Behind the scenes: How MDSS supports McConnell Published March 4, 2009 By Tech. Sgt. Terri Roland 22nd Medical Support Squadron MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. -- Like a precisely engineered clock, the Medical Services Team works together to provide exceptional healthcare to troops across the Air Force. Medical logistics is pivotal in the support of medical treatment facilities peacetime and wartime missions. Medical logistics is a behind-the-scenes section that handles purchases, storage, repairs and management of all medical and nonmedical supplies and equipment that clinic Airmen rely on to provide top-notch medical care. Medical logistics has a very significant wartime mission, including managing war reserve materiel packages, home station medical response packages and pandemic flu supplies. One of the main WRM projects medical logistics manages is our biological warfare/chemical warfare package. This equipment is critical to the support of Team McConnell deploying personnel. Medical logistics ensures the BW/CW items are purchased, pre-positioned and maintained for increased force protection and rapid medical response to support deployers in their Area of Responsibility. Home station medical response packages are customer owned and managed items that provide medical response teams the supplies and equipment needed to support home land security. Medical logistics plays a critical role in the inventory and procurement of equipment and supplies needed to maintain fully capable and disaster ready teams. Together these packages represent the means to guarantee the 22nd Medical Group's preparedness in a time of crisis. The last critical program owned and managed by medical logistics is for pandemic influenza. In the event bird flu hits our homeland and affects our military and local communities, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has a strategic national stockpile of supplies ready to ship to state and local officials. To augment the SNS, medical logistics has medical supplies pre-staged to protect medical personnel treating McConnell's affected patients along with medications to dispense to patients to fight infections. The pandemic influenza program gives Team McConnell medics the capability to quickly and efficiently treat patients in the event of an outbreak. All three programs, WRM, HSMR, and pandemic flu play pivotal roles in the protection of Air Force troops in wartime and national catastrophes. The central player for these programs is medical logistics, providing the necessary personnel and systems to make the projects work. Whether you are picking up BW/CW for your next deployment or you hear of a pandemic flu outbreak in the news, remember, medical logistics is working hard to keep Team McConnell's mission readiness clock finely tuned.