Joint medevac exercise hosted in New Orleans
The Louisiana Air National Guard in the US hosted a joint aeromedical evacuation exercise at the Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base in New Oreleans, US between 16 and 18 April.
The Louisiana Air National Guard in the US hosted a joint aeromedical evacuation exercise at the Naval Air Station – Joint Reserve Base in New Oreleans, US between 16 and 18 April. Co-ordinated between Air Mobility Command, US Transporation Command, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Louisiana Emergency Operation Center and the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in order to simulate patient evaluation and evacuation procedures from the New Orleans area in the event of a major natural disaster, the exercise is called Ultimate Caduceus 2015, and involved approximately 140 active duty and Air National Guard personnel from nine US states.
“Ultimate Caduceus 2015 is essential to ensure the safe evacuation of patients to hospitals outside of the strike zone of hurricanes prior to landfall and to track those patients end to end to ensure their safe return to Louisiana once the danger is gone,” said Lt Col Ray Schindler, deputy commander of the 159th Mission Support Group. “The Louisiana National Guard exercises with federal, state and local agencies every year to ensure maximum readiness for any disaster that might threaten the life and property of the citizens of Louisiana. Ultimate Caduceus 2015 is another example of this.”