David Grant Medical Center impressive
One of the hyperbaric chambers at Travis AFB is large enough to hold 10s of patients, but in reality only a few are treated at one time.
This is the last of a three-part series about an honorary commander visit to Travis Air Force Base.
The group of 25 Fairchild AFB Honorary Commanders was at Travis Air Force Base with the goal of gaining a larger Air Force perspective. The two-day informative and educational visit was to learn more about the Air Mobility Command mission, including airlift and medical readiness. The goal was accomplished.
Most of these trips are in conjunction with a training flight of some sort, but the honorary commanders pay for their own meals and lodging.
Lunch on the second day of the tour was at the base dining facility. This chow hall is much different from my years in the Army. There were many different foods to select. The serving line was diverse with several main dishes. A chicken breast covered in a tomato-type sauce was my choice. My side dish with brown ice. I also visited the salad bar and selected a green salad with balsamic vinegar as the dressing.
There were at least three other food lines with pizza, hamburgers, Mexican food and more. Gone were the old fashioned sectioned cafeteria food trays. We were eating on real china.
This was a busy place with some airmen gathering their food and sitting in the dining room, while others were asking for a takeout container, so they could return to work.
The next stop was the David Grant USAF Medical Center, home of the 60th Medical Group. This facility has several hyperbaric chambers, used to treat divers who suffer the bends, but there are more uses these days.
For example: An operation is needed to remove gangrene. Sometimes it is difficult to determine where the gangrene ends and the good tissue begins. A stint in the hyperbaric chamber will make the good tissue a different color than the infection. The surgeon is then able to remove the bad tissue and retain the good.
Two of the chambers hold several people at the same time to share the treatment and I can't remember the exact number. I want to say 40 or was it 70? There are smaller ones as well.
This is also a training facility containing virtual reality training, meaning they have patients who are automated. This may be common practice at today's medical facilities, but it was the first time I had seen them.
Five of us were in the control room as other HCs went into the patient's room. The controller was able to have the HCs and patient talk. As one HC touched the skin of the patient, the patient said, "Ouch that hurt."
We traveled from room to room, taking in all of the training aids and there were many. I was following another HC to another room and she needed to turn to the right to enter. She jumped and let out a small scream as the room came into view. She then disappeared.
I walked to the edge of the door and carefully peeked around the corner. There was an airman on the floor. The left leg had a deep gash and the right foot was missing between the knee and foot. This patient was pumping blood from the wound onto the floor. What's more, he was withering in pain and groaning. Wow, talk about virtual reality training.
Other training aids included screens where trainees could practice taking out a gallbladder or insert a heart stint. A video of an actual heart patient could be viewed on the screen and the doctor who was going to operate the next day could practice the scheduled procedure on this actual patient.
Our last tour was in the control tower. There were gobs of aircraft positioned across the tarmac, ready to load for their next mission. A series of energy generating windmills were visible in the distance. These machines were causing radar problems, as they resembled an incoming aircraft.
Travis and the local authorities were working together to eliminate the radar noise. In another direction, the windmill company wanted to line the ridgeline with their machines.
Working together, the two entities determined the windmills could be placed on the far side of the ridge, so the blades would be just below the top, eliminating any radar problems.
We boarded the KC-135 late in the afternoon for the flight home. I was impressed and awed at the many missions and activities completed at Travis. Of course the missions could not be accomplished without dedicated Air Force personnel. The airmen at Travis are superb, marvelous and magnificent, just a notch behind the airmen of Fairchild.