JOINT BASE BALAD – Every day in Iraq, medical evacuations help save the lives of injured service members and civilians who would die without immediate care. The Oregon NG Soldiers with C Co, 7th Bn, 158th Aviation Regt, stationed at JBB, can't afford to take days off because lives are on the line. They perform theater-wide medical evacs and transport missions constantly.
"We're always on call, on alert," said Maj. Geoffrey Vallee, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot and cmdr of C Co. "This mission is very reactionary." Vallee said the crews always have their helicopters and medical equipment ready, so when a mission comes along, the only variables are location and level of urgency.
When a 9-line medevac request is called in, the crew on rotation springs into action. An urgent call requires the helicopter to be off the ground within 15 minutes, said Sgt. 1st Class Patrick Casha, C Co.'s first plt sgt and a flight medic. "It's a pretty challenging thing," he said, "but everybody does their job as part of a team, and we get off the ground pretty quickly."
Each Black Hawk team is composed of 2 pilots, a medic and a crew chief. The medic provides en route care for the patient and, when necessary, is assisted by the crew chief. "My first priority is the security of the helicopter and all the people in it, but I also provide assistance to the medic," said Sgt. Tracy Braeme, a crew chief.
The Soldiers of C Co. said the mission, while challenging, can be very rewarding. "I can't imagine doing anything else," said Casha, who works as a paramedic in Oregon. Vallee said it's being able to do good things not only for American Soldiers, but for the Iraqi people that he finds most gratifying. "It's an easy mission to be proud of," said Vallee.
