Scotia, N.Y.-based New York Air Guard Aeromedical personnel complete successful deployment Published Oct. 21, 2019 By Senior Master Sgt. William Gizara New York National Guard STRATTON AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, SCOTIA , N.Y. -- Twenty-four members of the New York Air National Guard’s 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron recently returned from a five month deployment during which they helped transport 1,300 service members from war zones in the Middle East and Afghanistan to treatment facilities in the United States. The 139th, a part of the 109th Airlift Wing based at Stratton Air National Guard Base in Scotia, N.Y., deployed teams to Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, D.C., Ramstein Air Base, Germany, Al Udied Air Base, Qatar, and Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan. The Airmen deployed in May 2019. The deployed Airmen included flight nurses and medics, and medical administration and medical logistics personnel. The 139th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron’s mission is to monitor patients being transported for more advanced medical care aboard modified C-130s. The Airmen returned to Albany International Airport October 14-16. Service members with critical injuries from blasts and burns were airlifted directly to Landstuhl Medical Center in Germany. Major Tammy Ostrowski, the senior flight nurse for the deployment, praised all of the Airmen for the work they did during the deployment. Approximately 90 percent of the Air Force’s aeromedical evacuation personnel are in the Air Guard and Air Force Reserve and they usually are deployed for four to six months every other year, Ostrowski said. Ostrowski singled out 139th Staff Sergeant Bianca Bustamante for her outstanding work as a ground controller for evacuation flights during the deployment. “She did all of our mission planning. She coordinated all of our transportation for crews, prepared all the paperwork and planning to launch every mission as well as recovering crews upon their return to base,’ Ostrowski said. Bustamante, who was on her first deployment, said it was gratifying to get a chance to do what she had trained for.