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A Day in the Life of a … AELT member

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Mindy Bloem
  • 43rd Airlfit Wing Public Affairs
POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  "Ding, ding, ding -- round two!" Or at least that was the thought running through my mind as I once again boarded a C-17 aircraft, along with Pope's steadfast hurricane relief team, and headed to Brownsville, Texas. 

I was excited for yet another chance to spend time with this exceptional group of people and perform the most satisfying job in the world -- helping out our fellow man.
I was beginning to feel like quite the expert. After all, I had accompanied this group on one previous mission, and in my mind that made me an expert. I felt ready for anything. Anything, that is, except waiting. 

The assistance we provided for Hurricane Gustav was anything but dull and waiting never seemed to be an issue. It was non-stop action from the moment we arrived in Louisiana until the moment we left. 

I felt so prepared for the mission this time. I had already planned on different camera angles for the photos I was going to take, already planned my lead for the next article I would write and even planned which items not to neglect putting in my suitcase this time.
It never fails. Just when you think you've got everything figured out, life comes along and knocks it all to pieces. I was about to be reminded of this lesson during this particular effort. 

When we landed at the Brownsville Airport on the evening of Sept. 9, my pre-conceived notions were already beginning to crumble. 

First of all, the hangar looked nothing like our last location and the staging facility seemed to bring up some concerns about transporting patients to the aircraft. Nevertheless, our teams quickly figured out solutions to these problems and everyone immediately got to work. 

My focus this mission was going to be the Aeromedical Evacuation Liaison Teams that I couldn't wait to shadow and gain first-hand insight into their job duties.
As soon as we arrived, the AELTs looked around the facility to get a feel for the place. They soon found the incident commander and the airport director and established communication lines. They researched where the hospitals were located and planned to visit them the next day in order to ensure the patients would get safely transported throughout the aeromedical evacuation system. 

By the time our Pope teams, which included the AELTs, Mobile Aeromedical Staging Facility team and the communication support team, finished setting up, it was two in the morning. 

Some members of a local church in Brownsville graciously offered to let us stay at their mission so we could get showers and a little bit of rest for what we assumed would be a busy next couple of days. 

The plan was for half of us to go to the mission, get three to four hours of sleep and then come back to relieve the other half of the crew who stayed back in case patients arrived in the early morning hours. 

By the time we got to the mission and got ready for bed we only had about two-and-a-half hours before we had to get up, get showered and get ready to go back to the airport.
It was heartwarming to see these local community members reaching out to us in reciprocation as we were there to help them.
When we arrived back at the airport there were still no patients. 

Maj. John Connelly and Capt. Charles Moniz decided to walk over to the command center to gauge what needed to be done that day. I tagged along for two reasons: One, shadowing means following them wherever they went. And two, I needed coffee like I had never needed coffee before, and the word on the street was the command center had the coffee hook up. I was not disappointed. As soon as I tasted the delicious brew, the cobwebs cleared from my brain and I felt like I could function again. 

Major Connelly and Captain Moniz said they were planning to visit the local hospitals later on and said I could go along. This made me happy. I couldn't wait for the action to start. This is what I lived for, thrived on. The only problem was the action never actually started. The hospitals decided not to evacuate the patients yet because they were still waiting to see where Ike, Mother Nature's newest headache, was going to hit. So we waited and waited, and then waited some more. We were finally told that we could get a motel for the night and meet back at the airport hangar the next morning to find out if we were going to stay in Brownsville or be relocated to another city in Texas. 

When we arrived back the next morning, we heard they were going to send us to Lubbock, Texas and then maybe Beaumont or somewhere else from there. Everyone pitched in to pack and palletize all the equipment. 

At one point, we were told an aircraft was en route to get us, but as it neared the airport it turned around and flew away from us. 

Still in all this, everyone remained positive. Everyone was just eager to get to our next location where we could be put to use by helping out the hurricane victims.
News then came that a C-5 would arrive soon to fly us to Lubbock, Texas. I, for one, couldn't wait. Besides, I had never ridden in a C-5 and wanted to add it to my list of military aircraft I've ridden in. 

Unfortunately, no sooner did the C-5 land than their flight crew announced it had leaked a bunch of hydraulic fluid and they didn't know if we'd be able to fly out on it.
Now the prospect of staying in Brownsville another day didn't exactly thrill everyone. In spite of this, however, we tried to stay as busy as possible inside by having deep discussions, playing cards, reading, and of course, waiting while the mechanics worked on the C-5. 

We finally learned the plane could fly us out, but it would now fly to Altus Air Force Base, Okla. They said we would then fly out to our next location from Altus.
It was 3 a.m. by the time we got to Altus and checked into a local motel.
The next day we were told that on Saturday we would most likely learn where we would be going to next. 

On Saturday evening, we were told to pack up and be ready because we would leave Altus some time Sunday. 

Sunday morning, we met at the Altus Passenger terminal and were told we were going back to Pope. We waited there all morning and much of the day for a flight. 

We were finally taken by bus to a C-130 which would be taking us home after making a stop in Atlanta. However, when we got there, several of us had to wait on the flightline for about 15 minutes until they found room for us because it was so crowded with equipment and passengers. When we did finally board I knew what it must feel like to be a sardine. I must admit I was relieved when a big group of people got off at our first stop in Atlanta. Yay! More leg room. 

Captain Wimley looked over at me, smiled and said, "Semper gumby." 

And I think that is the lesson to take away from it all. As seems to be the case so often in life, nothing ever goes as predicted and we all were reminded of this thought as we waited for instructions on what to do next. It was not for lack of willingness to help on everyone's part but just didn't seem to work out. I believe we really did make a difference in those communities just by being there and showing them we care. Things don't always go according to your plan; however, you can always remain flexible. The AELTs reminded me of the most important lesson of all ... "Semper gumby."