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OTOPENI, Romania — Ramstein Airmen headed to Otopeni Airport the week of May 10 to conduct training with their Romanian counterparts in Carpathian Summer 2010, a week-long cooperative exercise.
Two of the newest aircraft in the Ramstein fleet, operated by the 37th Airlift Squadron, transported members of the 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, 86th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, 86th Operations Support Squadron, the 435th Contingency Response Group and U.S. Navy Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit 8 to meet with their NATO allies, share operation procedures and to build partnerships.
“We are pre-mission planning with them, they are showing us some of the things they are doing,” said Capt. Scott Zwiers, exercise commander and pilot from the 37th AS. “Romanian pilots, navigators and loadmasters are flying with us while we do our missions.”
The off-site training also offered opportunities to maintain certifications and practice procedures that are difficult to achieve at home station, he said.
“We are conducting night vision goggle landings and tactical approaches, which are hard for us in Germany because of the quiet hours.”
The flight deck wasn’t the only place where training was taking place.
“Our flight medics are working with their flight medics. They are showing each other how they conduct business in the back of the airplane,” Captain Zwiers said.
The training here is just an echo of what the U.S. and Romanian militaries are achieving together on a daily basis downrange in Operation Iraqi Freedom and in the campaign in Afghanistan.
“The Romanians are flying missions into Afghanistan and supporting us there, so it is great that we are able to come out here and support them,” Captain Zwiers said. “It hit home today, one of their soldiers was killed in action in Afghanistan. So as we are training together, they are also headed out to retrieve one of their own and bring them home.”
The 86th AES played a unique role in the exercise, as this year was their rookie year at Carpathian Summer.
“This is the first time to my knowledge that (the Romanians) have ever invited an American aeromedical evacuation squadron to come and compare notes about the process,” said Capt. Erskine Cook Jr., 86th AES flight nurse.
The main focus of the 86th AES personnel was to develop a communication process with their Romanian counterparts to figure out the differences in logistics and processes of their missions, so the two militaries are better prepared to work together in future operations.
“It is fact finding; this is what we have, this is what you have, and how can it mesh?” Captain Cook said. “Ideally, I think that we all have the same goal of getting the patient to a more definitive level of care. If we can make that happen quicker, faster, better, everyone wins.”
The two nations have identified many similarities in their processes by training together.
“The only difference is the equipment. It all does the same thing, but they look different,” said Capt. Dragos Tudos, a flight surgeon in the Romanian air force. “The actual principal is the same, the people are the same, the way to do it is the same — it is not very complicated. I am a doctor, so the patient is the mission.”
In addition to learning to work with a foreign military, exercise participants were also reminded of the cohesiveness that must exist between Team Ramstein members in order to get the mission done.
“We rely on the 37th at home and here, because we don’t have our own aircraft,” said Senior Master Sgt. Patrick Skiver, 86th AES superintendent. “Any time their aircraft are in the air, they can be called upon to drop in and pick up an AE team and a patient. So if they are in the middle of doing airdrops and all the sudden they have to aero-evac someone out, it’s great. It shows their flexibility and how they are able to work with us.”
Along with the aeromedical training, members of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit 8, from Naval Air Station Sigonella, also provided jumpmaster and drop zone safety trainers for the joint air operation with the Romanian jumpers.
“I was the safety as well as the free-fall jumpmaster and static line jumpmaster,” said Chief Petty Officer James Endicott, a life support equipmentman from the EODMU8. “I make sure that everything inside the aircraft is safe for those jumping, without any ‘situations.’”
Safety was also a primary concern on the ground. Both sides took great care to ensure the jumps went without incident.
“My responsibilities here was drop zone safety officer,” said Petty Officer John DeLong, a life support equipmentman and parachute rigger from the EODMU8. “The jumps went pretty smooth, everyone landed perfectly on target with no injuries, so it was a good day.”
Overall, the exercise reinforced the bond between the two air forces and served as another step into a promising future for the Romania/U.S. partnership.
“Every time we come out here, it seems like it is easier, the training goes more smoothly, better,” Captain Zwiers said. “The support we have gotten from the Romanians is great, they are really interested in what we are doing and we are very interested in helping them out.”
