JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO – LACKLAND, Texas – Rear Adm. Cynthia Kuehner, commander of Naval Medical Forces Support Command (NMFSC), and Command Master Chief Jason Reynolds served as representatives for Navy Medicine during the distinguished visitor day at U.S. Transportation Command’s (USTRANSCOM) Exercise Ultimate Caduceus 2022 (UC22).
Kuehner toured the exercise operations area at Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA) Lackland’s airfield, which simulated bringing injured troops from outside the continental U.S. and moving them to advanced care centers in the U.S.
The multi-day exercise tested global medical and logistics resources, according to Kuehner. The exercise focused on moving patients from overseas locations to medical treatment facilities stateside to receive the required treatment.
The exercise tested capacities around the globe, explained Kuehner. “For our part here in San Antonio, this was a wonderful opportunity to see what the CONUS (continental U.S.) operations look like in terms of being able to receive patients from a foreign theater of operations,” she added.
Senior medical representatives from each military service got an in-depth look at how the joint force and interagencies work together to support patient movement. UC22 emphasized the need for the joint force to speak the same language during patient movementand the need to develop future methods for completing these types of missions.
The exercise also provided a better understanding of USTRANSCOM’s mission, in that every service has a part in patient care, according to Kuehner.
Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost (commander of USTRANSCOM) explained her perspective during the brief along with her priorities, which include global posture, command and control and transportation capacity.
“We got to tour all of the stations they set up during an exercise and see how they work with different organizations to complete each part of the mission,” said Kuehner.
Along with serving as representatives for Navy medicine, Navy Hospital Corpsman Basic students got a chance to be part of the exercise as role players, serving as patients in each of the different operations within the exercise.