Litter-ally Saving Lives

Air Mobility Command is interested in a lightweight, man-portable litter system that could easily be used by aeromedical evacuation teams on transport aircraft that lack an onboard litter system. “A man-portable litter system that’s small and light enough to be stored at the AE team’s location has the potential to speed up the evacuation of patients significantly,” said MSgt. Christopher Sidoli of the Air Mobility Battlelab at Ft. Dix, N.J. In fact, “it has the potential to save lives—that’s the bottom line,” he said. Sidoli led a project last year that evaluated Lifeport’s Stacking Litter System that was originally designed to evacuate patients on helicopters. AMB completed a concept demonstration in June 2007 on a KC-135 tanker with extremely positive results, Sidoli said. The battlelab briefed AMC headquarters on it in December, recommending its fielding. AMC’s surgeon general’s office is also high on the SLS, saying it would “contribute to a more robust and flexible aeromedical evacuation system.” The AMB, like all the Air Force’s battlelabs, will deactivate by the end of September as part of a USAF-wide cost-savings initiative. (USAF report by TSgt. Scott T. Sturkol)