101st Airborne's Dust Off Medivac Team in Action. FOB Dwyer 24th Sept 2010

The sun had barely risen on Friday 16th September morning when the first "Alfa" call for the "Dust Off" medivac team based at FOB Dwyer came through. Attached to the 101st Airborne Division, the crews from Alfa Company 5-158 "Dust Off" Medivac battalion are ten months into a year-long deployment.

The Alfa designation of a medivac call is the highest priority and the word has come in that two marines have been injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) in north-east Helmand. As the crews rush to their UH-60 Blackhawks and don their body armour, they are updated on the specific location of the landing zone (LZ). Within minutes they are airborne and while heading out to the LZ, the medic on board the bird readies his equipment.

Flying at around 120 knots and at just over 1000 feet above ground level, the Blackhawks fly in close formation with the "chase bird" -- the armed gunship version of the helicopter - providing an escort for the flying ambulance.

As the medivac bird lands the crew chief jumps out with M-4 rifle at the ready, closely followed by the medic who grabs the stretchers for the two casualties. The severely dry conditions in southern Afghanistan make the landings a massively dusty experience and it takes several minutes before the medivac crew can see the Marines who are waiting for them.

The first Marine (who is unidentified and is not identifiable in the video) is suffering from multiple injuries including shrapnel wounds to the legs torso and arms. He is the more serious of the two cases and is stretchered straight into the waiting bird. Medic Sgt Tyrone Jordan then grabs Marine corporal David Hawkins, 22, from Porter Colorado (We have his permission to use his image but should wait 24 hours to enable him to inform his family) and fireman lifts him to the waiting helicopter. With the two Marines safely aboard the helicopter takes off and heads to the field hospital at FOB Dwyer at around 140 knots making the ten miles in about six minutes.

During the flight Sgt Jordan checks his patients and sets up an IV on the more serious of the two patients and readies them for the ground crew who are waiting at the CASH (Combat Area Support Hospital) at Dwyer.

By the end of their 24-hour shift at 17h00 that day, Warrant Officers Portius, Otto and the crew had flown eight separate missions rescuing 12 patients.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Afghanistan
• Medivac
• Dustoff
• Helmand
• Province

[SPAZIDAZ]

Does anybody know if this medivac unit is based out of Clearwater Florida

[jolebolosse13]

imperialist killer's yankee !!!

[andrademeza]

so how do you get to be on that chase helicopter, id like to be the door gunner on there but since the army dont have a mos for that, unless you go 160th (but thats a whole nother thing). how do you get that job?

[ChaostheClown]

@TheMarineKid17 They have corpsman, too.

Everybody bashes everybody but when it comes down to it, they're all in the same fight. It's not like infantry grunts from the marines and army haven't worked together. It's not like the different branches never work together. It's more of a sibling rivalry type thing between the branches.

[TheMarineKid17]

i think it is so funny how Marines are always bashing the army But when need us Flight Whiskeys there crying to us.. Us medics will save any life no matter what branch.

but still think its seriously funny how Marines bash the army yet we save their buddies lives

[Costineparty]

That crew was mostly 2-14 people out of Germany. Mr. Pontious the first pilot seen on camera is Shadow Dustoff.

[synnfull1]

the armed acft you saw was the chase bird.

[mintyvision]

real life guardian angels. true heros. god bless you guys.

[SOCOMreviews]

@oOfekiOo The Medevac Helicopters themselves are not allowed to be armed. But the Crew Chief and Medic are still soldiers nonetheless so they keep their standard issue M4A1 on-board for protection while the patients are loaded and if they are shot down.

[jlm993]

geneva convention allows for small caliber defensive weapons. Not rockets or 20mm cannon.