MedEvac Questions

[MoFo]

Any of youz recently been medevac-ed? Been a medevac medic?

What terms are in fashion now to refer to patients?

2 medics on each blackhawk medevac? And if going in hot do they have crew in the door on the guns, or is there room for that, with all the medical gear they load on those birds these days?

They do not call the field hospitals MASHs anymore. What are they called now?

[Mack]

Any of youz recently been medevac-ed? Been a medevac medic?

What terms are in fashion now to refer to patients?

2 medics on each blackhawk medevac? And if going in hot do they have crew in the door on the guns, or is there room for that, with all the medical gear they load on those birds these days?

They do not call the field hospitals MASHs anymore. What are they called now?

Patients are still called patients. Having said that, the conversation is usually something like,

Me: "How many patients at this time?"
Flight Medic: "2 US Mil WIA, 1 Afghan Mil WIA, 2 Afghan Civ etc..."
Me: "Was the medic on the ground injured?"
Flight Medic: "I don't know."
Me: "I'll bring my mission gear just in case."

There was typically 1 flight medic per UH-60. The medevac bird didn't have big guns (249, M2, Minigun). The only guns on board were M4s
(flight medic and crew). The chase UH-60 had armament typical of a NON-medevac platform, however, I was never on that bird.

There's quite a bit of room on the medevac as I've seen 5 patients loaded onto 1 UH-60 during a TIC. The flight medic had his hands full on that one.

The FST (Forward Surgical Team) is where our patients go unless they can get to a bigger base that would have more medical resources (hospital).

I'm not a Flight medic, but my most recent Afghanistan rotation (A/3/20 Aug10-Apr11) afforded me the opportunity to ride with the Medevac folks on a few occasions.

Keep in mind this was just for Army Medevac that I had experience with. The headcount and armament is going
to be different for other medevac platforms/units. Pedro comes to mind.

Later Bro...

[Doczilla]

Any of youz recently been medevac-ed? Been a medevac medic?

What terms are in fashion now to refer to patients?

2 medics on each blackhawk medevac? And if going in hot do they have crew in the door on the guns, or is there room for that, with all the medical gear they load on those birds these days?

They do not call the field hospitals MASHs anymore. What are they called now?

Agree, still called patients.

1 medic, may also have one flight nurse or surgeon, depending on acuity and where they are being evac'd from or to.

2 litter patients fully packaged for critical care, more if they are not critical or placed on a litter.

The Army terms d'art:
Forward Surgical Team (FST, or "fast" team) This is a small surgical element that has a holding capacity for 72h or less. Usually houses a general and ortho surgeon (up to 4 total) and anesthesia provider (MD or CRNA) or two.
Combat Support Hospital (CSH, or "cash") This is a more robust asset with various subspecialties (ER, Internal med, surgical subspecialties). Our policy was, if possible, to discharge or evac a patient within a week, but we were a pretty scaled down version.

Navy/USMC:
Forward Resuscitative Surgical System. Meant for limited damage control surgery and immediate evac.
Shock Trauma Platoon (like the FST). These will usually also incorporate an ER doc. I'm not sure why the Army hasn't figured this out yet.

Air Force:
Expeditionary Medical Support (EMEDS, pronounced ee-meds), similar to the FST, also with an ER doc. Meant to hold patients up to 24h.
Air Force Theater Hospital (AFTH), similar to the CSH

'zilla

[cback0220]

A little non-standard knowledge. If you request a hoist, the PJ's will come. Prolly the best flight medics in theater. Stay safe.

[Eagle5US]

A little non-standard knowledge. If you request a hoist, the PJ's will come. Prolly the best flight medics in theater. Stay safe.
Depends on where you are, they are, and Army MEDEVAC is. Army has more than 300 Hoist missions logged in A-Stan.

[cback0220]

Depends on where you are, they are, and Army MEDEVAC is. Army has more than 300 Hoist missions logged in A-Stan.

Roger, this just came up in SOCMSSC, the PJ's there were telling us if we wanted them to come, to request a hoist. It at least boosts the probability.

[Eagle5US]

Roger, this just came up in SOCMSSC, the PJ's there were telling us if we wanted them to come, to request a hoist. It at least boosts the probability.
Hmmm...not too smart a call "just to get a PJ" if a hoist isn't needed. Especially if someone else should happen to need one.

Just sayin...

[stfesta]

Originally Posted by cback0220
Roger, this just came up in SOCMSSC, the PJ's there were telling us if we wanted them to come, to request a hoist. It at least boosts the probability.

Saying some "magic words" just so you can get what you think is best is not the best route to take. Especially if it is not an asset you really need.

Army Flight medics are, for the most part, great medics. Every field has heros and zero, the PJ's are no exception.

Patients are called patients, I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.
sf

[cback0220]

Hmmm...not too smart a call "just to get a PJ" if a hoist isn't needed. Especially if someone else should happen to need one.

Just sayin...


Saying some "magic words" just so you can get what you think is best is not the best route to take. Especially if it is not an asset you really need.

Army Flight medics are, for the most part, great medics. Every field has heros and zero, the PJ's are no exception.

Patients are called patients, I don't think that is going to change anytime soon.
sf

Go ahead and disregard then. I heard(from the PJ's) that they are/were being underutilized and that we should utilize this means IOT get them spun up. If you all don't want to utilize them then that is your choice. All injuries do not necessarily warrant the same level of evac care(not saying anyone deserves less care, however some more advanced tx's need more advanced medics). As an 18D I think that I have the ability to discern what level that is. I was not advocating a blanket approach. Only saying that it is a tool, to be put in your toolbox.

[cback0220]

Double post

[ncart326]

Will be in Afgh. January. Call us if you need us.
Also, it would be great if we could train with the 20th Group, i.e. hoist. IM me if interested.

[flexmedic]

I know this post is old, but as I was searching for experiences and advice on SFAS and SFQC I decided to take a break and enjoy some of the other posts.

Given that the majority of my career thus far was spent as a Flight Medic, I'm confident I can answer some of your questions and disspell some of what was said...

As already stated, Army Medevac still refers to patients as patients. However, you may also hear them referred to as their patient presidence (i.e. Urgent, Priority, or Routine).

The way we flew in Iraq and Afghanistan was with Lead and Chase Medevac ships. AWT (Air Weapons Team such as AH64's, OH58's, and occassionally UH60's equiped with crew weapons) supported us when responding to TIC's. However there were plenty of times that we launched, landed at the Point of Injury, and were heading back to the FST (Forward Surgical Team) or CSH (Combat Support Hospital) before the AWT were wheels up from the FOB or OP. Often times we landed before the AWT was on scene because the number one factor in saving casualties of combat is TIME! Picking them up and getting them to the FST or CSH as quickly as possible.

If you request 'Hoist', you will NOT get a PJ. Although they are great at what they do and are absolutely amazing medics, the aircrafts that they use are not capable of accomadating hoist missions at the high altitude's hoist missions are usually conducted at. Their zero weight is much higher than the the blackhawks the Army uses due to the systems installed in their aircraft, including weapon systems and crew. More weight = less power, especially at altitude. less power = drooping the rotors and can be fatal to all the crewmembers on board. They also fly with more crewmembers than Army Medevac which limits the amount of casualties they can put in their birds due to space. All UH60 platforms can accomodate 3 litter patients (on litters) with the carousel removed (which is the way we flew in the 'stan to make our zero weight even less), and 2-3 ambulatory patients on the back wall. If you take the patients off the litters and just place them on the floor of the aircraft, more 'non ambulatory' patients can be loaded.

As someone posted before, every MOS has their Heroes and Zero's. I would like to think that in the Flight Medic world, there are more Heroes than the later. We never flew with flight nurses to Point of Injuries, and occassionally took flight surgeons with us. BUT a Flight Surgeon's role in the bird is reduced to an extra set of hands because let's face it, Regular Army Flight Surgeons are not as versed in trauma as the guys who see it All day, Every day. A caveat to that is this...Whenever we picked up any member of ODA, their 18D almost always flew back with us. In this case, I would let the 18D treat their comrade primarily and I would serve as the second set of hands. The patient was his from start to finish, and ALL of them respected this. Primarily because that was their buddy, and secondly because 18D's ARE trained to a higher level, clinically and traumatically.

Hopefully, I've either cleared up some questions or beat a dead horse even more. Either way, I feel like I've answered thuroughly enough and was able to make a post in an area that I consider myself a SME in. Also, in a forum that doesn't pertain to SFAS of SFQC.

;)