The objective of this study was to use descriptive and phenomenological methods with Critical Care Air Transport Team (CCATT) nurses to identify knowledge and skills required to provide care for critically ill patients in a combat environment. Unstructured interviews, focus groups, written narratives, group interviews, participant observation, and review of in-flight documentation of care were used to obtain data from 23 registered nurses who had deployed with CCATT missions. Dimensions that emerged from the data included: clinical and operational competence, personal, physical, and psychosocial readiness, soldier and survival skills, leadership, administrative concerns, group identification and integration, aircraft air and evacuation familiarity, and nurse characteristics. This information should be shared with CCATT trainers and unit personnel to better prepare them for the realities of future deployments. Future research could incorporate these data into a self-assessment scale to evaluate CCATT nurses' readiness for future deployments.