Spc. Jennifer Fitts
Aviation Brigade PAO
CAMP TAJI, Iraq -- When a Soldier gets hurt somewhere within the Multi-National Division-Baghdad area and needs to be transported to the nearest combat hospital, a special group of Soldiers assigned to the Aviation Brigade is called upon to get the job done.
Pilots, crew chiefs and flight medics of the 50th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) from Ft. Campbell, Ky., spend their days and nights ready to answer the emergency call.
Although the unit calls the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) home, it is attached to the 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment (General Support) for the duration of the deployment. To ensure equal coverage, the unit is divided with part of the unit at Camp Falcon in order to support the southern part of the MND-B area.
Missions are sorted into three categories; urgent, priority and routine. Daily missions can fall into any of the three categories.
"Generally, when we're called, it's "life, limb or eyesight,"" said Staff Sgt. Jamie J. Rath, referring to the type of missions the medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) pilots and medics respond to in their area of operations.
That isn't set in stone, though, said Rath, since the 50th Medical Co. pilots will sometimes pick up what might normally be a ground ambulance mission.
The teams are divided into day and night crews, who are on standby to handle an average of six to eight missions a day.
The pace ebbs and flows depending on operations within theater and medical needs, said Chief Warrant Officer Gary T. Murphy, a pilot from Greeley, Neb.
It's all day to day, said Rath. "We've had days where all of the aircraft were out, and days where nobody's flying."
On one of the busiest and more difficult days, the company had 24 missions in 23 hours.
At Camp Taji, shifts generally last anywhere from 10-13 hours, the beginning of each shift overlapping the ending shift by about an hour, allowing time to relay information and brief the incoming crew. Camp Falcon, with a marginally slower operational tempo, runs crews on 24-hour shifts.
With the aircraft ready to go at any time, Soldiers from the 50th are capable of responding to an emergency within minutes. Making sure the helicopters are squared away and ready to go means that maintenance is a team effort.
The company maintenance shop plays a big role in keeping the MEDEVAC helicopters mission-ready. "We rely on them pretty heavily, since we're limited on what we can do," said Spc. Joshua M. Martinez, a flight medic from Santa Fe, N.M.
The crew chiefs take care of maintenance that doesn't take the aircraft out of service, with each shift helping out their counterpart. Day crews will take care of inspections for the night crew's birds and the night crew returns the favor. While crew chiefs work maintenance, the flight medics ensure they have the appropriate medical supplies stocked and ready for the next mission...whenever that comes.
In a demanding and fast-paced environment like a MEDEVAC unit, all of the personnel, including the flight medics have to be on top of their game. "We've got a pretty good screening process," said Murphy, "and we generally get the cream of the crop."
Although a doctor or a physician's assistant may come along for the ride, the flight times to and from Camp Taji are short so often it's just the flight medic taking care of up to six patients. The crew chiefs are Combat Life Saver qualified, and will help the flight medics out when possible.
Although the busy schedule keeps the Soldiers in the 50th Med. Co. on their toes, the unit keeps each other focused. "We're here for each other, and we've all got our game face on," said Murphy.
Eighty-five percent of the unit has deployed together before. "We're about as tight as we can be," said Murphy, "and we're all mission-focused."
Being there for the guys on the ground is important to the medics, crew chiefs and pilots of the 50th Med. Co.
"To take Soldiers and get them somewhere to receive medical treatment" it is instant job gratification," said Rath, "We took them out of the worst possible situation imaginable, and took them somewhere safe and I was a part of that."
| Date Taken: | 08.26.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 08.26.2005 14:06 |
| Story ID: | 2839 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 189 |
| Downloads: | 14 |
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