March 29, 2025 AFMS honors Vietnam War Veterans Day, advancements in AE from the battlefields of Vietnam By the summer of 1968, involvement of the AFMS in the Vietnam War rose to an all-time high to support operations in Southeast Asia. About 1,900 Air Force medics were deployed in the region, representing about 5 percent of the 41,000 military personnel assigned to the AFMS worldwide.
Feb. 28, 2024 Tuskegee medics overcome barriers, leave lasting impact on Air Force medicine The policies of the armed services in World War II reflected the stresses and contradictions of segregated American society of the time, and historical records show the Army Air Forces and its medical service were no exception.
March 6, 2019 Flight nurse saves lives in Normandy during World War II As a flight nurse during World War II, 1st Lt. Madeline “Del” D’Eletto, saw some of her first action transporting Soldiers wounded in D-Day landings back to Great Britain via aeromedical evacuation.
Jan. 11, 2019 This Month in AFMS History: The Iranian hostages arrive in Wiesbaden, 38 years ago On Jan. 20, 1981, two Air Force C-9 Nightingale aerovac aircraft touched down at Rhein-Main Air Base, West Germany, to cheering crowds.
Dec. 27, 2018 This Month in AFMS History: Operation Christmas Kidlift In mid-December 1950, Air Force Chaplain (Lt. Col.) Russell Blaisdell knew the deadly fate his orphans faced. When North Korean troops overran the South Korean capital in June 1950, it was widely reported that the North Korean army indiscriminately killed civilian men, women and children.
May 8, 2018 This Month in AFMS History: 100th anniversary of first flight surgeon school On May 8, 1918, U.S. Army Aviation Branch, Col. Theodore Lyster created the first ever course for flight surgeons, at the Medical Research Laboratory, Hazelhurst Field, N.Y.
April 25, 2018 ANZAC Day: A time for honoring partnerships Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) Day is a time to honor members and reflect on the long-lasting partnership between ANZAC and the Air Force Medical Service, which reaches back to the Korean war when ANZAC and AFMS members worked together as allies. Pictured above, Australian flight
March 15, 2018 The evolution of aeromedical evacuation capabilities help deployed medicine take flight Evacuating patients injured in combat and transporting them to higher levels of care requires a team of trained medics with the capability to keep patients stable in-flight. The Air Force’s Aeromedical Evacuation system has been a staple of transporting wartime casualties since World War II.
March 7, 2018 The “Cadillac of medevac”: The C9A’s lasting mark on the aeromedical evacuation system Making its debut in August of 1968, the C-9A was the U.S. Air Force’s first specially designed aeromedical evacuation aircraft. The C-9A answered the increased demand for effective aeromedical patient transport as U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War escalated.
April 18, 2017 This month in AFMS History: Operation Little Switch On April 20, 1953, Operation Little Switch marked the first successful efforts toward ending hostilities in Korea and ultimately set in motion the Korean War Armistice.
May 25, 2016 This month in AFMS history: The birth of flight medicine In 1917 Lt. Col. (Dr.) Theodore C. Lyster was appointed the first chief surgeon of the aviation service of the U.S. Army, and flight medicine was born. Through his work, Lyster brought awareness to the unique physiological issues affecting pilots. Considering the high pilot death rate of the time,