By Senior Airman Abigail Klein

They chanted “Team Pakistan” as they ascended the ramp to a KC-135R Stratotanker.

The twist? Four of the five-member Pakistan Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 aeromedical evacuation team were Americans.

Upon discovery that Pakistan only had one flight surgeon to compete in the aeromedical evacuation competition at the recent Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, members of the base’s Air Force Reserve unit stepped in.

Pakistan Air Force Capt. Asif Jan was more than willing to accept his new teammates, who are usually assigned to the 446th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. The group of American

Air Force reservists included Senior Airman Gabriel Itaya, a Clinton resident and a 2006 graduate of South Whidbey High School.

The foreign flier needed a little help. Though Jan is a trained flight surgeon, he was unfamiliar with equipment configurations for the KC-135R and C-17 Globemaster III, and that part of the rodeo competition required a five-person team, traditionally consisting of two nurses and three medical technicians who set up patient support equipment accurately and in a short amount of time.

The competition included the team configuring a patient support pallet, which is used during contingency operations to hold gurneys, said Master Sgt. Tim McClain, the KC-135R configuration competition umpire.

To prepare Jan, he trained in less than a week for more than eight hours with his teammates, which included Itaya, a flight nurse and two other medical technicians.

“They were a great help,” Jan said. “They took the training very seriously and they really took the time to teach me.”

His teammates noticed Jan’s dedication to training with the team. He was willing, and as a result he was a quick learner, Itaya said.

Though the team finished the medical static five minutes past the goal of 25 minutes, they remained enthusiastic and continued to cheer “Team Pakistan” as they emptied the KC-135R from McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas of the patient equipment.

Jan saw the competition as a victory because the training will allow him to apply his knowledge of the KC-135R and C-17 patient configuration set-ups when he returns home.

“I am very grateful for the training the airmen gave me because now I can take it back with me and help save lives,” Jan said.

The airmen who worked with Jan say it was a remarkable experience and they were proud to be part of it.

“This was a great opportunity,” Itaya said. “We also saw it as a training opportunity and a way to expand international relations.”

Itaya graduated from basic military training in the Air Force last spring. He is the son of Beth and Joseph Itaya of Clinton.

Air Force Senior Airman Abigail Klein is a writer for Air Mobility Rodeo 2011 Public Affairs.