| TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. - As one of the smallest and most diverse squadrons at David Grant USAF Medical Center, the men and women of the 60th Aerospace Medicine Squadron make a critical worldwide impact in support of the Air Force mission to fly, fight and win.
The mission of the 60th AMDS is to optimize the performance of our Airmen by providing the highest quality flight and operational medicine, illness and non-battle injury prevention, occupational health services and environmental risk assessments both in garrison and while deployed.
The squadron is comprised of approximately 100 total force Airmen within 17 different Air Force specialty codes assigned to public health, bioenvironmental engineering, aerospace operational physiology and training, health promotions, flight and operational medicine clinic, hyperbaric medicine, optometry and audiology services. The 60th AMDS provides services in support of three wings, more than 50 partner units, 13,000 workers and 1,400 empaneled patients.
Throughout the last year, the Public Health Flight directed the largest occupational health program in Air Mobility Command. They achieved a sustained 100 percent compliance rate and was the No. 1 program in the Air Force for 12 months straight.
The Aerospace Operational Physiology and Training flight brought a new capability to Travis Air Force Base with the Reduced Oxygen Breathing Device used to train Aircrews to identify the effects of reduced oxygen on the body saving $50,000 each year by eliminating temporary duty travel costs.
The Bioenvironmental Engineering Flight was awarded a California state certification for their drinking water lab. As the only state certified lab in Air Mobility Command, they have collaborated with their counterparts at Beale Air Force Base to provide water laboratory support, saving $60,000 annually across two major commands.
The Health and Wellness Center mission was realigned and services changed to form the Health Promotion Flight. Although it’s the smallest flight, the impact is still large. The health promotions officer is fully engaged with the tobacco cessation program to include identification of designated tobacco use areas as well as integrating health promotion protocols into clinical investigation research to push DGMC to the leading edge of innovative medicine.
The Flight and Operational Medicine Clinic initiated the new Base and Operational Medicine Clinic to centralize the management as a specialty clinic for occupational medicine, medical standards and health assessments. Recently, they were awarded the California Commendation medal for their support of the California Army National Guards Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team.
The Hyperbaric Medicine Flight designed the first ever rheumatoid arthritis and traumatic brain injury study protocol as part of a hyperbaric research platform, propelling hyperbaric medicine as a world leader in developing break through medical treatments and was recently awarded the U.S. Navy Certification for Hyperbaric systems, the only certified chamber in the Air Force.
The Optometry Flight has built a collaborative partnership with three civilian universities to train 12 externs annually while boosting access to care to all patients. In addition, they researched a more efficient spectacle laboratory slashing turnaround from three months to two weeks skyrocketing the individual medical readiness status of our Airmen to 99 percent.
Finally, the Audiology Flight devised an innovative solution by providing amplified hearing aid devices to hard of hearing patients upon check-in providing a safer and much more pleasant patient experience as while preserving patient privacy.
The far reaching impact and the diverse capabilities of the 60th AMDS provide flawless execution of the Wing’s global mobility mission and has earned them the 2015 Air Mobility Command’s Team Aerospace of the Year Award.
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