'Pacific Lifeline' Exercise Took Place January 29

Air Force members, primarily from the 3rd Medical Group, Elmendorf Air Force Base, Alaska, built a fully functional hospital in a barren field in just 11 hours January 29. The Airmen were taking part in the Pacific Air Forces first-ever total force humanitarian assistance and disaster relief exercise, known as Pacific Lifeline.

The exercise scenario required Airmen to constructed a fully operational stand-alone hospital in a fictitious island country after a typhoon devastated the area. Approximately 90 Airmen set up an expeditionary medical support facility at the Kona International Airport (KOA), complete with an emergency room, intensive care unit, operating room, two wards, a pharmacy, lab and dental, radiology, obstetrics/gynecology and pediatric capabilities.

Airmen set up a series of dome-shaped Alaskan shelter tents, about 15-by-30 feet wide and close to nine feet high, linked by a hallway. The facility gave them the capability to manage 10 surgical and 20 non-surgical injuries in a 24-hour period.

Called the EMEDS +10, the hospital is a part of the humanitarian relief operations -- operational capability package -- a new Pacific Air Forces concept that includes rapidly deploying an EMEDS and a contingency response group in response to humanitarian and disaster relief operations.

"In this scenario, medics are the main mission being supported by the (contingency response group) from Andersen (Air Force Base, Guam)," said Col. Nicholas Miniotis, the 3rd EMEDS commander. "The EMEDS facility is all medical and we don't have the resources to operate our own base. The CRG provides us with tents to live in, clean water, security, contracting support and a host of other services in order to accomplish our mission."

The 36rd CRG is designed to be PACAF's first on-scene Air Force forces trained to command, assess and prepare a base for expeditionary aerospace forces.

"During this exercise they came in first and laid the ground work similar to what they would do to get things ready for a deploying fighter wing, but instead of bringing in jets we are bringing in medical support," Colonel Miniotis said.

In addition to providing emergency and general medical services, additional capabilities such as OB/GYN and pediatric assets are becoming more commonplace when supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations.

"Historically during humanitarian missions, especially in areas of the world that have large populations, a significant percentage of our patients are children and adolescents," Colonel Miniotis said.

"For humanitarian purposes it's a must to embed OB/GYN and pediatrics with an EMEDS," said Maj. Shahid Zaidi, the 3rd MDG staff pediatrician. "I've done humanitarian types of assignments, but not in an EMEDS situation like we're exercising here. This is different because it's more emergency or emergent care."

The hands-on-training the Airmen receive during set up and other medical tasks is invaluable, members said.

"This training is good because it deals with real-life situations," said Staff Sgt. Marcus Andrade, a 3rd MDG medical logistician. "Humanitarian assistance isn't something we train for every day, but it's important and we must be prepared to respond whenever called upon to do so."

(Aero-News salutes Capt. Regina Berry, 36th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs)

FMI: www.elmendorf.af.mil/