Story by: Sgt. Monica R. Garreau
KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan ---- MEDEVAC! MEDEVAC! MEDEVAC! At the sound of those three words over the radio, the tiny operations center of the Kandahar Airfield detachment of the 68th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) springs to life.
The Soldiers of the on-call medical evacuation crew grab their equipment and rush out to their UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter. Each member of the four-man crew completes his final pre-flight preparations and, within minutes, they are off to evacuate their patient.
"When we as MEDEVACs get alerted, there's some kind of severe trauma or life-threatening injury," said Staff Sgt. Lonnie Bennett, a 68th Med. Co. flight medic.
On this day in late December, the mission is to transport 12-year-old Abudul Mulek from Forward Operating Base Ripley to the hospital at the MEDEVAC detachment's home base on Kandahar Airfield in southern Afghanistan. Mulek suffered from a severe case of appendicitis and underwent surgery at FOB Ripley. He was transferred to Kandahar for observation.
Although there is no such thing as a routine mission for the MEDEVAC crews, this one was relatively simple -- the patient had already received the operation and was in stable condition.
But the contribution they make to Operation Enduring Freedom is not bound by severity of the patients" wounds, rather their ability to save the lives of their fellow service members and Afghans alike.
"Our concern is to get out there and help whoever it is," said Sgt. Shawn Hurst, 68th Med. Co. operations sergeant. "It's a matter of saving a life, regardless of who it is."
No matter who they are saving, the reaction of the crews is always the same.
The mindset of the MEDEVAC crews is very steadfast, said Chief Warrant Officer Phil Schantin, a 68th Med. Co. pilot.
"Everyone's very much into the mission. It's very focused what you're going to do," he said.
"The fact that whether they get medical care and live or not is based on us."
While the two pilots are at the controls, giving the patient as smooth a ride as possible, the crew chief is watching for enemy activity and anything that may hinder the flight.
Meanwhile, the sole medic onboard is working hard to save the patient.
"When it comes down to it, the medics keep them alive," said Schantin.
Sustaining the life of a patient is an "adrenaline-rushing, heart-pounding, what-if situation," said Bennett. "It's just you back there, with your nose to the grindstone, doing your best."
Each Soldier in 68th Med. Co. has a different mission they consider most memorable, but their recount of the event always includes the joy of saving someone's life.
Staff Sgt. Josh Davis, a 68th Med. Co. crew chief, described a recent mission where two U.S. Soldiers lost their lives due to an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device. While the two died on the scene, two more sustained severe injuries, but held on long enough for the MEDEVAC crew to rescue them.
"That we could get them to the hospital in time to save their lives was just. If you get one mission like that during one rotation, it makes it all worth it," said Davis.
"It's the most meaningful job that anybody can have, because we're saving lives every day," he said.
The flight medics always accompany their patient into the hospital to pass vital information on to the doctors. But the rest of the crews" concern doesn't stop once the patient leaves the aircraft.
The pilots and crew chiefs often pay a visit to the patient to see how he is holding up and to get a sense of closure on their mission. One of these visits deeply moved Schantin when he talked to the father of a little boy whose life was saved, thanks to the evacuation by his crew.
"That was a good feeling," said Schantin. "You could see (the appreciation) in his face."
A good day in the MEDEVAC world is judged by a lack of missions, because it usually means that no one in their area sustained life-threatening injuries that day. But they also realize they are operating in a combat zone and there aren't going to always be good days. Job satisfaction must then come from their ability to help those in need.
"It's a double-edged sword," said Schantin. "Your business is based on people's misery, and the fact that we are able to go out there and provide life-saving care to people is very gratifying. But if I never had to go anywhere because nobody ever got hurt, I"d be happy with that too."
But Hurst summed it up best.
"No business is good business," he said.
| Date Taken: | 01.19.2005 |
| Date Posted: | 01.19.2005 10:05 |
| Story ID: | 874 |
| Location: | KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, AF |
| Web Views: | 239 |
| Downloads: | 190 |
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