News United States Air Force
 International and joint partners train for future deployments at Patriot WarriorPublished Aug. 17, 2018
                        
                        By Staff Sgt. Xavier Lockley
                        
                        
                        927th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
                **FORT MCCOY, Wisc. (AFNS) --**
                Reserve Airmen from the 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, along with Soldiers and Sailors from around the country partnered together, completing Engines Running Onload and Offload training during Exercise Patriot Warrior at Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, Aug. 15. 
During an ERO scenario, crews of four people are required to carry their patient on a litter to an aircraft or medical vehicle, which will then take the patient where they need to go for further treatment.
Although it may sound easy, the teamwork element is extremely vital to accomplishing this segment. Not only are aeromedical evacuation crews responsible for the patient, they are accountable for ensuring the crew has proper personal protection, making sure that the awaiting aircraft is at a low speed ground idle. From there, crews will have to work together to load and unload patients in a timely matter.
“We learned a lot training with our other military counterparts,” said U.S. Army SGT Kyle Keefer, 437th Ground Ambulance, 2nd Medical Brigade. “It’s great to have all of the different services together, we continue to learn new things and develop chemistry with each other so that once we’re deployed, we’re familiar with how each service operates.”
Development of chemistry is essential to mission success as the opportunity for deployment is only a call away. Continuous practice will ensure that the crews are ready for anything that comes their way.
“We wanted this training to be beneficial not only for our Air Force Service members, but the other branches too,” said Senior Master Sgt. Brad Clark, 927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron senior noncommissioned officer-in-charge. “In a deployed atmosphere, there might be a time when one of the Navy members might have to load a patient onto a C-130 aircraft with an Airman and we want that situation to not be unfamiliar to them downrange.”
In addition to having fellow Reserve Soldiers and Sailors in attendance, members of the Canadian Army were also on scene for observation of the training.
“Watching and observing how the U.S. troops conduct their patient evacuation training is very helpful for us,” said Canadian Army Captain Jean-Phillippe Desgroseillers, Canadian Forces Health Services Center, healthcare administration officer. “We learned a lot from this and can take this process back with us and teach our troops about a simpler method to evacuating patients.”
The desired intention for exercise Patriot Warrior is to ensure that Reserve Airmen and their counterparts are mission-ready. Joint integration provides each service with the opportunity to learn from each other and develop rapport with their counterparts.927th Aeromedical Staging Squadron 



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