MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan-U.S. and German aeromedical evacuation units met to gain insight, share ideas and coordinate joint evacuation efforts at International Security Assistance Force Regional Command North's Camp Marmal, Afghanistan, April 24-26.

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Gainer, 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Flight commander, and other U.S. aeromedical experts used the three-day visit with their German counterparts to exchange ideas on ways to improve the evacuation process in a coalition environment. 

"We are trying to establish a smoother flow of communication between all of the (aeromedical evacuation) agencies and interoperability with our equipment and airframes," said Colonel Gainer, deployed from Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash. "We want to identify what equipment does not work well together and try to develop an understanding of how we can work together to improve the process."

According to German Col. Thomas Stahl, German Medical Task Force, Afghanistan, commander, and medical adviser to the RC-North commander, although the medical evacuation systems of the coalition countries are not very different, there are different medical policies and philosophies between forces and a common ground must be reached to ensure the best most timely medical care is given to patients. 

"We are potentially going from a few hundred to a few thousand U.S. forces in the RC-North region in the next few months," added Colonel Gainer. "With this growth, the potential for medical and casualty evacuation could rise and we want to ensure the system is in place and ready to go if needed."

Gainer explained that although the German aeromedical evacuation is outstanding, their German C-160 aeromedical evacuation aircraft has a smaller capacity for transporting patients than that of the U.S. aircraft, which means in the event of a mass transport situation, the system could become overwhelmed with patients. 

"A lot of our people are not able to speak English; a lot of other nations in the theater are not able to speak English and that can cause a problem," explained German Chief Master Sgt. Klaus Zuaihasch, a medical crew chief on the German C-160 medical evacuation aircraft. 

The type of power used to operate equipment, different medications and dosage are all issues Stahl sees as a challenge to the combined medical evacuation effort. He added that even the way patients are transported from the medical facility to the aircraft can present a challenge.

Zuaihasch said equipment standardization is a key component to creating a fluid patient transfer process where patients can go from aircraft to aircraft and hospital to hospital without compromising the level of care. "We are not able to give our litters to the Americans because they have (different) litters than the Germans, so when we hand over intensive care patients, there is added stress on the patients."

He added meetings between coalition medical teams are great because they give each country a chance to see and learn about equipment the other uses and gives both sides a chance to gain a better understanding of the other processes its patients. 

Gainer agreed, adding sometimes the process has to be coordinated through a number of channels before the mission actually leaves the ground. He explained all U.S. fixed-wing aeromedical evacuation orders come from the Combined Air and Space Operations Center, Southwest Asia. Rotary wing casualty evacuation is controlled through each regional command's patient evacuation center in which the German aeromedical evacuation teams are located along with the RC-North PEC. Sometimes communication between all agencies involved in the patient transfer process can be a challenge. 

"They work on a different telephone system than we do," said Gainer. "We are working to get some of our systems to their areas to help with information flow but it is going to take some time and the access will be limited. Until these systems are in place it is going to take a greater effort to ensure everyone knows the plan for patient movement so everyone is ready and there are no delays." 

He lauded the care at the German medical facility as, "Top notch western medicine at its finest." Gainer thinks one of the greatest parts of a deployment is getting to work with other NATO countries to share ideas and information to improve the way everyone does business. 

"I expected a great visit, but it was clear to me that we were both interested in providing the best care for patients, whether they are coalition or U.S.," said Gainer. "We are very excited about the opportunity to work together and I think both countries will benefit from the strong relationship we are developing."    

Quarterly award winners for the 446th Airlift Wing, first quarter are:

Officers of the Quarter
Field Grade Officer - Maj. Jere High, 446th Civil Engineer Squadron
Company Grade Officer - Capt. Vanessa Balint, 446th Mission Support Squadron

Airmen of the Quarter
The 446th AW Airmen of the Quarter, 1st Quarter are:
Senior NCO - Master Sgt. Scott Terra, 728th Airlift Squadron
NCO - Tech. Sgt. Glen Tuttle, 446th CES
Airman - Senior Airman Mitchell Williams, 97th AS    

The Seattle Times has a great story about "Hire America's Heroes," a 3-year-old nonprofit group that hosted a symposium Thursday at JBLM-McChord Field as part of an effort to help veterans find jobs. 

Read more about the symposium here.

Boeing C-17 line workers began a strike just past midnight today at Long Beach's largest private employer, grinding production to a halt on one of the world's leading cargo jets, the Long Beach Press Telegram reported today.

The walkout comes nearly a week after talks broke down on negotiations for a labor contract covering some 1,700 workers responsible for assembly of the jumbo-size airlifter, according to the paper.

For more on the story, click here.

If you see a handful of C-17 Globemaster IIIs filling the sky today, don't worry, it's all part of a special mission at McChord Field.

A large formation of C-17s took off this morning to train for their strategic airdrop mission. Seven C-17s will began taking off at about 10 a.m. and will fly throughout the local area.

Along with active-duty and reserve airmen from the 62nd and 446th Airlift Wings, airmen from the 22nd Special Tactics Squadron and soldiers from Joint Base Lewis-McChord are participating in the training exercise, according to McChord Field public affairs.

At different points in the training exercise, aircrews will air drop heavy equipment and personnel. C-17 Globemaster III transporters must be able to meet the Army's goal of airdropping a brigade's worth of troops and equipment within 30 minutes.   The strategic brigade airdrop capability resides only in the C-17 community, according to PA.

Airmen from the 8th Airlift Squadron, which left for a 120-day deployment April 22, are getting settled into their mission. Here is a report on their progress, written by a public affairs airman deployed from JBLM.

ABC News' Martha Raddatz recently became the first journalist to fly aboard an Air Force F-15 fighter jet on a combat mission over Afghanistan.    

Read the story here.

The 62nd Airlift Wing will welcome members from the Air Mobility Command Inspector General Team and the Air Force Inspection Agency as they arrive Tuesday, to conduct the 62nd AW's Nuclear Surety Inspection.

The teams will evaluate the five areas of the wing's Nuclear Surety Program throughout the inspection: management and administration; the Personnel Reliability Program; tools, test, tiedown and handling equipment; safety; and logistics movement, acccording to Tom Thompson, 62nd AW nuclear surety manager.

Management and administration will look at wing, group and squadron leadership involvement in the program. The personnel reliability program area will focus on the 4th Airlift Squadron, the 62nd Medical Squadron, and the 62nd Force Support Squadron. Tools, test, tiedown and handling equipment will examine tiedown devices and chains, maintained by the 62nd Aerial Port Squadron.

Safety will focus on compliance with nuclear safety standards and the nuclear surety managers' management of the program. The logistics movement area will evaluate the wing's ability to execute Prime Nuclear Airlift Force missions, including the 4th Airlift Squadron flying the mission, the 62nd Maintenance Group selecting and preparing the aircraft, and the command post's role in monitoring mission movements, Thompson said.

"Our goal is to leave the inspectors with the sense that we're leading the Air Force in strengthening the nuclear enterprise," said Maj. Casey Collier, 62nd AW nuclear security manager. "We're aiming for five out of five ‘outstanding' ratings in the major graded areas, and I believe we're ready to achieve that."

The 62nd AW's Nuclear Surety Program has won an Air Mobility Command and Air Force Safety Award 11 of the last 12 years.

"As long as nuclear weapons exist, the United States must sustain a safe, secure and effective nuclear arsenal - to maintain strategic stability with other major powers, deter potential adversaries, and reassure our allies and partners of our security commitments to them," said Secretary of Defense Robert Gates.

The administrative phase of the inspection is scheduled for Tuesday to June 7.