European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - March 20, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stabs and stripes thursday March 20, 1986 in flight Check staff sgt. Jill o Connell checks the pulse of a patient aboard a plane in route to Izmir Turkey from Athens Greece. Milia mediary nes a photos by red or cmdr ready for Takeoff flight nurse capt. Georgia Shimkus shows Pilot capt. Bill Blum the Manifest of passengers and patients aboard the c-9. At right is co Pilot 2nd it. Scott Messmer. Flight to Hospital requires care in the air by Judy Sarasohn medical writer Erry Sampson warned the passengers in the terminal at hell Nikon a Greece not to walk under the wings of the c-9. On Board he cautioned them to Wear their seat belts turbulence was expected on the flight to Izmir Turkey. Later he passed out customs forms. Sampson is not a flight Steward but an air Force nurse and Captain. Some of his duties and those of other nurses and medi Cal technicians of the 2nd aeromedical evacuation so at times seem unusual for medical personnel. But they re. Necessary for the daily flights ferrying patients Between . Military communities in Europe and hospitals that can help them. We re trained in aircraft emergency procedure Sampson said. It s part of the Job. When you work in a Hospital you have to know where the fire exits Are it s the same up  usually the Crew consists of two nurses and three medi Cal technicians All specially trained for medical evacuation flights. This flight also included a heart specialist from the air Force Hospital at Wiesbaden Germany because a cardiac patient would be boarding in Turkey. The medical personnel normally Don t treat patients on the flight but they Monitor their condition make sure they have their medication and help them be As Comfort Able As possible. However the plane has oxygen hookups emergency medical equipment and an incubator in Case of an unexpected delivery. If necessary the Crew can Contact a Doc Tor for instructions. But Crew members Are trained for emergency care if a patient s heart stops in mid flight they will be the ones to save him. When they patients get into difficulty they get difficult in a hurry said capt. Georgia Shimkus the other nurse on the trip. You can t pick up a doctor. You have to act on your  the leg Between Athens and Izmir is less than an hour but the trip Between Rhein main a Germany and in Ciurlik a Turkey can take a full working Day. Air Force chaplain capt Mike Hartzheim who was returning to in Ciurlik after treatment for lower Back pain at the army Hospital in Lan Stuhl Germany knows about the discomfort of the trip. He started the Day before on a bus from Lan Stuhl to Ramstein a. Yesterday i wished i had not declined the Stretcher on the bus. That was my own foolishness Hartzheim said. However he accepted the litter set up near the front of the aircraft for the flight Home. They did everything they could to make me As comfortable As possible he said of the medical flight Crew. The treatment on the plane was  the Day for the Crew started with a 6 . Briefing at Rhein main. It ended about 6 . With the final paper work on the flight at in Ciurlik. The Crew would spend the night at in Ciurlik and return to Germany the following Day. Despite the Long Days and sometimes bumpy flights Shimkus said you feel like you re accomplishing some thing. You see the result More than you do in a