The use of United States Air Force (USAF) aircraft and personnel to move wartime casualties is well established. This asset is also an integral part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). The Aeromedical Evacuation (A/E) system, a part of Air Mobility Command, is a highly disciplined function capable of transporting thousands of civilian casualties at all levels of criticality. At the time of a large local or regional disaster, civilian medical treatment facilities, if still functional,  would be overwhelmed. A core function of the NDMS would be the relocation of civilians currently hospitalized or in need of hospitalization to facilities outside the disaster area. This would be primarily accomplished by the USAF A/E system.