LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. -- Whether it’s an aircraft crash or natural disaster, every second matters, and hesitation can be costly. To prepare for those critical moments and sharpen life-saving skills, the 19th Medical Group conducted a high-intensity emergency response training exercise at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas, May 21-22, 2025.
The training event, coordinated by Air Mobility Command and held at LRAFB, emphasized hands-on triage, patient care and medical evacuation procedures under high-pressure conditions.
The exercise aimed to prepare medical teams to respond effectively to a range of emergencies, from the simulated chaos of an aircraft incident to severe weather and public health crises.
"Our medical team are experts at providing health care in a clinical setting," said Martin Schelling, AMC medical emergency manager. "However, during disasters and unexpected situations where life and death are hanging in the balance, hands-on experience provides a whole new dimension of emergency health care."
A majority of the training event centered around a three-hour exercise scenario that tested medical team members' response to a simulated aircraft incident, which included participation from local Junior ROTC cadets who acted as patients, allowing medics a realistic environment to practice life-saving techniques outside traditional clinic settings.
Capt. Joseph Richardson, 19th MDG medical emergency manager, emphasized the importance of realistic training in building confidence and team capability.
"When we can put hands on and run through the steps of an actual incident, it really helps ingrain the process into our Airmen and strengthens our full-scope team response," he said.
Schelling also emphasized the broader importance of readiness amid an increasingly complex global landscape.
"We are adapting to [the] conditions of our world changing ever so much," he said. "We always see what we do as preparation for if we were required to go into a contingency.”
As emergency management and medical response challenges continue to evolve, exercises like this underscore the Department of the Air Force’s mission to ensure operational medical teams are equipped and prepared to respond rapidly and effectively—anywhere in the world.