WHEELER ARMY AIRFIELD, Hawaii – An aeromedical physician assistant from the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade was presented with the 2012 Army Aviation Association of America Medicine Award at the Fort Rucker Senior Leader’s Conference at Fort Rucker, Ala., Jan. 29.
Captain John Kurtz, 3rd Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th CAB, originally from Omaha, Neb., received this award due to his efforts in leading the development, training, and implementation of the historic Army Blood Product Administration program and actions during his deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom 12-13.
“I feel fortunate to have been given the opportunity to excel,” said Kurtz.
The innovative blood program enabled flight medics to administer blood products to catastrophically wounded patients while en route to higher of medical care, a first in Army Aviation that saved countless lives.
As the lead medical officer of the program for Task Force Wings, Kurtz trained more than 32 flight medics and successfully completed blood product implementation at five sites across Afghanistan.
“We have committed ourselves to providing the best possible care available to the wounded,” Kurtz said. “Our goal is not to just meet the standards of care, but to take that extra step to better the quality of care for future operations.”
Kurtz’s steadfast commitment to the advancement of medicine was instrumental to the successful implementation of numerous programs and led to historic changes in the expansion of care in the back of an aircraft. The programs he created, training developed, and missions he executed resulted in countless lives saved across Regional Command South and Southwest.