On 3 and 4 December 2025, EATC’s Aeromedical Evacuation Control Centre (AECC), lead by its Head of Branch, Colonel Dr Henning von Perbandt, visited the Luftwaffe Air Transport Wing 62 (LTG 62) in Wunstorf, which is located west of Hannover in northern Germany. LTG 62 is one of the flying units working most closely with AECC in the field of aeromedical evacuation (AE), and this trip gave everybody the chance to personally meet the persons behind the “voices on the phone”, because, even though cooperation is frequent, it is exclusively on the telephone and via electronic means.
AECC staff were greeted by LTG 62’s Wing Commander, Colonel Markus Knoll, who had just returned from a successful exercise in New Zealand. In his presentation, he introduced his unit, their mission, the A400M aircraft and recent achievements.
Then, LTG 62’s senior flight surgeon, LtCol Astrid Berg, who also recently returned from New Zealand, invited the group to the aeromedical infrastructure, showed them the premises as well as the AE equipment storage and the Human Performance Optimization gym with equipment.
A nice dinner with Col Knoll and LtCol Berg in the town of Wunstorf, followed by a drink at the bar in the officer’s club marked the end of a great first day. AECC’s personnel enjoyed the quite luxurious accommodation on base.
On day two, AECC staff were given the opportunity to see the simulator centre and were demonstrated the flat panel simulator as well as the full motion simulators. The morning was rounded off by a visit to the maintenance dock with information on the A400M aircraft, its cockpit, cargo bay and general maintenance.
After lunch, AECC headed back to Eindhoven with lasting memories and an improved situational awareness, which will benefit cooperation with LTG 62 in the field of AE. Many thanks go out to Col Markus Knoll and LtCol Astrid Berg for their tireless efforts to make AECC feel most welcome!
Now AECC hopes for a reciprocal visit by LTG 62 AE staff soon!