Air Guard eyes Memphis for new aeromedical team
Memphis is in the running to become home to one of the nation’s few Air National Guard aeromedical evacuation units, according to Tennessee lawmakers.
The Guard could decide in as quickly as a month whether to add the team to the 164th Airlift Wing at the Memphis Air National Guard Base, said U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, one of eight members of the state’s congressional delegation to sign a March 5 letter in support of establishing the team in Memphis.
The 90-member team — including a full-time crew of two flight nurses and three medical technicians — would fly C-17 cargo planes on evacuation missions around the world.
Although he didn’t know how close, DesJarlais, a member of the House Armed Services Committee overseeing military readiness, said Memphis was “near the top” of the list.
“We’re in pretty good shape,” he said.
The base at the Memphis International Airport is well-positioned to win the team thanks to its C-17s and the recruitment opportunities between its nursing schools and a thriving medical industry that includes nationally known institutions like St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital, said DesJarlais, a Republican from South Pittsburg in the Chattanooga area.
Rep. Steve Cohen, a Memphis Democrat who also signed the letter in support, said in a statement released by DesJarlais’ office that putting the unit in Memphis is a “practical” choice.
“Memphis is home to some excellent nursing schools, including the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Christian Brothers University, all with talented graduates to recruit from, and the aircraft that would be used in the mission is already on site,” Cohen said.
That the Tennessee National Guard has one of the highest recruiting track records in the nation doesn’t hurt either, DesJarlais said.
“We’ve got a very strong presence with the National Guard all across the state,” he said.
Adding the team in Memphis would cost about $2.7 million annually, according to a fact sheet from the Tennessee National Guard that was provided by DesJarlais’ office.
Retired Maj. Randy Harris, the spokesman for the Tennessee National Guard, said he didn’t want to discuss the proposal in case it would hurt Memphis’ chances.
Nashville lost its aeromedical evacuation team some years ago during U.S. Air Force readjustments, according to the Tennessee National Guard fact sheet. Memphis is now the best candidate for a new team due to an unrelated conversion of planes to C-17s.
“We currently face more, unprecedented global threats from multiple directions, then at any other time in history,” the fact sheet reads. “... These missions are critical, not only for U.S. military operations worldwide but also for conducting humanitarian assistance and disaster response missions anywhere you can land an aircraft.”
Also signing the letter with DesJarlais and Cohen was Rep. David Kustoff of Memphis, as well as representatives Diane Black, Marsha Blackburn, John Duncan, Chuck Fleischmann and Phil Roe.
Reach Ryan Poe at poe@commercialappeal.com and on Twitter at @ryanpoe.