Most of us are aware of the medical airlifts that were practiced by the United States Air Force during the Korean and Viet Nam conflicts. Likewise, we read regularly of the air transport of one or more severely burned patients from the scene of an accident to the Burn Center at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. But what is not generally known is the daily movement of patients who are armed forces members, or their dependents, throughout the world for the purpose of receiving sophisticated medical care, regardless of where they may be stationed.

The reasons for this service are two: first, quite obviously, it is humanitarian; second, it is a way for the Air Force to maintain medical readiness for their wartime mission by exercising this system on a daily basis during peacetime. We are talking about a worldwide network whose major and minor branches sweep around the globe.

Patients are air transported according to three levels of need: routine, high priority, and urgent. This article will be limited to a general description of the necessary hardware and current practices used for the urgent mission.

We use three types of aircraft: the Huey helicopter for short distances; the C-9, a two-engined jet, for medium range; and the C-141, a four-engined jet, for intercontinental transport. The medical modifications to the C-9 include a built-in ramp; a nurses' station similar to that found on a hospital ward, complete with built-in drug and equipment cabinets; multiple sources for oxygen and suction; and ready communication fore and aft. Seats can be quickly removed, leaving space for litters in tiers, infant isolettes and Stryker frames.