The Difference Between Night And Day

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Shawn C. Rhodes
  • 927 Air Reserve Wing
MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. --  Thirty-Three thousand feet in the air is no place to be in the dark. Yet, for the last 50 years, that is exactly what the crews of the KC-135 had to contend with. For the medics and doctors of the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, being able to see their patients aboard this aircraft is literally a matter of life and death. Today, the first prototype lighting system was installed on a KC-135 here at MacDill.

THE PROBLEM
"When they designed and built this aircraft, they never thought (Aeromedical Evacuation Units) would need it" said Col. Thom Pemberton, the operations group commander for the 927 Air Refueling Wing and native of Kokomo, Ind. Pemberton oversees the Aeromedical Evacuation operations in his wing, and he knows just how important being able to see in the airplane is. He continued " ... when we take AE folks on board, they have to use headlamps to see their patients. The little bit of light provided by the aircraft distorts the colors, and seeing a patient's skin tone or the color of a bandage is very important."

No one knows that more than airmen like Tech. Sgt Gary Taiclet, a medical evacuation technician with the 45th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. A native of Tampa, Fla., Taiclet flies in the KC-135 and administers aid to wounded servicemembers while they are flown from combat theaters to medical facilities. Because light causes planes like the KC-135 to be more vulnerable during landing and takeoff, their crews have to operate in darkness. This precaution does not serve them well when they reach their final altitude of 33,000 feet, however. The same darkness that saved their lives from attack on the runway puts the lives of the wounded servicemembers aboard at risk once in the air.

"Even if all you want to do is check a patient's dressing, you have to wear a headlamp, that's how dark it is," Taiclet said. Because most of the plane's takeoffs, landings, and flying time are in the dark, Taiclet added "the lack of good light is far from an ideal situation for us."

THE SOLUTION
The need was made clear - adequate light inside the KC-135 during AE missions could save lives. When Pemberton heard about a new lighting system being developed that could be easily installed on the KC-135, last for years, and provide the light his AE crews would need, he was ready to give it a try.  "Our surgeons were having to perform surgery on patients and they couldn't see ... when I read about this new lighting system, I said 'make me your test case - I want it,'" Pemberton said.

Kevin McDermott, vice president of business development at Patriot Taxiway Industries, developed the lighting system. "These lighting systems are made up of LED (light-emitting-diode) lights that are virtually indestructible with a life of 80,000 hours ... they will throw these planes away before they have to throw these lights away," McDermott said. The LEDs provide 40 times the amount of current light the crews work with, and only require half the energy the standard lighting system does. He added, "The system is also designed to be installed by the AE crew themselves - they are pretty simple to put together and come with a 'quickstart' guide."
The lighting systems use 12 LED units per aircraft. The lights are mounted on a rail that is installed on the ceiling of the plane, and can be adjusted to provide light where it is needed most.

"You can turn all the lights on at once, or you can turn each individual light on and off," Taiclet said. He added, "This is great, because a patient in the rear of the aircraft would never know a light in the front was on. We can let patients sleep in darkness while we have light to work on the ones that need our care."
The lighting system is already in production for many of the wing's planes - 16 were purchased by Air Mobility Command already and are slated for installation. One of the best things about this new system, according to McDermott, is the price tag:

"This costs $24,800 for a system that can light up the inside of this aircraft, and that includes shipping," McDermott said with a smile. He added "we wanted to get the price to where individual units could afford to buy it, and I think we've done that." The best feature of the lighting system for the crews that operate it and the commander responsible for them is pretty basic: the visibility needed to save lives not only when on a combat runway but also when they are in the air.

"This new lighting system will increase the quality of care our troops can receive exponentially," Pemberton said. He added "the quality of care for our troops has to be second to none."