News

McChord Reserve medical squadron adopts new medical team

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Madelyn McCullough
  • 446th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
MCCHORD FIELD, Wash. --  The 446th Aerospace Medicine Squadron here recently adopted five new air reserve technicians from around the 446th Airlift Wing to fill the recent openings in the squadron's front office. Now, AMDS has a fresh team of professionals ready to put their innovative ideas to use and increase mission effectiveness.

"Our mission is making sure (Reservists) are ready to go when they need to go, medically," said Senior Master Sgt. Richard Yager, 446th AMDS senior ART.

To achieve that mission, each individual has a different role.

Senior Master Sgt. Emiliana Harris, credentials monitor, is the newest member of the team, but after 28 years of serving in the Air Force and prior experience as a senior ART, she is able to bring the most experience to the table.

Tech Sgt. Elizabeth Jones, medical administrative assistant, helps Airmen with medical evaluation boards, line of duty determinations, and world-wide duty. Her experience in the operational realm at the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and the 728th Airlift Squadron brings a different perspective to the 446th AMDS team.

Tech Sgt. Sherlly Lange, management assistant, and Master Sgt. April Jefferson, medical standards manager, both came from the 446th Aeromedical Staging Squadron. They help the unit by assisting those who are new to the unit, whether they are joining the service, switching from another branch, or just switching from another unit.

"(Jefferson) being a previous (unit deployment manager), helps out with the deployment issues that we have with the rest of the base," Yager said. "Sherlly, being a previous (medical administrator) now in a (medic) position, brings some of the documentation stuff to the medical side that we never did as (medics). Each ART has a characteristic that makes things work really well."

Yager has been a member of 446th AMDS for almost six years, so his familiarity with the squadron helps him to successfully carry out his position of senior ART.

By combining all of their different skill sets, the new team is pushing toward change that will smooth out medical processes for Reservists in the wing.

"We're going to try to do the 200-and-something physicals we do a month on the (UTA), in one day," Yager said. "That's the plan. We're trying to find the best way to make it happen."
He hopes to have the new schedule for physicals ready by February.

Yager and his team also want to improve efficiency by better communicating with other units, he said. They want to know what the unit health monitors need from them to help make their processes with their Reservists easier.

"For line of duty, a program that a lot of people are not familiar with, we've actually gone out and connected with the first sergeant councils," said Jones. "We're starting to do more one-on-one communication with the commanders of individual units so they better understand the process and what the LOD actually is. That way they help their members and there's not much delay or confusion. It's been helping a lot of frustration."

Through the new process of helping Reservists in the wing help themselves, the ARTS hope to make being mission-ready as painless as possible.

"We are making sure our wing is ready to fight," Jones said. "Ultimately, all of us have a mission to be ready to mobilize and to support whatever our mission entails and whatever we're called to do. Medical readiness and mobility readiness is our number one priority."