MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- When Marines, Sailors, airmen and soldiers are wounded in combat, it is often the responsibility of U.S. Air Force Mobile Aero-medical Staging Facility personnel to get the servicemembers treated, and then to safety in the quickest manner possible.Air Force active duty, reserve and Air National Guard medics and flight nurses conducted Pacific Warrior 2001 on Oahu Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. The airmen used facilities aboard MCB Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay; Wheeler Army Air Field and Hickam Air Force Base in order to better train them to treat casualties in a combat environment.K-Bay was chosen as one of the training areas due to the close proximity the MASF could have to an airstrip, which is vital for evacuation aircraft to land on."This base was chosen as one of the MASF locations because the flightline is right here - the plane can almost pull right up to us," said Air Force Maj. Janie L. Johnson, a flight examiner with the 622 Aero-medical Evacuation Squadron out of MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.The base was not only ideal for the MASF location, the hospitality of the Marines here was outstanding, said Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Baker, a medic with the 374th AES."We have really enjoyed the base and the Marines have been great," said Baker.The portion of the training conducted here was held in a small area adjacent to the rows of Navy P-3C Orion patrol aircraft parked on the K-Bay flightline.The airmen participating in the MASF training come from different walks of life, and many of them had never performed this type of training before, said Johnson."These medical technicians come from a large array of civilian professions, and pull together to perform a vital wartime medical mission," said Johnson.Through the Pacific Warrior exercise, airmen learned to save lives and care for wounded servicemembers in a realistic combat environment, said Johnson. "We are training to do this for real, this is our wartime duty."For Pacific Warrior 2001, the airmen acted as if they were in Korea during a time of intense conflict. The airmen involved in Pacific Warrior were split into two shifts, day shift and night shift. The typical shift began with a shipment of wounded servicemembers being brought to the MASF.The crews then unloaded numerous casualties and moved them into a treatment area in a general-purpose tent. Fast, organized medical treatment then began as the airmen fought for the lives of the patients in their care.Once the patients were in a stable condition, or as close to stable as possible, the MASF staff began documenting the servicemembers identities and conditions in preparation for the flight to a safe area for further medical treatment or surgery if necessary.With the arrival of an Air Force C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft, the medics formed an efficient machine and began offloading supplies and equipment and loading casualties to be moved to safety and advanced medical care. The training wasn't over once all of the wounded were evacuated. The airmen had to remain aware and focused, the next load of distressed servicemembers could come at any time. The objective of Pacific Warrior 2001 was to give these airmen an opportunity to improve their skills as wartime medical aids."The exercise was great, it gave me continued practice and training which made me much more comfortable performing my job in a combat situation," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Andrew J. Baker, a medic with the 374th Aero-medical evacuation squadron.Even though many of the airmen don't have much opportunity to exercise their skills, and a few of them had never performed any job similar to what they did at Pacific Warrior, all of the airmen performed at peak levels, said Johnson."Some of these airmen have never done anything like this before and most of the others do not have many chances to practice their skills," stated Johnson. "They have come together and performed very well."With continued training, the reserve and national guard airmen training here should be more capable of saving the lives and limbs of America's defenders.