914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron members prepare a patient for transfer on a litter (stretcher) during a recent mass casualty exercise at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron members carry a patient who has suffered a simulated leg injury for transfer on a litter (stretcher) during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron members carry a patient who has suffered simulated back and neck injuries for transfer during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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Captain James Bastian, 914th Airlift Wing Chaplain (left) administers emergency religious ministrations to a simulated deceased person along with Tech. Sgt. Terry Jones, 914th Airlift Wing Chaplain Assistant, during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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Senior Airman Angela Hansen, 914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, checks vital signs of a patient while Maj. Hoon Jung, 914 ASTS physician, examines and assesses the patient for neurological trauma during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron personnel, medical technicians and nurses, are assessing and treating a patient during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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Tech. Sgt. Julianna Lindstrom, 914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, is obtaining patient medical history and documenting vital signs during a recent mass casualty exercise which involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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Tech. Sgt. Carrie Knoell, 914th Aeromedical Staging Squadron medical technician, is part of the triage team and placing triage tags on patients after a quick assessment of injuries to victims during a recent mass casualty exercise that involved a multiple vehicle collision at the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station, N.Y. on September 9, 2012. The exercise was conducted to test the medical readiness and skills of the unit during an emergency. This exercise is an annual requirement for the ASTS. (U.S. Air Force photo by Peter Borys)

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Niagara Airmen conduct mass casualty exercise

Published Sept. 21, 2012
By Staff Sgt. Andrew Caya
914TH Airlift Wing

NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- More than 100 Airmen of the 914th Airlift Wing Aeromedical Staging Squadron performed their annual mass-casualty exercise here, September 9.

914 ASTS Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge of Immunizations, Tech. Sgt. Julianna Lindstrom said, "We train on triage, treatment, and patient movement."

ASTS Airmen went though the simulated casualties and tested their ability to determine which of the wounded or injured needed immediate treatment before they could move them. Then the ASTS Airmen trained on patient movement, one of their core abilities.

"Patient movement is a big training aspect," said Lt. Col. Kathleen Fay, 914 ASTS medical readiness officer. "We are a staging squadron and we need to know how to move patients."

The Airmen practiced loading and unloading litter-bound patients onto different vehicles such as humvees and ambulances for simulated casualty evacuation to a treatment facility.

In addition to the training, Airmen received something else during the exercise. Lindstrom said she absolutely enjoys this annual training because all the ASTS Airmen from different medical Air Force Specialty Codes get to work together.

"We don't always get a chance work with each other," said Lindstrom. She said, during squadron-wide exercises like this, "I get to see what the other jobs (in the unit) are doing."

"With such a big unit," said Fay, "exercises like these help to bring the Airmen together."

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