JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. -- ACC has deployed 88 medics from 5 bases across the command to work alongside other military departments and federal agencies as a part of the nation’s pandemic response.
In December 2021, the U.S. Secretary of Defense approved a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency for military medical assistance. In response, the Air Force has deployed nearly 1,000 active duty, Reserve, and Air National Guard medics to serve in civilian hospitals, care facilities, and other public institutions.
“I am so proud of our Air Combat Command medics who demonstrate excellence daily by providing COVID staffing relief to numerous civilian hospitals across the United States,” said Brig. Gen. Robert Bogart, Command Surgeon of ACC. “At the same time, they have also found innovative ways to generate ready medics for the future fight and deliver timely, high-quality medical care to our Airmen and their families.”
The largest ACC medical teams were deployed from Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia; and Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada. The teams assisted in a variety of COVID-19 operations including, monoclonal antibody infusion, respiratory therapy, and intensive care unit support.
JBLE’s 633rd Medical Group deployed 10 medical Airmen including pulmonologists, trauma nurses, medical technicians and a respiratory therapist to support St. Francis Medical Center, Monroe, Louisiana.
Nellis deployed medical teams to New York, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. In New York, ACC medics are providing support to the University of Rochester Medicine’s Strong Memorial Hospital where they were trained on the hospital’s systems and procedures before being integrated with civilian staff.
“Our team is excited to be here and help out during this time of need,” said Lt. Col. Allan Delgado, Nellis’ 99th Medical Group Family and Aerospace Medicine Nurse Practitioner. “We’re proud and grateful to support FEMA and the great state of New York, serving alongside those who we swore to protect.”
Additional medical specialists were deployed from Offutt AFB, Nebraska; Mountain Home AFB, Idaho; Shaw AFB, South Carolina; and Headquarters ACC Surgeon General at JBLE to augment the ACC teams.
“As military medics, it is our duty to go where our nation calls us, and that means continuing our COVID-19 mission,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Miller, Air Force Surgeon General. “We ask a lot of our medics, who have played an integral role in the joint fight against COVID-19, working across federal agencies, military departments and the entire health care system.”
This story was written with contributions from Air Force Surgeon General Public Affairs.