Photo By Maj. Will Cox | Spc. Kimberly Bryan, a Georgia Guardsman with Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 1-111th...... read more read more
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MARIETTA, Ga. – When a patient is your mission, training is rarely conducted to just check a block. Soldiers of the Georgia Army National Guard’s aeromedical evacuation unit train to be always ready, knowing medics only get one chance when a life is on the line.
Detachment 1, Charlie Company, 1-111th General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), stationed at Clay National Guard Center in Marietta, conducted training on their airfield July 13, 2014. The unit flies UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters designed for aeromedical evacuation with an external hoist capable of lifting 600 pounds. In this training scenario they used an immobilizing device to protect the patient during a hoist mission.
“When we do live hoist training, it is not a check the block type of event,” said Staff Sgt. Travis Vanzo, flight instructor for Detachment 1, C/1-111th GSAB. “Training ensures safety. If you do it right the first time and you continue to practice, it becomes a habit. Then you are less likely to make those mistakes during a real-world event.”
This training used a compact, lightweight transport system, called a Sked, used to drag, carry, or even air-evacuate casualties out of remote and dangerous situations. When the patient is packaged with a backboard, the stretcher becomes rigid providing protection to keep the patient safe during the extraction.
“A lot of the guys get a heightened sense of what is going on while they are being hoisted up to the helicopter,” said Vanzo. “Anytime medevac launches the situation is serious, whether it is life and death or the person is just in a lot of pain, we are focused on getting that patient to the right level of care. And, yes, it is always an adrenalin rush.”
Soldiers are trained to load patients on a Sked to be hoisted horizontally or vertically by a helicopter if the pickup site is too confined for the aircraft to land.
“It is important to conduct realistic training like this,” said Vanzo. “Just like I was trained how to do it right, I am training up the next generation to pass on our lessons learned so someone can fill my shoes when I am gone.”
Safety is always built into aviation training through risk assessments and supervision. Staff Sgt. P. David Palmer, safety noncommissioned officer in charge, Detachment 1, C/1-11th GSAB was on site supervising the hooking up of the Sked from the ground.
“We train as we fight, because there is no substitution for realistic training like being pushed around by the rotor wash of helicopter 40 feet above you,” said Palmer. “I am there to ensure the patient and medic are hooked up correctly. And if needed, I show the medic how to do it right so that through training it becomes muscle memory out there on a mission.”
“Bottom line, when patients are your mission there is no ‘just good enough,'” said Palmer. “We only have one shot with a spinal injury, so there is very little room for error. The more advance training you have, the more critical patients you see. And when the medevac is called out, people are hurt. We train so we will be ready.”
| Date Taken: | 07.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 07.16.2014 17:32 |
| Story ID: | 136321 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Hometown: | MARIETTA, GA, US |
| Web Views: | 90 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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