Thousands of feet above the ground, the human body faces challenges it was never designed to handle, making aerospace physiology training critical to keeping aircrew mission ready.
Through specialized training and hands-on simulations, 12th Operations Support Squadron aerospace physiology technicians teach aircrew how altitude, pressure changes and other conditions can affect the human body during flight. Their work helps aviators recognize and respond to these physiological challenges, ensuring aircrew are prepared to operate safely and effectively in demanding environments.
Utilizing classroom education and high-dollar training equipment, aerospace physiology’s purpose is to provide pilots and aircrew with knowledge about their bodies, dangers they may face in the air and how to handle them.
“Our number one training device is the altitude chamber,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Newman, 12th OSS operations noncommissioned officer in charge. “It shows them the effects of hypoxia on their bodies and how to go through the emergency procedures they learn in the classroom, which we’re trying to make a second nature for them.”
One of the most well-known physiological dangers for pilots and aircrew is hypoxia, a medical term for when the body’s tissues and organs lack enough oxygen to function properly, according to Senior Airman Kedin Vasquez Gonzalez, 12th OSS aerospace physiology technician.
This can cause many different symptoms, including tingling or numbness, blurred vision, drowsiness and even euphoria, which may give the service member a false sense of well-being.
“A lot of students come with the impression that they already know how they’re going to feel when they become hypoxic,” Newman said. “They have expectations of, ‘I’m going to be confused or have trouble breathing,’ but when they actually experience hypoxia, they have symptoms that are completely different.”
Aerospace physiology accomplishes its goal of educating and demonstrating the dangers and emergency procedures before a mishap occurs in a multimillion-dollar aircraft thousands of feet in the air.
“Aerospace physiology is important for mission readiness because they have to come through us in order to get in the air,” said Senior Airman Aiden Bowers, 12th OSS aerospace physiology technician. “If our job isn’t done well, the pilots and aircrew don’t receive the proper training which can lead to mishaps in the air that no one wants to happen.”
Hypoxia, while most well-known, is not the only physiological danger pilots and aircrew face at altitude. “Decompression sickness is more commonly associated with divers, but many pilots have a chance to undergo it,” Bowers said. As altitude increases, the changing atmospheric pressure can have significant effects on the body which creates another hazard that aircrew must be prepared to recognize and manage.
“Aerospace physiology targets the human body and mind to be able to deal with mishaps or adverse physiological conditions because without that knowledge, we may see the degradation of the mission itself,” Newman said. “Here at Randolph, we teach every single physiology course there is to not just Air Force personnel, but all sister services.”
From hypoxia and decompression sickness to the many other physiological challenges of flight and parachuting, pilots, aircrew and special warfare operators face internal risks that can affect both their health and the mission every time they take to the skies.
Through education, training and hands-on experience, aerospace physiology technicians inform service members across the military how to recognize and manage issues with their bodies and minds to protect lives and the mission. By preparing them on the ground, these Airmen ensure those service members are ready to perform when it matters most in the air.
“Getting the knowledge and relaying it to students is one of the reasons I enjoy being an instructor,” Newman said. “I like being able to explain how systems work in their aircraft and how their body will react, then watching them connect the dots and ideally becoming better pilots or aircrew for it.”