Skip to content
U.S. Air Force

Aeromedical Evacuation

Flight nurses and AE technicians who turn cargo aircraft into flying ICUs. From WWII flight nurses to CCATT teams in Afghanistan, AE moves the wounded home alive.

Aeromedical Evacuation
Explore AE Units
AE Squadrons / CCATT / Flight Nurse Heritage
Flying the Wounded Home Est. 1942
AEROMEDICAL
PATIENT MOVEMENT
Aeromedical Evacuation
Flight Nurses / AE Techs / CCATT
AE
Aeromedical Evac
CCATT
Critical Care Teams
C-17
Primary Airframe
Global
PATIENT MOVEMENT
Aeromedical Evacuation crews convert C-17s and C-130s into flying hospitals. Flight nurses and AE techs provide in-flight care to wounded service members during transport from theater hospitals to definitive care. Critical Care Air Transport Teams bring ICU-level capability to the aircraft. The AE system can move a casualty from a Role 3 hospital in Afghanistan to Walter Reed in under 72 hours. Read more
Explore Collection
WWII to GWOT 1942 - Present
WWII
PACIFIC / ETO / MTO
WWII Flight Nurses
The First AE Flights
1942
First AE Flights
1M+
Patients Moved
C-47
Primary Aircraft
< 1%
IN-FLIGHT MORTALITY
Army Air Forces flight nurses began aeromedical evacuation in 1942, flying wounded from forward airfields in the Pacific and North Africa aboard C-47 Skytrains. By war's end, over one million patients had been moved by air. The in-flight mortality rate was less than one percent. Flight nurses worked without doctors on board, making life-and-death decisions at altitude with minimal equipment. Read more
Explore Collection
CCATT
OIF / OEF
CCATT
ICU at 30,000 Feet
CCATT
Crit Care Air Trans
ICU
Level Care Airborne
Physician
Led Teams
97%
SURVIVAL RATE
Critical Care Air Transport Teams bring ICU capability into the aircraft. A CCATT consists of a physician, a critical care nurse, and a respiratory therapist. They carry ventilators, cardiac monitors, and blood products on board. During OIF and OEF, CCATT teams kept alive casualties who would have died waiting for ground transport. The 97% survival rate is partly their achievement. Read more
Explore Collection
SQUADRONS
AMC / AFRC / ANG
AE Squadrons
375th AES / 43rd AES / Reserve / ANG
375th
Scott AFB, IL
43rd
Pope AAF, NC
Reserve
Surge Capacity
ANG
STATE AE UNITS
AE squadrons span active duty, Reserve, and Guard. The 375th AES at Scott AFB is among the most deployed. The 43rd AES at Pope supports XVIII Airborne Corps. Reserve squadrons provide essential surge capacity during major contingencies. ANG units maintain AE crews ready for federal activation and state disaster response. These squadrons form the patient movement pipeline connecting battlefield medicine to definitive care. Read more
Explore Collection
1942
First AE Flights
CCATT
Critical Care Airborne
1M+
WWII Patients Moved
< 1%
In-Flight Mortality