Photo By Staff Sgt. Amanda Tucker | U.S. Soldiers with the 602nd Area Support Medical Company, attached to 189th Combat...... read more read more
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FORT POLK, La. - Heat can be deadly and those training at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Louisiana feel the effects daily.
When a soldier goes down due to the intense climate conditions during a joint operational access exercise, it is up to soldiers with the 602nd Area Support Medical Company, attached to 189th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, to get soldiers transported swiftly and safely.
“The intent of the training was to do a hot and cold load portion, day and night, in the event that we have a medical evacuation from Fort Polk any time during the exercise,” said Sgt. Thomas Vail, a flight medic with the U.S. Army Air Ambulance Detachment, 5th Aviation Battalion, Operations Group for JRTC, and Eighty Four, Pa., native.
A cold load is when medical personnel load a casualty while the helicopter is off; a hot load is when the propellers are on. The soldiers with 602nd ASMC trained on the Light Utility Helicopter 72 Lakota, a helicopter that requires medical personnel to load at the rear of the helicopter instead of the side like their usual loading procedures onto a Black Hawk. The Black Hawk can hold up to six litters, a Lakota can only hold up to two.
“The difference between going into a Black Hawk and the Lakota is the confined space,” said Bennettsville, S.C., native, 1st Sgt. James Brown, senior enlisted adviser for 602nd ASMC. “The tail end of the bird is really low and I need them to experience that. The average soldier weighs about 280 pounds in full combat battle rattle so if you would put that soldier on there, you have to modify your lift.”
The soldiers also learned the capabilities the medical aircraft provides. The Lakota has monitor capabilities for heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiogram, defibrillator and hoist extraction.
“The hoist is used for if you guys are out rocking in the field and you do not have a suitable landing zone within a mile or two,” said Vail. “We’ll lower the medic on duty and pick the patient up.”
Soldiers with the USAAD fielded a question and answer session after the training for any questions on the Lakota’s capabilities and the nine-line medical evacuation report.
“It’s important that they understand loading and unloading procedures,” said Vail. “I think the task was met 100 percent.”
“I’m a firm believer in training to the standard,” said Brown. “I want to push them that much harder to make sure they are the best in what Army medicine has to offer. Without a shadow of a doubt, when you come to the aid station, you are going to be taken care of.”
| Date Taken: | 08.09.2013 |
| Date Posted: | 08.12.2013 23:36 |
| Story ID: | 111861 |
| Location: | FORT POLK, LOUISIANA, US |
| Hometown: | BENNETTSVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | EIGHTY FOUR, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 226 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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