AF/SG testifies before defense subcommittee

Lt. Gen. (Dr.) George Peach Taylor Jr.

By Staff Sgt. Julie Weckerlein
Air Force News Service

WASHINGTON -- The Air Force's medical Airmen are performing "magnificently," said the Air Force surgeon general during testimony before the Senate Committee on Appropriations subcommittee on defense May 3.

"We take care of the nation's heroes, past and present," said Lt. Gen. (Dr.) George Peach Taylor Jr., "and it takes the finest of medical staffs to care for this country's finest."

The majority of his testimony focused on the direct involvement Air Force medical services have had in both the ongoing war on terrorism and the emergency response to hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.

"We continue to provide world-class health-care and health service support anywhere in the world at anytime," he said.

He pointed out that during hurricanes Katrina and Rita, total force Airmen provided health care for more than 7,600 people while more than 3,000 were aeromedically evacuated from the region.

"A senior physician in (the Federal Emergency Management Agency's) disaster medical assistance team told me that one of the most impressive things about our people is they treated every patient during that chaotic, crowded and terrible time as if [he or she] were family," Taylor said, "as if the person on the stretcher were their own father, mother, sister, brother or child pulled from harm's way."

On the other side of the planet, expeditionary medical support has been a valuable and lifesaving asset in the war on terrorism.

"Partnering with our critical care air transport teams," he said, "our aeromedical evacuation system has made it possible to move seriously injured patients in an astonishingly quick time, as short as 72 hours from battleground to stateside medical care. [That was] unheard of even a decade ago."

Working alongside other services, too, has shown its benefits, he testified. More than 600 ground medics are located in 10 deployed locations, one of the biggest being the Air Force Theater Hospital at Balad Air Base, Iraq, where medical specialists treated more than 12,000 patients in 2005 alone.

"Our commitment to joint operations cannot be overemphasized," he said. "Every day, Air Force medics are saving the lives of Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, Airmen, civilians, coalition and Iraqi forces, friend and foe alike."

Many on the subcommittee expressed concern for the mental health of deploying service members, asking if enough was being done to prepare for and treat mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress syndrome. General Taylor assured them the Air Force has professionals in place to care for such cases.

"The Air Force deployed two types of mental health teams: a rapid response team and an augmentation team," he said. "Today, the Air Force has 49 mental health personnel deployed for current operations, 36 of whom are supporting joint service requirements."

He said only about one percent of deployed Airmen were referred for mental health care following a post-deployment health assessment.

"The lower incidences of mental health problems for our Airmen are most likely attributable to both the type and length of Air Force missions," he said. "That said, we are closely scrutinizing deploying Airmen who may be at greater risk for mental health concerns, such as convoy personnel and medics."

Taylor summed up his testimony by praising the men and women who serve in the Air Force, especially those in the medical fields.

"Almost half of the people currently serving in the United States Air Force joined after Sept. 11, 2001," he said. "They knew what they were getting into, and there's no question that the military's medical personnel are a critical component of the global war on terrorism."