Smoothing the Way

Medics and debriefers are also waiting anxiously

With its 20 white concrete buildings, 235 beds and 844 staff members, the U.S. Air Force hospital in Wiesbaden, West Germany, is the biggest and best-equipped American military medical facility in Europe. While it is prepared for anything from hangnails to heart surgery, the hospital expects to be confronted soon with an unusually delicate task: receiving and caring for the 52 American hostages during their first critical days of freedom. "Officially, we don't even know they're coming here," says a senior member of the hospital staff. "Unofficially, we've been ready to process and treat these people since last November."

At Rhein-Main air base 25 miles away, two white C-9A Nightingale hospital planes are on 24-hour stand-by to fly to any European or North African destination to pick up the precious passengers. By every means that can be foreseen, from both a medical and psychological point of view, the way is being smoothed for the hostages' arrival. Says a State Department official involved in planning for the hostages' reception: "The first hours, even the first two days, are a very delicate time. They should be free of any pressures. They need to take a deep, long breath."

Preliminary medical examinations will probably be carried out aboard the C-9As en route to Wiesbaden. After arrival at the hospital, those who do not need immediate attention will be given complete physicals, undergoing tests for, as the hospital puts it, "everything from tapeworm to tuberculosis." Extensive psychological testing will also take place.

Finally, the hostages will be debriefed on the details of their ordeal—kindly but thoroughly—by a number of intelligence interrogators. The nature of the debriefing will depend on the individual hostages and the circumstances of their release. If all the hostages are released at once, for example, debriefing will have less urgency. If there is only a partial release, the freed hostages will be quickly questioned to determine the condition and location of the remaining captives. The higher-ranking diplomats among the freed hostages will be expected to make their own full analytic reports about their captivity.

Having consulted with a broad spectrum of medical experts, U.S. officials want to postpone family reunions until after the hostages have gone through a "decompression period." Explains one of the psychologists who helped formulate the plan: "A family reunion, as long sought after as it may be, creates certain burdens. An emotional performance is required that the hostages may need some time to work up to." Some hostage families, however, are reportedly planning to fly to Wiesbaden despite official appeals to hold off. The Wiesbaden stopover is expected to take from three days to a week, depending on the hostages' condition. After that they will be flown to Washington to meet with their families, and only then will they be welcomed with what is sure to be an effusive display of official national honors.