Name: Staff Sgt. Tim Farrow
Military Specialty: 68W3F2 Flight Paramedic
Years of Service: 12 years
Unit: Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 126th Aviation Regiment (Air Ambulance)
Hometown: Newport, Vt.
Current Town: Jericho, Vt.
High School/Graduation Year: Graduated from North Country Union High School in 2005
College/Graduation: Graduated from the State University of Plattsburgh in 2013
Q. Why did you join the National Guard?
A. I joined the National Guard for the opportunity to serve my country.
Q. What do you do in the Vermont National Guard?
A. I am a flight paramedic.
Q. Is this your first deployment?
A. This is my third deployment. My two previous deployments were both infantry deployments. I deployed to Afghanistan in 2007-2008 with the New York National Guard. I deployed to Afghanistan again in 2010-2011 with the Iowa National Guard.
Q. How do you train and prepare for deployment?
A. Training and preparing for deployment is done through extensive flight time and lots of clinical training. We’ve had a bunch of experts come in and teach us. We’ve been to conferences around the east coast to try and pick up a bunch of knowledge to get ready for what’s ahead of us.
Q. What drew you to aviation and medevac?
A. The chance to do high level medicine on a helicopter.
Q. What do you do for civilian work?
A. I am a critical care paramedic for White River Valley Ambulance in Bethel, Vt.
Q. What do you think is the greatest benefit of being in the National Guard?
A. The job skill training you can pick up in the National Guard is probably the best the National Guard has to offer.
Q. What is your most memorable military moment?
A. First time riding the hoist, that was awesome. (Flight paramedics ride a hoist to pick up litter patients for medical evacuation)
Q. How long have you lived in Vermont?
A. I have lived in Vermont for most of my life. I have live in New York for about seven years but the other 23 have been in Vermont.
Q. What is your favorite aspect of living or working where you do?
A. Medicine is awesome, because you get the chance to help people every day.
Q. What has surprised you about the Vermont National Guard? A. It’s a very close-knit community. I’ve met a lot of great friends in the National Guard and have had a lot of great professional networking opportunities in the Vermont National guard.
Q. What is your favorite part about serving in the Vermont National Guard?
A. The chance to get to serve the state of Vermont and the United States at the same time.
Q. How many push-ups did you get on your last physical fitness test?
A. I got 67 push-ups on my last PT test.