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equipped, and trained to satisfy the more extensive peacetime 
requirements. 
 
Observation. The prolonged use of the peacetime rather than 
contingency patient regulating/reporting system caused problems not 
only in the AECC, but with the medical regulating officers at the 
medical facilities. 
 
Discussion. The majority of the medical facilities in the AOR had 
only limited experience in dealing with the AE system. Most had never 
used the abbreviated contingency reporting system, although they were 
briefed on the system by AECC/JMRO personnel. It would have been 
beneficial to switch to contingency reporting/regulating in 
sufficient time for the MROs to get used to working with the system. 
In early December, AECC/JMRO asked to permanently switch to 
contingency reporting, but were denied by EUCOM JMRO. At least two 
contingency reporting exercises were run, but they confused the 
situation as much as helped, because the facilities were required to 
switch back to the peacetime mode as soon as the exercises ~-ere 
terminated. 
 
Recommendation. In large operations dealing with a multitude of 
medical facilities, it would be advantageous to permanently switch to 
the contingency reporting/regulating system early enough for the user 
service MROs to get comfortable with it. 
 
(2) JMRO Regulating. 
 
Observation. EUCOM JMRO didn't regulate AOR patients in the manner 
they agreed to, causing confusion and frustration. 
 
Discussion. On 4 January, USCINCCENT/CCSG hosted an aeromedical 
evacuation working group to discuss and resolve outstanding issues 
pertaining to strategic AE support for DESERT SHIELD/STORM. At that 
meeting the participants, who represented CENTCOM, EUCOM, and CONUS, 
were briefed on and agreed to a hub-to hub patient regulating concept 
presented by the CENTAF AECC. Under the concept, patients were to be 
regulated from each strategic AE hub in CENTCOM to MTFs near a 
corresponding hub in EUCOM. Casualties were to then be evacuated from 
each CENTCOM AE hub to its corresponding hub in EUCOM, using a 
combination of preplanned and retrograde missions. For example, 
patients originating from the strategic hub at King Fahd IAP would 
always be flown to RAF Upper Heyford for distribution to MTFs in that 
area. This regulating system would have facilitated processing and 
handling of patients coming out of the AOR, and it would have 
provided much needed standardization and consistency of patient flow. 
However, although the theater AECC requested missions be flown 
between the corresponding hubs as per the agreement, for some reason, 
EUCOM JMRO did not regulate according to the concept. This caused 
much confusion, as patients on flights to RAF Upper Heyford, for 
example, had often been regulated to MTFs in Germany. There may have 
been some reason that EUCOM JMRO didn't regulate 
 
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