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DOD conducts first dual-patient ECMO C-17 transport
February 8, 2024 — The Department of Defense’s only Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation team traveled to El Paso, Texas, on Oct. 23, 2023, to support a civilian patient with acute respiratory distress syndrome. The ECMO team, located at Brooke Army Medical Center possesses the capability for global transports of all service members. Additionally, the team may also transport civilian patients through the Secretarial Designee program or with the Secretary of the Air Force’s approval. Once approval is granted, the medics use any means necessary to quickly reach the patient... MORE

Medics from the 59th Medical Wing’s and Brooke Army Medical Center's Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation and Critical Care Air Transport Teams care for one of two patients from the University Medical Center of El Paso, Texas in a C-17 Globemaster III on the way to BAMC, Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas, Oct. 24, 2023. This is the first air transport of dual-patients on ECMO simultaneously in the Department of Defense’s history. (Courtesy photo by the medical team)

During Operation AGILE Medic, communication is key
January 16, 2024 — During the first week of December 2023, the Air Force, Army and Marines collaborated in Operation AGILE Medic at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, providing medics with real-world experience in austere environments transporting patients and implementing hands-on MEDIC-X training... MORE

Airmen approach a UH-60 on Dec. 6, 2023, at Joint Base San Antonio-Camp Bullis, Texas, during Operation AGILE Medic. This joint force medical training exercise immerses medics in the seamless process of transporting patients from the Expeditionary Medical Support unit to the En Route Patient Staging System team, and onwards to Air Evacuation and Critical Care Air Transport Teams, and vice versa. The hands-on experience ensures medics gain a comprehensive understanding of communication protocols, the critical timing for patient preparation, and the intricacies of the entire process. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Melody Bordeaux)

From the battlefield to the football field: Air Force surgeon’s skills knows no bounds
February 7, 2023 — On Jan. 2, when many football fans were watching the game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Lt. Col. Valerie Sams, an Air Force surgeon, was on call at UC Health’s University of Cincinnati Medical Center not knowing what she was about to face... MORE

Afghanistan CCATT mission a ‘not-so-routine’ operation
January 19, 2023 — Aug. 26, 2021, was a terrible day of bloodshed and destruction near Hamid Karzai International Airport, Kabul, Afghanistan, when a suicide bomber killed an estimated 170 Afghans and 13 U.S. service members. That same day, shortly after the bombing, U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Dominick Vitale, Brooke Army Medical Center critical care/trauma surgeon, and the remaining members of the Critical Care Air Transport Team, or CCATT, were on the first aircraft to land and evacuate the severely injured to Ramstein Air Base, Germany... MORE

U.S. Air Force Maj. (Dr.) Dominick Vitale

USTRANSCOM patient movement exercise at JBSA strengthens aeromedical skills, partnerships
March 9, 2022 — U.S. Transportation Command conducted Exercise Ultimate Caduceus at Joint Base San Antonio Feb. 23-March 8. The annual field training exercise is designed to test the ability of USTRANSCOM to move a large number of medical patients by air from overseas locations to treatment centers in the U.S... MORE

USTRANSCOM patient movement exercise strengthens aeromedical skills, partnerships

59th Medical Wing performs first CCATT training mission
January 19, 2022 — The 59th Medical Wing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland performed the first-ever in-flight Critical Care Air Transport Team training mission Jan. 12... MORE

All-female CCATT saves life of infant
October 27, 2020 — A 59th Medical Wing Pediatric Critical Care Air Transport Team from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland provided care to a five-month-old patient on board a C-17 Globemaster III headed to California Oct. 9. The patient and his family were traveling from the neonatal intensive care unit in Hawaii to Texas... MORE

59th MDW CCATT team flys mother, baby home safely after 7 months in ICU
June 14, 2019 — Her anxious brown eyes stare large around her. The red jump seats, wires, oxygen masks, bare sheet metal and overall cold, dark interior of a C-130 Hercules are not comforting to the young mother whose 7-month-old son is out of an intensive care unit for the first time... MORE

Capt. Nicole Leib and Maj. Mariana Lacuzong, 59th Medical Wing critical care air transport team nurses, play with 7-month-old patient, Nakoa Crawford, during the five-hour flight from Dallas to San Diego June 7, 2019. Comprised of a doctor, nurse and respiratory therapist, the team must pack everything the will need while airborne - echocardiogram, oxygen, blood, medicine and other tools of the trade.

CCATT Pilot Unit sparks innovation in Chilean program
December 12, 2018 — Medical health officers from the Chilean Air Force visited the 59th Medical Wing on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland Dec. 7 to gain a better understanding of Critical Care Air Transportation Teams... MORE

Medical health officers from the Chilean Air Force look at a hand-held ultrasound unit on Dec. 7, at Camp Bramble on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. The Chileans visited the 59th Medical Wing to gain a better understanding of Critical Care Air Transportation Teams and the advanced equipment available during each mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kiley Dougherty)

59th Medical Wing's CCATT flight makes three point turn
July 25, 2018 — The 59th Medical Wing executed three back-to-back aeromedical transport missions departing from Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland July 19, making coast-to-coast stops before returning home two days later... MORE

A 59th Medical Wing Critical Care Air Transport Team member awaits for other patients to arrive at their aircraft in San Diego, California, July 20. Teams are regularly dispatched all over the globe to respond to emergencies, assist in Department of Defense contingency missions and reinforce readiness training through real-world civil and humanitarian assistance missions.