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Air Force Medical Service

Fairchild pilots $4.3 billion DOD electronic health record upgrade

Lt. Gen. Mark Ediger, the Air Force Surgeon General, offers thanks and congratulations for the dedication and efforts of the 92d Medical Group during a MHS GENESIS "go-live" recognition ceremony at Fairchild Air Force Base, Wash, Feb. 15, 2017. Fairchild AFB was the pilot base for the development and implementation of the new, Defense Department-wide health system. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Ryan Lackey)

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U.S., Japan, Australia Airmen improve aeromedical evacuation integration

Aeromedical evacuation Airmen from the U.S., Japanese, and Australian air forces transport a simulated patient to a U.S. Air Force C-12 Huron as part of annual exercise Cope North at Tinian Air Field, Mariana Islands, Feb. 21, 2017. Aeromedical evacuation training was conducted on the Huron to familiarize Airmen with patient care on a new airframe. Cope North is a long-standing exercise designed to enhance multilateral air operations between the partnered militaries, bringing together more than 2,700 U.S. Airmen, Sailors and Marines who are training alongside approximately 600 combined Japan Air Self-Defense Force and Royal Australian Air Force participants. (Courtesy photo)

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Total Force aeromedical Airmen receive new trainer

Contractors work with the 375th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron to help move a C-130 fuselage trainer at Scott Air Force Base, Ill., Feb. 23, 2017. The FuT allows for hands-on muscle memory of configuration, placement of in-flight kits, electrical, oxygen, emergency exits, and various other operations. One hundred percent of readiness skills are completed for the aeromedical evacuation technicians. It helps provide an innovative, cost effective, improved training platform for total force AE crew members and ground support personnel in terms of aircraft configuration familiarization and realistic, high-fidelity task training and mission simulation. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Tristin English)

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The road to recovery: Airman defines true meaning of resilience

Second Lt. Ryan Novack, the 36th Munitions Squadron flight leader, prepares to run at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, March 1, 2017. Novack was a victim of a serious spinal injury from riding dirt bikes, resulting in him being paralyzed below the knees. After attending months of physical therapy, he returned to work and is currently conditioning for the Defense Department Warrior Games this summer in Chicago. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Cierra Presentado)

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Joint medical exercise hits the beach

Airman Michael Alvarez, left, and Staff Sgt. Roberto Gonzalez, center, both reservists with the 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, load a simulated patient onto a C-17 Globemaster III during the fifth annual MEDBEACH joint medical response exercise at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., March 5, 2017. The C-17 and an Army National Guard UH-60 Black Hawk were flown in to provide a staging platform for stabilization and transport of battlefield-injured service members. (U.S. Air Force photo by Capt. Leslie Forshaw)

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Joint mission enables patients to receive critical care

U.S. Air Force Capt. Lynn Nguyen, an 18th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron flight nurse, guides medical personnel onto a C-17 Globemaster III during an aeromedical evacuation at Misawa Air Base, Japan, March 22, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Brittany A. Chase)

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The future of surgery at Keesler Air Force Base

Maj. Lauren Buck, an 81st Surgical Operations Squadron general surgeon, and a surgical technician perform a da Vinci ventral hernia repair, March 28, 2017, at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss. This was the first robotic surgery in the Air Force. The robotic system enhances surgeons’ mobility and range of motion. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Jenay Randolph)

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59th Medical Wing Reid Clinic Construction

The 59th Medical Wing’s new Reid Clinic will enhance healthcare delivery for 80,000 patients on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. Construction on the two-story, 80,000 square-foot, state of the art facility is well underway and once complete will consolidate most medical care for Airmen in Air Force basic military and technical training. (U.S. Air Force photo by Andrew C. Patterson)

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KMC medics implant AF's 1st Micra TPS

Lt. Col. (Dr.) Matthew Hann, an 81st Medical Operations Squadron interventional cardiologist, inserts a Micra Transcatheter Pacing System at the Keesler Medical Center at Keesler Air Force Base, Miss., April 13, 2017. The Micra TPS is a new type of heart device that provides patients with the most advanced pacing technology at one-tenth the size of a traditional pacemaker. (U.S. Air Force photo by Kemberly Groue)

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African Lion 2017 provides medical care for Moroccan communities

U.S. Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve personnel provide medical and dental care in conjunction with their Moroccan counterparts at Adis, Morocco, April 22, 2017. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Tech. Sgt. Annie Edwards)

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Army and Air Force team up for MEDEVAC

Army Reserve Spc. Ryan Flores and Spc. Bailey Jungmann of the 469th Medical Company, Wichita, Kan., team with Air Force Staff Sgt. Cherrelle Warren and Airman 1st Class Echo Heldreth of the 6th Medical Group from MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., rush to transport a mannequin patient from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter at Responders Support Camp Nighthawk, Ind., during Guardian Response 17, April 29, 2017. Nearly 5,000 Soldiers and Airmen from across the country participated in Guardian Response 17, a multi-component training exercise to validate the military's ability to support civil authorities in the event of a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear catastrophe. (U.S. Army Reserve photo by Staff Sgt. Christopher Sofia)

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Coordinated response: Coalition forces conduct first joint crash exercise

Members of the 380th Expeditionary Medical Group medical operations flight prepare a pilot for transport, with the assistance of French security forces, during a joint crash exercise at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, May 16, 2017. Coalition first responders worked together to provide joint response and care, and to simulate how they would respond in the event of an aircraft mishap. [Faces of French personnel have been obscured at the request of l'Armée de l'air.] (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Marjorie A. Bowlden)

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Nerve Scrambler Therapy lessens pain for warfighters, Wounded Warriors

Lt. Col Candy Wilson, right, 779th Medical Group nurse practitioner, consults a human anatomy chart to determine where to place a Calmare electrode for treating Carol Celeste Gray, a patient at Joint Base Andrews, Md., May 30, 2017. Gray suffers from chronic regional pain syndrome on the left side of her body that developed after being treated for a broken elbow. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Joe Yanik)

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Turbo Distribution 17-2

Capt. Ricardo Sequeira, left, an 821st Contingency Response Squadron flight medicine provider, discusses his medical procedures for a lower leg trauma with Staff Sgt. Zachary Green, Headquarters Air Mobility Command, standardization and evaluation, during a medical exercise at Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Mich., June 11, 2017. Turbo Distribution 17-2 is a U.S. Transportation Command exercise designed to assess the Joint Task Force-Port Opening’s ability to deliver and distribute cargo during humanitarian and disaster relief operations. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Xavier Navarro)

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The 88th Medical Operations Squadron perform an Endobronchial Ultrasound Sampling Fine Needle Aspirate procedure inside the operating room at Wright-Patt

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Clarissa Ernst, left, Cardiopulmonary technician and Airman 1st Class Elliot Sotnek, right, Aerospace Medical Technician, 88th Medical Operations Squadron, remove tissue from a patient’s Endobronchial Ultrasound Sampling Fine Needle Aspirate inside the operating room at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Center, June 26, 2017. The tissue is then smeared onto a glass slide and examined under a microscope by a pathologist. (U.S. Air Force photo by Michelle Gigante)

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Respiratory therapist now battlefield medic

Senior Airman Joshua O’Sullivan, a respiratory therapist from the 88th Medical Group, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, has been named to the 10th volume of the Air Force’s Portraits in Courage, an annual program that highlights individual Airmen and teams for their honor, valor, devotion, and selfless sacrifice in the face of extreme danger to themselves and others. O’Sullivan was attached to a Critical Care Air Transportation Team at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, on Nov. 12, 2016, when an explosion near his quarters critically injured military personnel. A trained medic, O’Sullivan raced to the scene to render aid. (Courtesy Photo)

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New annual Mental Health Assessment requirements

New annual Mental Health Assessment requirement began July 31, 2017. (U.S. Air Force graphic by Steve Thompson)

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Joint Service Medical Professionals Setup for North Carolina Training Mission

Lt. Col. David Miller, an optometrist assigned to the 442d Medical Squadron at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., assists in setting up a phoropter, which was used to give eye exams in Hayesville, N.C., Aug. 1, 2017. The Innovative Readiness Training program meets training requirements for active, reserve and National Guard members and units while addressing public and society needs. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Staff Sgt. Ryan Campbell)

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Smoky Mountain Medical 2017

Senior Airman Desire Mora-Mundt, an optometry technician assigned to the 434th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom Air Base conducts a vision exam on a patient in Swain County during the Smoky Mountain Medical Innovative Readiness Training in Bryson City, N.C., Aug. 5, 2017. The program provides no cost medical, dental, ophthalmologic, and veterinary services to residents of Clay County, Swain County and the surrounding areas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Damien Taylor)

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724th EABS medical team teahes hygiene to local Women's Association

U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Becky Smith (center right), 724th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron surgical technician, teaches basic hand washing methods during a women’s hygiene class for the Association of Nigerien Women Against War in Agadez, Niger, Aug. 14, 2017. Topics such as the importance of proper hygiene and how to combat communicable diseases were covered during the class. (Courtesy photo from the 724th Expeditionary Air Base Squadron medical section)

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Talking Shop

Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson shakes hands with U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Ashley Hall, dental assistant assigned to the 379th Expeditionary Medical Group, at Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar, Aug. 15, 2017. During the visit Wilson and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein spent time with Airmen, learning about their contributions to U.S. Air Forces Central Command. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bradly A. Schneider)

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First cold storage platelet unit collected in Southwest Asia

The apheresis team collected the first cold storage platelet unit in Southwest Asia, Aug. 16, 2017. Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Scott Thibodeau (right) was the first donor. (Courtesy photo)

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Exercise Beverly Morning 17-05

Emergency responders from the 374th Medical Group transport a simulated victim during an active shooter exercise, Aug. 16, 2017, at Yokota Air Base, Japan. The top priority after an active shooter event is tending to victims to prevent further loss of life. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Donald Hudson)

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Patriot Warrior 2017

Capt. Vincent Alipio, assigned to the 349th Medical Squadron, Travis Air Force Base, Calif., takes a break during exercise Patriot Warrior to check out the total solar eclipse at Young Air Assault Strip, Fort McCoy, Wis., Aug. 21, 2017. This was the first total solar eclipse in 38 years. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Efren Lopez)

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$U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brent Waldman, left, assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group, performs a root canal on Arthur, a military working dog, after he fractured his tooth during a training exercise. U.S. Army Pfc. Landon Kelsey, right, a military working dog handler assigned to the 1st Armored Division, accompanies Arthur during the procedure in an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Aug. 30, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly)$

Military working dogs keep their bite with the help of Air Force dentists

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Brent Waldman, left, assigned to the 386th Expeditionary Medical Group, performs a root canal on Arthur, a military working dog, after he fractured his tooth during a training exercise. U.S. Army Pfc. Landon Kelsey, right, a military working dog handler assigned to the 1st Armored Division, accompanies Arthur during the procedure in an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Aug. 30, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech Sgt. Jonathan Hehnly)

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Air Force special operations medics deliver care, rebuild infrastructure after Caribbean hurricanes

Air Force Special Operation Medics returning from St. Maarten aboard a U.S. Air Force aircraft after assisting in relief and recovery efforts from Hurricane Irma. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Marc Villano)

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Hurricane Harvey

A patient receives care at a field hospital from Capt. Jerrod Taber, a physician's assistant, and Senior Airman Micah Battistoni, a medical technician, with the 149th Medical Group, Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, Sept. 3, 2017. The field hospital set-up in the parking lot of the Baptist Hospitals of Southeast Texas as the hospital was only taking medical emergencies due to damage caused by Hurricane Harvey. (U.S. Air Force photo by Master Sgt. Joshua L. DeMotts)

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Offutt Airman saves newborn minutes from death

Senior Airman Taylor Scherff, 55th Medical Group Pediatric Clinic medical technician, takes Isabelle Kittel’s temperature as her mom, Casey, holds her in the Ehrling Berquist Clinic, Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., Sept. 12, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rachelle Blake)

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AETC Airmen honored at AFA

Maj. Matthew Brock, 59th Medical Wing, Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, receives the Paul W. Meyers award at the Air Force Association's Air, Space and Cyber Conference in National Harbor, Md., Sept. 18, 2017. Chairman of the Board F. Whitten Peters, Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force Kaleth Wright presented the awards. (U.S. Air Force photo by Wayne Clark)

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Milestone changes coming to TRICARE

Beginning in January 2018, there will be changes to the TRICARE benefit. (Courtesy photo)

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Nellis AFB surgeons, UMC combine efforts to treat Las Vegas shooting victims

Lt. Col. Jason Compton and Maj. Charles Chesnut, 99th Medical Group general surgeons, pose for a portrait in the Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev., Oct. 3, 2017. The surgeons were two members of the team that took in trauma patients at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada during the Las Vegas shooting, Oct. 1, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Kevin Tanenbaum)

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EMEDS team deploys to support hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico

Airmen assigned to the 633rd Medical Group load a bus heading to the passenger terminal to deploy to provide aid to Puerto Rico from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Oct. 17, 2017. Approximately 90 JB Langley-Eustis Airmen deployed as a global response force to provide expeditionary medical care to Puerto Rico residents. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Rasheen Douglas)

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AF medical teams provide hurricane relief in Puerto

U.S. Air Force Airmen assigned to the 633rd Medical Group deploy from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va., Oct. 18, 2017. Approximately 90 Langley Air Force Base Airmen deployed as a global response force to provide expeditionary medical care to Puerto Rico residents. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Natasha Stannard)

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347th Rescue Group initiates new medical, survival training

Staff Sgt. Cory Newby, 347th Operations Support Squadron Independent Duty Medical Technician paramedic, observes a student applying Tactical Combat Causality Care during training, at Moody Air Force Base, Ga., Oct. 25, 2017. The new, three-day combined training is designed to merge many smaller courses and seamlessly tie together skills that could be used in the event that Airmen become isolated during a mission. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Daniel Snider)

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Waterline break tests team response, cohesion

Senior Airman Jordan Loveless, 28th Medical Operations Squadron Bioenvironmental Engineering special surveillance program manager, tests the pH of a water sample inside a lab at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., Oct. 27, 2017. Bioenvironmental Airmen are responsible for monitoring water quality on base monthly, as well as during contingencies. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Randahl J. Jenson)

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CBRN sim tests medics’ crisis response skills

Decontamination team members from the 2d Medical Group carry a simulated chemical attack victim on a litter during a decontamination exercise on Barksdale Air Force Base, La., Nov. 15, 2017. Home station medical response includes decontamination, triage and a security team which uses the PAPR, a power air purified respirator suit which provides protection against CBRN agents. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Benjamin Raughton)

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Exercise Vigilant Ace 18: Moulage and Medical Care

U.S. Air Force 51st Medical Group first responders triage patients with simulated injuries during exercise Vigilant Ace 18 at Osan Air Base, Republic of Korea, Dec. 6, 2017. For exercises like VA18, moulage is applied to personnel during simulated emergency situations to give first responders a sense of realism and urgency to prepare them for wounds they might see in a real-world scenario. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Alex Fox Echols III)

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Innovative PT program increases readiness downrange

Capt. Eric Walter, 386th Expeditionary Medical Group physical therapy element chief, uses thoracic manipulation to treat Senior Airman Calvin Lourens, 386th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron passenger service specialist at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia, Dec. 7, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Louis Vega Jr.)

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Embracing the uncharted life as an amputee – An Airman’s story of resiliency (Part 2)

Maj. Stephanie Proellochs, a recent amputee, takes some of her first steps in her new prosthesis, Nov. 15, 2017. During her physical therapy appointments, Proellochs engages in various exercises to ensure her comfort and safety with walking in a prosthesis. (U.S. Air Force by Karina Luis)

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An AFMS look back at 2017

Published Jan. 2, 2018
Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs

FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Here's a look back at how Medical Airmen supported Air Force operations around the globe throughout 2017.