The following is information for folks traveling via the AIR EVACUATION (MED EVAC) system to the Navy Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD). Much of this also applies to those going only as far as Tripler Army Medical Center (TAMC), Honolulu, Hawaii.

(1) The current AIR EVAC system is slow. You have to be patient and keep a sense of humor. I departed Osan AB on 5 NOV and did not arrive in San Diego (North Island Naval Air Station [NAS]) until 11 NOV, spending 2 nights at Kadena AB (Okinawa), 2 nights at Hickam AFB (Hawaii), and 2 nights at Travis AFB (California). On the return trip I departed San Diego (Miramar Marine Corps Air Station [MCAS]) on 26 NOV, spent 5 nights at Travis AFB, 1 night at Hickam AFB, and 3 nights at Kadena AB, 3 nights at Misawa AB, and one more night at Kadena AB, before finally getting back to Osan AB on 10 DEC. That's 6 nights going and 13 nights returning, some with free billeting and meals, and others at my own expense. One of the overnight stays on the trip to the USA was due to a maintenance problem with the C-141 aircraft. On the flights back to Korea the 3 nights at Misawa were due to bad weather (2 nights) and maintenance problems with the C-9 aircraft (1 night). The other overnight stays were simply because of flight schedules. In 1998 I did the same AIR EVAC and then it was 2 nights going and 4 nights returning. Some of the increase in the 2001 travel time may be due to the USAF commitments to Afghanistan, etc. If it's a real emergency, the AIR EVAC system can lay on a special mission and get an active duty service member or retiree or dependent there rapidly. But for most AIR EVAC trips, it will be slow and eat up a lot of time. You may want to consider flying commercial at your own expense if you do not want so much travel time.

(2) One of the "features" of the AIR EVAC system is that no one tells you how long it will take to travel end-to-end. I.E., the 121 General Hospital at Yongsan assumed I could leave Osan on 12 NOV and be at the Navy Medical Center San Diego (NMCSD) in time to make an appointment the morning of 14 NOV. I knew that was not possible, even under optimistic conditions, and convinced the 121 Hospital to schedule me on the 5 NOV AIR EVAC mission. Neither the 121 Hospital, nor the Kadena Aeromedical Staging Flight (ASF), nor the TAMC Aeromedical Evacuation Office, nor the Travis ASF told me I would not get to San Diego till 10 or 11 NOV. It was the same situation on return trip, i.e., no one tells you how many days it will take until you get to an intermediate location and they then tell you when the next onward flight is scheduled. You end up telephoning or e-mailing ahead several times to adjust hotel reservations, rental car reservations, and to tell family members where you are. There is also a lot of "hurry up and wait", i.e., having to be at the terminal or the flight line way before what would seem to be necessary.

(3) The AIR EVAC system flies a C-9 aircraft in a circuit around the Orient, as a "feeder" to assemble patients and escorts at Kadena (or Yokota) AB to meet a C-141 or C-17 AIR EVAC mission for the flight across the Pacific Ocean to Travis AFB, California. Other C-9's fly from Travis AFB around the western USA or to San Antonio or the D.C. area, etc., to transport patients to stateside medical centers.

(4) 121 Hospital, Yongsan, transports you via bus or van to Osan AB. You fly a C-9 from Osan AB to Kadena AB (the Yokota AB runway is shut down for AIR EVAC and Space-A flights for about the next year due to repair, so the ASF is operating out of Kadena AB by rotating their folks down there for temporary duty). Unlike Yokota AB, there is no hospital or ASF free billeting for retirees at Kadena AB. Retiree outpatients will be sent to on-post transient quarters. Expect to pay $22.50 per night. Billeting is within walking distance of the BX, USO, on-post clubs, AAFES eating facilities, etc. Litter or inpatient retirees will be billeted at the Navy Hospital at nearby Camp Lester.

(5) You will fly a C-141 or C-17 across the Pacific. Right now the C-17 fleet is mostly supporting other parts of the world, so bet on a C-141. Bring a warm jacket, wear warm socks, have a hat, etc., because a C-141 is cold. There are some seats that are actually warm if they are near the heat vents, etc., but most C-141 seats will have you in the cold zone.

(6) The C-141 can make a stop at Andersen AFB, Guam, or other locations prior to Hickam AFB, depending on whether or not there are patients to offload or onload at Guam, etc. At Hickam AFB you may make only a 2 to 3 hour stop, or you may spend one night, or more than one night. Be flexible. As at Kadena AB, there is no free lodging for retiree outpatients. The Army is in charge of all billeting on Hawaii and seems to take the easy way out, rather than checking all billeting possibilities for retirees. If you RON, they may try to put you up in an off-base hotel. An example is the Plaza down by the Honolulu Airport. It cost me $85 out-of-pocket, no bargain at all for a hotel "past-its-prime", and in a seedy area of town. On the other hand you can walk about one block to the Hickam Lodging Office (the Royal Alaka'i) and often get a room for the night, e.g., a very nice 2-room suite for only $22.50, sometimes within walking distance of the ASF flight line facility, the BX, the shopette, and dining facilities. You do not have to accept the off-base billeting that the ASF tries to send you to; you can make your own arrangements, but ground transportation will then be your responsibility. On my return trip, I got a very nice room via the Royal Alaka'i a bit farther away on Hickam AFB but was able to call a military taxi for free on-base ground transportation.

(7) The C-141 continues on to Travis AFB, where you can expect to spend at least one night, and maybe more than one night. There is free billeting in the ASF for retiree outpatients, in the ASF ward, which is a wing of the David Grant Medical Center. Meals at the hospital dining facility are also free for AIR EVAC patients. There is a small BX in the hospital, and the main BX is about a 20-minute walk. The ASF folks may try to deny you access to your checked luggage, using security as an excuse, i.e., they don't want to have to inspect the luggage the next morning when you fly out, etc. But if you need your luggage, sound off, and you can get your checked luggage. Don't take "no" for an answer -- it's your luggage and tell them you need it.

(8) A C-9 flies you from Travis AFB to the destination medical center, in my case, NMCSD.. The route is flexible depending on where they need to pick-up or drop-off patients. Usually San Diego is the first stop after the C-9 departs Travis AFB. At San Diego the C-9 may land at either Miramar MCAS or at North Island NAS. A NMCSD bus will transport you to the NMCSD. There is outpatient junior enlisted billeting at NMCSD, but no senior NCO or officer or retired outpatient billeting. So you are on your own. It's best to make tentative reservations in advance, i.e., surf the WWW before leaving Korea and make hotel or military lodging reservations. Be prepared to e-mail, telephone, or change the reservation on-line if you are delayed enroute and it takes you longer to get to San Diego, e.g., more than 2 nights enroute. Most base/post libraries will allow you WWW access, and you can usually find a military phone (DSN) to call the military operator in San Diego and then get transferred to the hotel, etc., to change the reservation. Or if you're delayed at Hickam AFB or Travis AFB you of course can dial an 800 number to the hotel. There are some hotels fairly close to NMCSD. Look for something close to "Balboa Park" or close to the "San Diego Zoo". If you stay farther away the San Diego public buses are inexpensive and easy to use and can deliver you to the "back gate" of NMCSD, i.e., the entrance near the Veterans" Museum Memorial Center, which is up the hill from San Diego High School. Military transient billeting is available at the 32d Street Navy Base, at North Island NAS, at Miramar MCAS, and at the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Training Center. For officer retirees I recommend the Admiral Kidd Inn at the ASW Training Center. It's right on the bay, near the airport, $22 per night, and within walking distance of good restaurants and (a bit farther) fast food restaurants. It's usually easy to get a room if you have AIR EVAC orders -- difficult if you are just on leave, in which case you do an 1800 Space-A call, just like at Dragon Hill Lodge.

(9) The AIR EVAC flights back to Osan AB are similar to the flights that got you to San Diego, e.g., C-9 to Travis and spend at least one night, then C-141 across the Pacific to Kadena AB and spend at least one night, then C-9 to Osan. 121 Hospital picks you up at Osan and transports you back to Yongsan. But as stated above, I spent 13 nights enroute back to Osan AB. Plan for extra nights. Plan on paying for accommodations either on base or off base.

(10) Naturally everything is subject to change, but this (above) is the basic scenario.

TELEPHONE NUMBERS: Not all verified - ASFs seem to provide some outdated telephone numbers. Most are DSN numbers.

OKINAWA TELEPHONE NUMBERS:

Camp Lester Air Evac Clerk 643-7601/7821
US Naval Hospital Okinawa DSN 643-7509, Army LNO DSN 643-7560
Kadena AB ASF DSN 634-0086/9399
Kadena Air Evac Clerk 634-1515/4195
Shogun Inn (transient lodging) Front Desk/Reservations 632-1100/1010
AMC Passenger Terminal 634-2159
Kadena Base Operator 634-1111 (from off base: 938-1111)
Kadena DSN Operator 194
Kadena Information 113
Kadena Military Taxi 634-4505/0030
Commercial Taxi 99-937-2467
American Consulate 645-7323 (from off base: 876-4211)
Pentagon Federal Credit Union 633-4505/4597
SATO Travel 633-0411
Okuma Recreation Center reservations 632-4386 04 634-9869

HAWAII TELEPHONE NUMBERS: (Commercial and DSN prefixs are usually the same)

Hickam ASF 449-1391
Hickam Lodging, the Royal Alaka'i 448-5400/5500/5987/5888/3585
Hickam AMC passenger terminal 449-0459/6833/1515
Hickam AFB Info 449-7110
TAMC Air Evac Clerk 433-2064/2640/6114
TAMC Info 433-6661
TAMC Guest House 839-2336
Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps enlisted billeting 257-1252
Hickam Shuttle/Taxi 449-1742
Hickam AFB commercial taxi (The Cab) 422-2222
Hale Koa Armed Forces Hotel 955-0555
Schofield Barracks Army billeting 624-9650
Pearl Harbor BEQ 473-5983
Fisher House 433-1291/1292/1293
Outrigger Reef Tower Hotel 923-3111
Outrigger Prince Kuhio Hotel 922-0811
Outrigger Ala Wai Tower Hotel 942-7722
Outrigger Surf Hotel 922-5777

TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE TELEPHONE NUMBERS:

ASF Nursing Station DSN 837-3537 (Commercial: 707-423-3537)
ASF Operations DSN 837-3470 (Commercial 707-423-3470)
Travis Base Operator 424-1110
AMC Passenger Terminal 424-5703. DSN (312) 837-5703
AA Taxi (707) 449-8294
Yellow Cab (707) 422-5555
Reile Airport Shuttle (e.g., to San Francisco International) (707) 451-4816
M&M Airport Shuttle 1-800-286-0303
Lodging reservations (usually not needed for AIR EVAC) DSN 837-2987 (Commercial 707-437-0700)

SAN DIEGO TELEPHONE NUMBERS: (DSN prefix = 522)

AIR EVAC Office NMCSD 532-8311 (DSN = 522-8311)
NMCSD Patient Administration (7x24) 532-8319
NMCSD Medical Holding Company 532-6100/5234
NMCSD Marine Liaison 532-6104
Yellow Cab 234-6161
American Cab 234-1111
Admiral Kidd Inn (VOQ), ASW Training Center, San Diego 619-524-5382 or 226-0444
Navy Lodge, 32d Street Naval Station 234-6142
Navy Lodge, North Island 435-0191
Navy Lodge, Miramar 577-4233 or 271-7111
BOQ, 32d Street Naval Station 556-8672
Marine Corps Recruit Depot billeting 524-4401
32d Street Naval Station billeting 556-8159
32d Street Naval Station Navy Lodge 234-6142
NMCSD Officer of the Day 532-6400
NMCSD American Red Cross 532-8165
NMCSD Emergency Room 532-8274
Best Western Seven Seas Hotel Circle 291-1300
Days Inn Hotel Circle 297-8800

NMCSD WEB SITE: www-nmcsd.med.navy.mil

MISAWA AB:

Misawa Air Evac Clerk 226-6239/6487
AMC Passenger Terminal 226-2370/2371
Military Taxi 226-4063
Base Commercial Taxi 222-5438/5439
Lodging 226-3526/4294

OSAN AB:

Osan Air Evac Clerk 784-2585/2588/2593
AMC Passenger Terminal 784-1854

YONGSAN (SEOUL), 121 EVAC HOSP:

Air Evac Clerk 737-3339

YOKOTA AB:

Air Evac Clerk 225-3581
ASF 225-3581/3582
AMC Passenger Terminal 225-9540/7119

Al Chellis (LTC, USA Retired), President
U.S. Military Retirees Association Korea