China Thursday successfully conducted a joint medical and logistic support exercise between its army and air force, the first of its kind in the history of the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

The subjects involved in the exercise included medical aid in battles against nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, on-the-spot treatment, field hygiene and epidemic prevention, transporting the injured to the rear by air and searching for and saving pilots.

Armymen from 10 departments of the PLA including medicine, epidemic prevention and control and air unit personnel participated in the exercise, jointly organized by the Logistics Department of the Air Force and the No. 4 Medical College of the PLA.

The exercise was the biggest of its kind in the history of the Chinese Air Force in terms of scale and number of participants.

(Xinhua News Agency June 17, 2005)