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     evacuation units were taxed by the distances from pickup points

     to ~he hospitals.   The long distances required frequent

     refueling, and the crews had trouble locating fuel points.   Some

     air ambulances reported landing next to tanker trucks, tanks,  and

     Bradley Fighting Vehicles to ask for fuel or for directions to

     the nearest fuel supply.


     Medical regulators are to manage the evacuation of casualties so

     they are taken to the hospitals where they can receive the best

     treatment and hospitals are not over or under used.  During

     Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, however, the medical

     regulators were unable to perfo~m their mission because of a lack

     of ~roper cotnmunicati~ equi~~nt.    The radios they used had an

     op~rating range of on~~ 15 miles, wher~~s the corps area was

     abo~t 250 miier~ deep ~ 100 miles wide.   Medical evacuation

     units ~re o~ting ~~~ similar equipment and, therefore, could

     not communica~ with t~~ regulators or the hospitals.   One air

     alnbul&nce crew teport~d that after picking up casualties, it flew

     directly to a ~spital and during the trip flew over enemy tanks

     and iatantry.  They stated that if it had been a "shooting war,'1

     the' c~pany wo~ld have lost all of its aircraft and aircraft

     crews because they could not be given directions to fly over

     friendly territory.  To overcome the lack of communications

     equipment, the VII and XVI II Corps had air ambulances making

     repeated round trips between a designated forward collection


¼

                                     16

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