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Subject: MEDICAL  OPERATIONAL                                            

Box  ID: BX000511

Document Number:         10

Folder Title: D-S  SPEC STUDIES PROJECT GENERAL OFFICER STEERING COMMITTEE                                    

Folder Seq #:          7

Unit: ARCENT      

Parent Organzation: CENTCOM     







         ISSUE: Deficiencies in aircraft capability, unit employment and
         orgaifization hindered execution of the aeromedical evacuation
         mission.                                                             is
         DISCUSSION:

            a. There were over two hundred Army air ambulance
         helicopters deployed to Saudis Arabia to support Operations
         DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM. The aircraft were a mix of UH-IV
         (Huey) and the UH-60 (Blackhawk) aircraft. The UH-60 has obvious
         advantages over the UH-1 to provide forward support. The UH-60
         is better equipped with aircraft survivability equipment (ASE),
         has a reliable avionics package that is more compatible with the
         radios of the supported forces and requires less frequent
         scheduled maintenance. The UH-60 also has more power for better
         performance in extreme environmental conditions and has better
         speed and range. Despite the advantages of the UH-60, UH-1
         aircraft were placed in support of divisions when UH-60 aircraft
         were available. Neither aircraft was capable of performing all
         of the Corps level aeromedical evacuation mission. The speed of
         the ground combat operations and the lack of tactical mobility in
         Corps hospitals created lines of evacuation that exceeded the
         capabilities of both aircraft. Medical planners devised a
         solution for this situation by planning for US Air Force tactical
         aircraft (C-130) to fly dedicated air evacuation missions from
         central collecting points in the forward areas to hubs further to
         the Corps rear. Corps Combat Support and Evacuation hospitals
         were clustered in order to accommodate the arrival of large
         groups of patients.
             b. The AMEDD is in the process of converting to the Medical
         Force 2000 (MF2K) structure. MF2K organizes aeromedical
raft. The
         operation validated this organization to be the best for support
         of a division, requiring only a few changes to enhance
         capability. One Army National Guard (ARNG) unit had been
         organized under a modified TOE (MTOE) of the MF2K organization.
         The MTOE reduced the number of authorized aircraft to twelve, and
         reduced quantities of self-sustai=ent equipment.

         RECOMMENDATIONS:

              a. Acquire a VSTOL aircraft that will enable the AMEDD to
         provide aeromedical evacuation over long evacuation routes during
         contingency operations.
              b. Replace all UH-LV aircraft with the UH-60.

             c. Revise the TOE of the MF2K air ambulance company to
         provide a HMKWV with communications to the forward support teams,
         replace TPUs with HEMMT fuelers and upgrading maintenance
         containers.                    j-6

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Document 10 f:/Week-32/BX000511/D-S SPEC STUDIES PROJECT GENERAL OFFICER STEERING COMMITTEE/medical operational:09069614063528
Control Fields 17
File Room = aug96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-32
Box ID = BX000511
Unit = ARCENT
Parent Organization = CENTCOM
Folder Title = D-S SPEC STUDIES PROJECT GENERAL OFFICER STEERING COMMITTEE
Folder Seq # = 7
Subject = MEDICAL OPERATIONAL
Document Seq # = 28
Document Date =
Scan Date = 17-AUG-1996
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 06-SEP-1996