PATRICK SPACE FORCE BASE, Fla. — The 920th Rescue Wing partnered with the Air National Guard, U.S. Army and Royal Canadian Air Force to train and refine medical staging capabilities for combat operations during exercise MEDBEACH 25 here Feb. 24-28.
Led by the 920th Aeromedical Staging Squadron, the exercise validated en route patient staging system readiness while operating in a contested, dynamic environment. Participants rapidly deployed and responded to simulated mass casualty scenarios, ensuring the seamless treatment and transport of patients through multiple modes of recovery platforms and airfield patient movement operations.
During the event, medics responded to a critically injured Airmen who had sustained multiple simulated injuries. They conducted full-body assessments, performed triage for stabilization and coordinated with evacuation teams to ensure a smooth transition to the next level of care. The exercise reinforced the importance of rapid decision-making and teamwork in high-pressure situations, ensuring injured personnel received the necessary medical attention without delay.
“For the first time, we’ve tested our en route patient staging system simultaneously with the 920th Personnel Recovery Task Force under the Agile Combat Employment concept,” said Capt. Mike Beres, 920th ASTS MEDBEACH 25 planning lead. “MEDBEACH 25 also implemented new patient movement tracking systems with combatant command coordination and included nighttime operations for the first time.”
The joint and total-force effort involved personnel from the 920th RQW, 943d Rescue Group, 172nd Airlift Wing, 153rd Airlift Wing, 45th Space Force Delta, 927th Air Refueling Wing, 349th Air Mobility Wing, 514th Air Mobility Wing, 159th General Support Aviation Regiment, U.S. Transportation Command and Royal Canadian Air Force.
The Force Support Squadron took part in sustaining Airmen throughout the exercise. They worked in the Single Pallet Expeditionary Kitchen to provide hot meals, ensuring participants had the nutrition needed to maintain performance.
The Tactical Medical Augmentation Team played a critical role in the exercise, embedding with multiple elements to provide enhanced medical capabilities. TMAT is designed to extend the reach of military medical teams, bridging the gap between initial battlefield care and long-term medical evacuation.
“MEDBEACH 25 was important to enhance readiness and interoperability within and beyond the 920th Rescue Wing, while merging medical assets with existing en route care capabilities,” said Maj. Alexander Torres, Tactical Medical Augmentation Team concept officer in charge.
During the exercise, the TMAT integrated with security forces to establish a care chain, ensuring isolated personnel were not only extracted but also received continuous medical care throughout their recovery. This coordination included moving patients by vehicle to a helicopter landing zone, transferring them via multiple aircraft and stabilizing them in a temporary medical facility before advanced transport to a higher-level hospital.
Effective communication was essential for coordinating the extraction of critically injured personnel in scenario-based events. A Command Post controller in the field served as the central hub, relaying information between recovery teams and directing assets to ensure timely medical evacuations.
“What made this exercise unique was its focus on the care chain,” said Maj. Chris Branning, MEDBEACH 25 Air Mission coordinator. “We trained on providing continuous medical care through different modes of recovery and transport, elevating the level of treatment at each step.”
Aircrews and medical teams executed complex evacuation scenarios that tested their ability to provide continuous care in austere conditions.
In one such scenario, members from the 920th RQW TMAT concept and Canadian Armed Forces loaded patients onto an HC-130J Combat King II aircraft at Patrick Space Force Base and provided in-flight medical care en route to Avon Park. Upon landing, the team quickly transferred the patients to a waiting transport, stabilized them for further evacuation and coordinated airlift to MacDill Air Force Base. The operation demonstrated seamless integration between air and ground medical teams, reinforcing enroute patient staging capabilities in a contested environment.
The 920th RQW is AFRC’s only combat search and rescue wing, whose mission is to plan, lead and conduct military rescue operations and missions to deny competitors and adversaries exploitation of isolated personnel.
- Published
- By 1st Lt. Symantha King
- 920th Rescue Wing
