OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea -- At times when integrating multiple groups’ procedures, the outcome tends to be to take away the good and bad, and work out the kinks in the process.

With the Republic of Korea Air Force and 51st Medical Group (MDG) personnel, they took the good policies and procedures of patient care and integrated the similarities of both services during a tour of the 51st MDG hospital facility Sept. 6.

The tour was part of the Republic of Korea Aeromedical Center Primary Flight Nurse Course in Cheongju, where ROK military personnel tour the 51st MDG hospital every few years to see how the flight medicine team performs aeromedical operations.

“In any situation, we need to be able to work together and know what each other’s capabilities are, so this is so important on so many levels,” said Capt. Johanna Boone, 701st Combat Operations Squadron medical readiness officer. “I hope they get a good understanding of what we do and we are able to understand what they do to build on top of that, and help each other care for patients.”

At the start of the tour, Col. Victor Ortiz, 51st Medical Group deputy commander, greeted the thirteen students before a hands-on flight nurse briefing where the two services exchanged ideas, experiences and asked each other questions.

The group then moved outside where flight technicians demonstrated loading and unloading procedures of patients onto an ambulance bus and a high deck patient loader platform truck, which is used to transport patients to the flightline to board aircraft during an evacuation.

The tour completed with a walkthrough of the patient decontamination room, where ROKAF flight nurses and technicians saw first-hand how patients would be decontaminated in a chemical environment.

“Our mission is to take care of our patients,” said Ortiz. “Working together and sharing information is key to us doing a good job. We are stronger together.”