Posted on 12/31/2007 3:48:22 PM PST by SandRat
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, Dec. 31, 2007 Days after deploying here, Air Force Tech. Sgt. Stephen Thackery saw firsthand the cost of the Talibans war on the Afghan people and responded as he was trained -- by saving lives.
I treated four patients in the course of two missions; all were critical, he said. We had everything from fractures and shrapnel wounds to cardiac arrests. Since February 2006, Air Force HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters, like those assigned to the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, have been flying alongside Army aircraft to help provide medical evacuation throughout Afghanistan. Although its a new mission for the Air Force, the skills of airmen like Thackery have made them critical to its success. During a mission, my training sets in, and I start doing triage in my head. I work on one patient while Im thinking about how Ill treat the other, said Thackery, who deployed from the 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron at Pope Air Force Base, N.C. I dont think about what Ive been through until afterward. For medics like Thackery, whose experiences are with the Air Forces aeromedical evacuation mission, medevac is something entirely new. While medevac missions move patients via helicopter from the point of injury, where they are often in critical condition, to a nearby medical facility, aeromedical evacuation missions usually fly stabilized patients aboard fixed-wing aircraft from a medical facility to a higher level of care. Typical aeromedical evacuation missions can have anywhere from one to three nurses and between two and four medical technicians. If a patient is in critical condition, with burns or breathing trouble, a critical-care transport team is added to the flight. Such teams usually consist of a doctor, a nurse and a respiratory technician. Things are far different on medevac missions. On our missions, we are the only medical provider on the aircraft, said Air Force Tech. Sgt. William Crain, a Riverview, Fla., native deployed to the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron from the 622nd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Between us and the rest of the crew, we are the critical care team for the patient, and we can make the difference whether the patient makes it to the next level of care or dies. Crain, a firefighter/paramedic with the Hillsborough County, Fla., Fire Rescue Department, said the nature of the mission -- sometimes flying directly into harms way to pick up patients from the battlefield -- means additional responsibilities for the medics. Were not just medics; were part of the crew, Crain said. Were always alert for danger and looking around until we get to the scene. That shared responsibility and interaction among the entire crew -- medics, pilots, flight engineer, aerial gunners and the maintainers back at the base -- is just one part of what Thackery calls the wheel, in which each person is a spoke that helps ensure the entire mission turns properly. For a lot of our maintainers, its a race to see who can get out to the helicopter first when the call to launch comes, said Air Force Master Sgt. Sean Siegal, the squadrons maintenance production superintendent, a Moreno Valley, Calif., native, deployed from the 718th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron at Kadena Air Base, Japan. The person who launches it gets to paint a green foot on the door representing the save when it returns. Despite the dusty Kandahar weather, which makes maintaining the Pave Hawks a tough job, Siegal said, he and his maintainers are glad to be part of the mission. We work hard, but you dont hear many complaints. When we look back, well be proud of what we did here. Although the medevac mission is still fairly recent for the Air Force, most among the 33rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron find the challenges rewarding. Most of the missions are very challenging because of the terrain, weather and low illumination, flight engineer Staff Sgt. Zachary Gyokeres, a Farmington Hills, Mich., native who deployed with the squadron from its home station at Kadena Air Base, said, noting many missions are flown at night. Every time you go out, it is something different, but its rewarding to help someone whos injured and needs your help. Despite the rewards, the nature of the mission means that airmen often are exposed to the harsh results of the Talibans violent extremism, both against coalition forces and the Afghan people. However, the camaraderie shared by this close-knit unit helps them keep a balanced perspective and maintain their focus on the mission. Its part of our daily life, Thackery said. But we talk about it among ourselves, and it helps. The people we work with are extremely professional, and our motivation is to help get patients safely back to their families. Its a noble thing, and it is the high point of my career. (Air Force Capt. Michael Meridith is assigned to 455th Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs.) |
Related Sites: Combined Joint Task Force 82 NATO International Security Assistance Force |
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God bless my Air Force brother, my Air Force nephew and all Air Force personnel serving around the world.
Yeah, here’s to the Air Force. They have been doing some heavy lifting in this war. Even trigger pulling. Good for them, good for us.
Happy New Year.
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