'em back!" The AE mission is an undeniably critical staple in today's warfare. With the advances in modern medical equipment allowing for maximum portability as well as an increase in use of air travel, the entire method of treating wounded warriors has evolved. There has been a significant shift from prolonged stay in combat field hospitals to rapid air transport to definitive care. In the days of the Korean and Vietnam Wars, the trip was 45 days. Even as recently as Desert Storm, patient transport to a U.S. health facility was an average of 10 days. Today, wounded warriors are transported to a U.S. hospital in Germany within 30 hours and are often back on U.S. soil within 72 hours. The result of these advances is an unprecedented 98 percent survivability chance for today's wounded warriors. The men and women of the 375th AES make up the largest and the busiest active duty AE squadron. Usually most of the 150 personnel are deployed, some with no more than one day's notice. They fly in helicopters over Afghanistan retrieving wounded at the point of injury. They come to the rescue of elderly and sick during natural disasters like the Haiti earthquake in January. They are there in the tent cities of Afghanistan and the hardened facilities of Iraq, teaching, training, and saving lives. No matter the assignment, the dedication to caring for all who are put in the care of AE is evident. Many members of the 375th AES have won command level, Air Force level, national nursing and medical achievement awards for their superior efforts and contributions to operations here and abroad. However, as flattering as such recognition is, you rarely hear about it from the winners themselves. What you hear about are the sons and daughters they helped bring home. They tell stories of heroes who sacrificed so much and looked to them for help and relief from pain, which they delivered. Now, as another hot, grueling day draws near, another family is reunited and more soldiers, sailors, and Airmen will now live because the "375th Aerovac brought them back," again.