Airmen conduct ground breaking aeromedical evacuation mission

Published June 28, 2010
By 1st Lt. Cammie Quinn
43rd Airlift Wing, Public Affairs

POPE AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. -- The moment they heard the news of the helicopter crash, members of the 451st Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron knew it was their guys who went down.

"When we heard about what'd happened, we all got chills," said Maj. Charles Moniz, 43rd Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron. "We just knew it was our guys, and we wanted to be the ones to move them if it came to it."

Major Moniz and his aeromedical evacuation operations team executed the first-ever U.S. and British aeromedical evacuation mission to airlift non-validated casualties, in what has been identified as the bloodiest day for Air Force personnel at war since 2005.

Major Moniz is deployed to a 451st AES detachment in the British-owned and operated installation, Camp Bastion, Afghanistan. While deployed, he is responsible for the strategic management of the aeromedical evacuation mission.

Also assigned to Pope's 43rd AES and deployed to Camp Bastion are Capt. Lisa Larity and 1st Lt. Johnathan Pentel who work with a liaison team in Camp Bastion. With the major's team are Chief Master Sgt. Eddie Webb, and Tech Sgts. Kristin Cooper and Eric Troutman from Pope.

He and the Airmen on his team work 12-hour shifts running 24/7 operations.

In the early afternoon of June 9, insurgents shot down a HH-60G NATO Pave Hawk helicopter. Two pararescumen from Davis-Monthan AFB, Ariz., and a combat rescue officer and a helicopter flight engineer assigned to Nellis AFB, Nev., were killed whle performing a medevac mission in Helmand Province. The pilot, co-pilot and aerial gunner survived.

Pararescue teams often use an HC130-P model aircraft for combat search and rescue missions. The aircraft is similar to what the EAES team flies on, and Major Moniz and his team have been working and coordinating training missions with the pararescuemen, also called PJs.

Staff Sgt. Ben Johnson, 451st EAES, and non commissioned officer-in charge of the detachment's medical logistics, personally knew one of the PJs involved in the incident.

"Of the four Airmen we lost, I was closest to Lt. Joel Gentz," said Sergeant Johnson. "He was my age; he was 25, too. He was a genuine guy."

PJs have the same skills as those in special operations, but what sets them apart is their medical training. They are skilled emergency medical technicians, trained to rescue victims who have fallen behind enemy lines.

"Everyone holds the PJs to such a high esteem," the sergeant added. "They are, undoubtedly, the toughest guys on base -- and in the field. Everyone quietly wants to be one of them because of all it takes to be a PJ."

When the news came that an American helicopter was shot down, and four Airmen were killed and three injured, a solemn and serious mood filled Camp Bastion, Major Moniz said.

"You put your head down, and you try to get through," said Sergeant Johnson. "It wasn't until I stopped, sat down and thought about it that I realized we didn't just lose a helicopter, we lost an American helicopter and American service members. They were shot down and the enemy got away."

Despite the situation, Sergeant Johnson knew the PJs would be rescued and the EAES team would be a big part in that.

"The rescue procedures run like clockwork," he said. "There's a chain of reactionary events: a helicopter goes down, and more go after it. It's comforting to know that if guys go down, we'll find them. I know if there are survivors, we'll find them. If there is anyone to blame, we'll find them."

The next few steps Major Moniz took to transport the Airmen led to a ground-breaking first for American theater aeromedical evacuation.

Typically, before an EAES team is able to transport patients, they are required to go through a process of validating and approving patient evacuation. If a patient's condition is grave, a Critical Care Air Transport Team is assigned and, along with an AE crew, set off to perform their mission.

"We were anxious when we got the call," said Sergeant Cooper. "You never know what injuries the Airmen have incurred."

"It was an honor to assist in transporting the PJs," she added. "Not only because they are our friends, but because we knew they would get the best care possible."

After confirming aircraft availability, the AEOT contacted the theater tasking agent requesting permission to build their own plan. All medics know - 'time is tissue' - thus the AEOT also asked for permission to utilize on-site assets and to move the American injured intra-theatre without going through the lengthy patient validation process, Major Moniz said. Permission was granted on all accords.

"From there, the mission took a life of its own when we realized two of the victims were being MEDEVAC'd at one time," he said.

An American CCATT and AE crew flew alongside a British Critical Care Air Support Team as they delivered life-saving and condition stabilizing care in the attempt to rescue the two PJs onboard, said Sergeant Cooper. CCATT supported one patient, while CCAST supported the second. The group of medics operated out of an HC-130P Special Operations search and rescue fixed wing aircraft.

Col. Barbara Jones, 43rd AES commander said she is proud of the members deployed from her squadron, and she is not surprised by their ability to break the mold.

"Our members have a lot of combat experience," she said. "They are confident, competent and capable everywhere we go; we break the glass and push the envelope, because we have that level of understanding with the system. "I'm very, very proud of our guys."

Upon the successful completion of this mission, a second mission was launched to evacuate the third casualty.

Lieutenant Gentz was one of four Airmen killed in action. Other Airmen killed in action June 9 were Tech. Sgt. Michael P. Flores, Staff Sgt. David Smith and Senior Airman Benjamin White.
A ramp ceremony was held in their honor.

"Standing on the flightline was the hardest moment of this deployment," said Sergeant Johnson. "During the ceremony, we tried so hard to be so tough, but we all just sobbed. It's like your brother disappearing. He was there, and suddenly he's not where he's supposed to be."

Sergeant Johnson said he learned a valuable lesson from this tragedy.

"It's not about me," he said. "It's not about counting down the days until we're home. It's doing what I can, the best that I can. That's the pararescumen's motto: 'So that others may live.' It's something we should all take away."