Polish Air Force Aeromedical Evacuation Team visits Ramstein Air Base, Germany

3 February 2012

Polish and United State Air Force medical personnel discuss the operation of specialized medical support equipment during a training mission at Ramstein Air Base

U.S. Air Force Technical Sergeant Elizabeth Araujo (center) discusses in-flight checklists with Polish Air Force Aeromedical Evacuation team members Captain (Dr.) Marcin Kura (right) and Corporal Malgorzata Michon (left)

A team of Airmen from the Polish Air Force joined medical personnel with the US Air Force in Europe’s 86th Airlift Wing to discuss the aeromedical evacuation mission.  The five-person Aeromedical Evacuation Team, made up of two doctors, one nurse and two paramedics from the 8th Air Base in Krakow visited Ramstein in order to gain an overview of how the U.S. Air Force’s Aeromedical Evacuation  process works, as they work to develop their own processes and procedures in their newly-formed unit.  The visit included a tour of a C-21 Lear Jet in its medical configuration, observing patients loaded into a C-17 Globemaster III , a visit to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, and discussions on specialized medical equipment.  The Polish team also participated in an aeromedical evacuation training flight on a C-130 aircraft .

“The Polish team was very open-minded, eager to learn and was very impressed with how we perform our mission,” said Tech. Sgt. Elizabeth Araujo with the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron.  “They are the first Polish AE crew, so they have to be this involved in order to set up their own rules and regulations.”



The first AE team has a large mission to perform.  “Currently, the Polish AE mission is carried out by the six personnel who came on this visit,” said Captain Marcin Kura, a doctor on the Polish AE team. “We manage everything from fielding a call about a patient, to providing care and transportation, to unloading patients.”  

“This visit is another example of the great cooperation and friendship between Ramstein’s 86th Airlift Wing and the Polish Air Force’s 3rd Air Transport Wing,” said Captain John Szczepanski with the U.S. Embassy’s Office of Defense Cooperation.  “Both the Polish and American Airmen learn a great deal from each other during these visits to each other’s bases, and they truly enjoy working together.  The Polish team looks forward to hosting their American colleagues in Krakow soon.”