MEDICAL AFTER ACTION REPORT

File: 970207_aadcd_008.txt
Page: 008
Total Pages: 17

              Mission flight times ranged from 13 - 15 hours round trip.
              Most missions were flown to Germany (Ramstein and Rhein
              Mein) but one mission was flown to Waddington, England.
              Accommodations at these bases were well coordinated and
              acceptable for crew rest except for one mission to Rhein
              Mein where the air crew was billeted in tents which were
              poorly heated and poorly equipped with  unclean sleeping
              bags. This may have been during a high occupancy level at
              Rhein Mein, but as a crew rest facility was unacceptable for
              that particular mission.

         9. Observations and Recommendations.

              a. Communication

                   (1) Observation: Lack of timely and appropriate
                   information upon arrival (i.e. a complete in-briefing
                   and a copy of the concept of operations) made for some
                   operational difficulties which could have been
                   prevented.

                   (2) Discussion: When the various elements of the ASF 
                   and others arrived at our duty location and lines of
                   authority were established, key personnel were not
                   thoroughly briefed, nor given a copy of the Concept of
                   Operations. Briefings by CENTAF personnel only covered
                   the mission and operational responsibilities of the
                   ASF.

                   About two weeks later a ccpy of the Concept of
                   Operations was given to our personnel. During this
                   initial two week period many tasks given to the ASF to
                   perform by CENTAF were found to be duplicated by AECE
                   and MASF personnel. This caused consternation among
                   ASF personnel and the U.S. Marine Support Squadron. On
                   several occasions problems arose between AECE and ASF
                   personnel over duplicated efforts and where lines of
                   responsibility and authority actually lay.

                   After receiving and reading the Concept of Operations
                   several specific issues and questions still remained
                   unanswered, which could have been resolved by more
                   precise information in the Concept of Operations to
                   clarify in everyone's minds what the appropriate lines
                   of authority and responsibilities were.

                   (3) Recommendation: If the "HUB" concept of operations
                   is to continue in the future it would be appropriate to
                   have a post-action conference of lessons learned by the
                   actual participants from both CENTAF and each HUB
                   operation to enhance and clarify the concept of HUB
                   operations.


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