514th AEROMEDICAL EVACUATION SQUADRON

The 514th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (AES), formerly the 69th AES, is an Air Force Reserve Medical unit whose primary mission is to provide trained Aeromedical evacuation crews for the Air Mobility Command Strategic Aeromedical Evacuation System.

The 69th AE Flight was relocated from McChord AFB, Washington on 1 March 1971 to the 903 MAG (Associate) at McGuire Air Force Base, New Jersey. During the period between 1 October 1972 and 31 August 1973, the 69 AES qualified 15 operationally ready crews, and almost tripled the assigned strength. The revised Military Airlift Command (MAC) Programming Plan 72-29 set the 20 crews operationally ready by 31 August 1973. The 69 AES was the only unit to achieve this objective.

The 69th AES was second to none in its commitment and support to operational and humane missions. In May of 1976 our squadron assisted in the movement of patients from the Old Sailors Home in Philadelphia to Keesler AFB, Mississippi. Within less than three hours members of our squadron volunteered to crew a mission evacuating the survivors of the twin 747 accident at Tenerife, Canary Islands in March 1977. The Grenada Rescue Operation, Urgent Fury, and the Hurricane HUGO relief at St. Croix, Virgin Islands also found 69 AES personnel present and ready to assist.

When the call for volunteers came for Operation Desert Shield, once again the 69th AES responded. Within hours of its initial deployment alert on 8 August 1990, 55 AE crew members and Operations Personnel were ready for action. From the initial deployment through the post-cease fire wind-down, 69 AES members were instrumental in the establishment and smooth operation of the wartime Theater Aeromedical Evacuation System (TAES). In all, by the 28 February cease-fire, 185 of the squadron’s 220 available mission qualified personnel had been activated and deployed in support of Desert Storm. No other Aeromedical evacuation unit–strategic or tactical, Active Duty, Air National Guard or Reserve–bore a deployment tasking as heavy as that of the 69 AES.

On 1 October 1994, the 69th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron was redesignated as the 514th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron under the 514th Operations Group of the 514th Air Mobility Wing.