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Keesler medics deploy to Chile to provide support following massive 'quake

  • Published
  • By Steve Pivnick
  • 81st Medical Group
KEESLER AIR FORCE BASE, MISS. --  Almost 60 "Dragon Medics" departed Keesler AFB March 7 en route to Chile to provide medical support in the aftermath of the massive earthquake that struck the South American nation Feb. 27.

The 81st Medical Group team flew to San Antonio aboard a C-17 "Globemaster II" cargo aircraft from the 437th Airlift Wing at Charleston AFB, S.C. They joined members of Lackland AFB's 59th Medical Wing and 57th MDG. The combined group was scheduled to fly to Santiago where they boarded buses for an estimated nine-hour ride south to their deployment location at Angol, Chile.

They will establish a mobile hospital on a Chilean army post in the town of approximately 60,000 residents. Angol did not suffer the same degree of devastation as other towns and cities in the region. Equipment for the mission is coming from Port San Antonio and Charleston AFB. The hospital was expected to be fully operational within 48 hours of the team's arrival. The Air Force medics could be deployed from two weeks to a month.

Col. David Garrison, 81st MDG deputy commander is the deployed contingent's medical commander. Lt. Col. Christopher Morgan, 81st Medical Support Squadron Readiness Flight commander, is serving as the team's health services administrator.

Colonel Morgan commented while still in San Antonio, "We're on schedule. We will have 83 total personnel with us. We take off at 3:01 p.m. today (March 8) and fly to Costa Rica, stop for fuel and then go to Santiago."

The 81st MDG was alerted March 4 to prepare a team for possible deployment. The movement order was received Sunday morning. The 81st Training Wing sent their deployment processing team to the 81st MDG Hospital's Don Wylie auditorium where the deployers received pertinent briefings and went through the processing line starting at around 10 a.m. The sequestered medics then boarded buses to a base dining facility before being taken to base operations to await the C-17's arrival.

After the aircraft landed at approximately 2 p.m., buses took the team to its parking location at the south end of the flight line where they waited for it to be refueled. Once the fueling operation was completed, senior base leadership, including 2nd Air Force Commander Maj. Gen. Mary Kay Hertog, 81st TRW Vice Commander Col. Christopher Valle, 81st TRW Command Chief Master Sgt. Lonnie Slater, 81st MDG Commander Brig. Gen. (Dr.) Dan Wyman and 81st MDG Superintendent Chief Master Sgt. Michael Anderson, was on hand to personally wish each team member a safe and successful mission. The aircraft departed shortly after 3 p.m. The same C-17 was expected to transport the combined team to Chile.
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