Medical Airlift Warriors

MOSUL, Iraq - Staff Sgt. Edna Buckelew, 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight medical technician, gives a thumbs-up after checking on a patient Feb. 27. Airmen in the 332nd EAEF transport servicemembers wounded, injured or sick from remote locations to a higher level of medical care. Buckelew is deployed here from Scott Air Force Base, Ill., and is a native of Avon, Ind. U.S. Air Force photo: Senior Airman Elizabeth Rissmiller.

Read about the Airmen of the 332nd EAEF who, together with those of the 777th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron, fly throughout Iraq to pick up patients requiring a higher level of treatment than can be provided at their location.

The plane takes off again. [Maj. David] Rodberg and his team work through the flight in the confines of the shaking aircraft due to turbulence from the leading edge of rough weather. Through rain and even a sandstorm the same rusty color of Mars, they care for the sick and injured. When dust from the storm begins to come into the cargo area, they move to give those in their care face masks.
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After several stops, and hours later, the C-130 lands back at JBB [Joint Base Balad]. A small army of medical personnel from the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility and volunteers are waiting with stretchers and buses. Through an orchestrated and rehearsed process, the wounded warriors are removed from the aircraft and put on the buses and driven off to the AFTH.

"I love this mission," said Rodberg. "It's about these guys and getting them to more definitive care and back to their loved ones."

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq - Members of the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Support Squadron's Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight; Airmen from the 332nd Expeditionary Medical Group Contingency Aeromedical Staging Facility; and volunteers wait with stretchers and buses to off-load patients here after an aeromedical evacuation mission Feb. 27. The 332nd EAEF transports servicemembers wounded, injured or sick from remote locations to a higher level of medical care. U.S. Air Force photo: Senior Airman Elizabeth Rissmiller.