AUGUST 18, 2025 – Airmen from the 101st Air Refueling Wing Medical Group conducted a rigorous combat-casualty-care exercise Aug. 14 at Bangor Air National Guard Base, Maine, to enhance their readiness for providing medical support in hostile environments.
The training, conducted in collaboration with Maine Army National Guard personnel, focused on delivering critical care under simulated combat conditions, including a helicopter crash and improvised-explosive-device blasts in a field setting.
The exercise aimed to prepare medics for real-world scenarios involving multiple casualties, including civilians, in enemy territory. Airmen practiced moving in tactical formation teams to a remote site, responding to simulated emergencies with precision and speed. The scenario included a Black Hawk medevac operation, with the helicopter landing to conduct a training class, followed by a hot load of patients and immediate takeoff.
“This team is deploying soon,” said Col. Daniel Gott, Maine Air National Guard state air surgeon. “This exercise prepares them for real-world scenarios. Many are civilian caregivers, and while some skills transfer to military settings, others don’t, making this training invaluable.”
Under simulated enemy fire, medics applied high-and-tight tourniquets to casualties and civilians while neutralizing threats. Transitioning to tactical field care, teams dragged patients to cover, performing deliberate tourniquets, cricothyroidotomies, needle decompressions, chest seals and ventilation procedures. These actions tested the Airmen’s ability to stabilize patients in a high-threat environment.
Airmen then moved casualties to a designated Casualty Collection Point, where they triaged patients and accounted for killed-in-action personnel. A critical component of the exercise involved placing a 9-line medevac request to coordinate a rapid evacuation.
The scenario was executed twice to reinforce skills, with the Black Hawk medevac landing in each iteration to simulate patient evacuation. After the second iteration, Airmen transitioned to prolonged field care, managing patients for more than two hours while awaiting medevac for the remaining survivors.
The collaboration with Army personnel and the integration of Black Hawk medevac operations underscored the importance of joint interoperability.
“This exercise hones our ability to deliver life-saving care under extreme conditions while coordinating seamlessly with our Army counterparts,” said Master Sgt. Cailee Salerno, Tactical Combat Casualty Care lead instructor. “This process has been three years in the making, so to see it finally in action is amazing.”
The training at Bangor Air National Guard Base reflects the 101st Air Refueling Wing’s commitment to maintaining mission-ready Airmen capable of responding to complex, high-stakes medical emergencies in contested environments.
By Senior Master Sgt. Andrew Sinclair
101st Air Refueling Wing