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Soldiers from the 68th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) pull security at Kabul International Airport.
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A patient is loaded into a helicopter by 68th Med. Co. Soldiers. The unit received an award from the Army Aviation Association of America for Air/Sea Rescue of the Year for 2004.
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By Staff Sgt. Monica R. Garreau 17th Public Affairs Det.
BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan ---- the operations center of the 68th Medical Company (Air Ambulance) here received a mission to retrieve three Marine casualties following an attack by militants in Eastern Afghanistan in June 2004.
A wounded Marine was stranded near Forward Operating Base Asadabad, along with two killed.
Capt. John Hoffman, Chief Warrant Officer Jason Rayburn, Staff Sgt. Robert Ramirez and Staff Sgt. David Hernandez departed by helicopter immediately to evacuate the casualties.
Their actions during that mission earned the unit the Army Aviation Association of America Air/Sea Rescue of the Year award.
They first stopped at FOB Asadabad for fuel before their mission. They picked up a Special Forces physician assistant to help their only medic, Ramirez.
Soon they left FOB Asadabad on the mission but were directed back because of confusion about the casualties’ location. As they approached FOB Asadabad, a rocket-propelled grenade passed over the rotor blades, cleared the front of the AH-64 Apache helicopter serving as the MEDEVAC’s escort and exploded 300 meters away. The explosion was immediately followed by more rocket and RPG fire directed at the base.
The crew finally received instructions to proceed with the mission, and soon located the casualties, but could not land due to the steep mountainous slope. The aircraft’s hoist lowered the medic and the PA. They bandaged the Marine’s wound, placed him on a litter and hoisted him into the Blackhawk.
The priority was getting the wounded Marine stabilized, so the Blackhawk returned to FOB Asadabad, dropped off the patient for treatment and returned to retrieve the other personnel.
Meanwhile, the medic and PA climbed down the mountain in search of a suitable pick-up zone -- at night.
The location found for pickup still wasn’t ideal, but with the nose of the Blackhawk pointed toward the mountain and the rotor blades just two or three feet from the slope, the medic and PA adapted and overcame by climbing aboard the aircraft via the main landing gear.
“It was very hairy, but it was the only way we were going to get our guys back,” said Hoffman, who was attached to the 68th Med. Co. from the 159th Medical Company (AA), Wiesbaden, Germany. “They were very happy to get back in the aircraft.”
With Ramirez and the PA back on board, the crew flew to a more suitable hoist-extraction point and picked up the two Marines killed in action. They returned to FOB Asadabad for a third refuel, dropped off the PA and picked up the stabilized Marine. After five grueling hours, the crew was finally able to make the hour-long flight back to Bagram and get their patient to the hospital.
When they returned, the crew began discussing the evening’s events. Hoffman said they were excited about what they did before collapsing into an “immediate exhaustion.”
“We were on an adrenaline rush for several hours,” Hoffman said.
When it was all said and done, the crew logged six flight hours, with four of them under night vision, came under enemy fire and conducted multiple hoist extractions.
“Every mission that we go on as MEDEVAC, you always try to prepare yourself for the situation,” said Ramirez. “Get in the frame of mind that anything could go wrong. You always plan for the worst and expect the best. And that’s exactly what happened.”
“It was a very tough mission, but we kept our heads,” said Hernandez.
All four crewmembers were awarded Air Medals with Valor device in addition to the unit Army Aviation award.
The award was given to the 68th Med. Co. in the form of a unit award. That’s a testament to the fact that regardless of who had been on the mission that day last June, it would have been just as successful, said Rayburn.
“Anybody here could have done the same thing,” agreed Hoffman.