SOUTHWEST ASIA - The 40th Combat Aviation Brigade Soldiers provided medevac training to Airmen and Canadian troops at an undisclosed location in Southwest Asia on Feb. 18.
Team members of the U.S. Air Force 386th Expeditionary Medical Group deployed last month from bases across the U.S. The 386th EMDG staffs a base clinic and works closely with members of the Canadian Task Force Support Component. The 386th EMDG is required to train with the current aviation brigade in preparation for possible patients who may be airlifted to or from the air base via helicopter.
The day’s training consisted of an orientation and safety briefing followed by several hours of hands-on familiarization with a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter presented by a West Virginia Army National Guard air crew from Company C, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, 40th CAB. Personnel practiced loading and unloading a simulated stretcher-bound patient into the helicopter. The helicopter crew concluded the event by taking personnel on a brief flight to get a broader understanding of the aircraft and its capabilities.
A person who isn’t familiar with a helicopter and the safety considerations involved could potentially be seriously injured or even killed in an accident. The main rotor can reach as low as four feet. A service member could also be harmed by the tail rotor, or the heat of the exhaust behind the airframe.
“When you have to [do a medevac] in a real-life situation it shouldn’t be your first time,” said Capt. Victoria Weiger, the 386th EMDG’s executive officer. “You don’t want to injure the patients, or yourself.”
Airmen from across the 386th EMDG, regardless of job, participated in the training. Any one of them could potentially be called upon to assist handling a medevac patient.
“A lot of us might not do this stateside,” Weiger said. “I’m an exec, but out here, it isn’t unrealistic that I could load a helicopter.”
“This is the first time most of these Airmen have worked with a rotary-wing aircraft,” said Chief Master Sgt. Mark Vazquez, the 386th EMDG superintendent.
By the end of the day, even the junior Airmen in the 386th EMDG walked away with more confidence and knowledge they might need in the event of an emergency.
“I would say I’m a lot more comfortable with this than I was before,” said Senior Airman Jared Blazich, a biomedical equipment maintenance technician from Nokomis, Illinois.
Medevac load training is good for the 40th CAB Soldiers as well. Even the regular routine of preparing the helicopter, flying it to another installation and assisting Airmen load simulated patients gives aircrew members practice they need to stay proficient at their jobs.
“This gives us hands-on experience too,” said medic Staff Sgt. Stephen Goodwin, a Parkersburg, West Virginia, resident in Company C. “It’s good for everybody.”