How a squadron trains for excellence

By Flight Lieutenant Natasha Silver

10 April 2026

Last month, 1 Expeditionary Health Squadron (1EHS) transformed RAAF Base Amberley and Gallipoli Barracks into a high-tempo hub of medical and tactical training.

With close to 250 aviators, including 130 specialist reservists from across Australia, 1EHS conducted clinical warfighters training – held concurrently with military skills training and participation in medically focused exercises, Stoic Gauntlet and Viper Walk.

The goal: ensure every aviator is prepared, ready and capable for the complexities of modern operations.

Commanding Officer 1EHS Wing Commander Ajitha Sugnanam said this objective was achieved through structured stations including trauma drills, mass casualty management, platform-agnostic patient packaging and transfer, blood product administration and transfusion, prolonged field care and expectant field care.

For Wing Commander Sugnanam, the opportunity to come together as a squadron was essential for validating the unit’s collective readiness and technical proficiency.

“While our clinicians and enablers consistently perform to a high standard in isolation, this period demonstrated our ability to integrate at scale, delivering coordinated, interoperable clinical effects,” she said.

“As commanding officer, it is humbling to observe hundreds of our personnel dedicate themselves to honing their skills, strengthening relationships and refining procedures to operate as a cohesive, interoperable force.”

New to the ADF and immersed in her first activity, Melbourne-based reservist Flight Lieutenant Teysha Sandford-Hill said the scenarios felt accurate to her work in the emergency room as a nurse. For her, the novelty was bridging the civilian to military gap.

“I like working in an environment like this that tests so many skills – you’ll go from sleeping in your stretcher to jumping into an unexpected emergency,” Flight Lieutenant Sandford-Hill said.

“I do feel like I’m much more prepared to work within an operational setting. Just knowing the setup and how we would be expected to run as a capability – it’s been really nice to be involved with that.”

From baseline combat survival and weapons handling, to advanced clinical warfighter drills, the training ensures 1EHS will remain a premier expeditionary health capability.

“Our focus now is to sustain and advance this capability, ensuring we are postured to deliver scalable clinical effects wherever and whenever the mission demands,” Wing Commander Sugnanam said.