The 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron (86 AES) is a U.S. Air Force medical unit based at Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Its mission is to move sick and wounded personnel by air under medical supervision, providing in‑flight care while patients are transported from deployed or austere locations to higher-level hospitals. Crews—typically a flight nurse and medical technicians—are trained to make rapid, complex medical decisions and deliver critical care aboard transport aircraft such as the C‑130J and C‑17.
The Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force is the air and space branch of the Netherlands Armed Forces. It operates fighter jets, transport aircraft, helicopters and space capabilities to defend Dutch and allied airspace, provide air transport, and support disaster relief and international missions. Within NATO, Dutch air and space forces are integrated into alliance air defense and operations, contributing fighter aircraft, transport and support units to joint exercises, air policing, and overseas deployments alongside other NATO members.
In military training, a “subject matter exchange” (often called a subject matter expert exchange or SMEE) is a focused event where specialists from different units or countries share their professional knowledge, tactics, procedures and lessons learned. Instead of a large exercise, it is usually classroom discussions plus hands‑on demonstrations and joint practice, aimed at building interoperability, mutual understanding and personal relationships between partner forces.
The C‑130J Super Hercules is a tactical airlifter that can be configured as an aeromedical evacuation platform, providing:
Available reporting describes this Ramstein event as a four‑day subject matter exchange held Jan. 6–9, 2026, but does not state that it is formally part of a named, recurring NATO exercise series. It appears as a standalone bilateral NATO partner training event rather than a branded, large‑scale recurring program, though similar aeromedical exchanges between allies are conducted regularly in other contexts.
For this event, coordination was led by the participating units—the U.S. Air Force’s 86th Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron and the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force Operational Healthcare Unit—under the 86th Airlift Wing at Ramstein. Funding and broader oversight for such combined training typically come from the respective national defense ministries (the U.S. Department of Defense/Department of the Air Force and the Netherlands Ministry of Defence), often using existing operations, training, and NATO‑related cooperation budgets. Public sources do not specify an exact funding line for this particular exchange.