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The Sign Not Left to Dust
AL ASAD AIRBASE, Iraq — “The signs are like icons. If you were around a medical evacuation unit for a minute, then you have likely seen these signs on deployments,” said 1st Sgt. Alma Ortiztovar, 1st Sgt. of Charlie Company, 3rd Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment, 10th Mountain Division.
The DUSTOFF sign, one of the few signs of its unique history that now proudly hangs on the Al Asad Airbase, Iraq, initially hung in Bagram Airfield during the War in Afghanistan and would be secured by Charlie Company, 3-82 General Support Aviation Battalion (GSAB), 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division when U.S. forces withdrew from Bagram Airfield in the summer of 2021.
“The sign was a reminder of what we were there to do,” explained Maj. Christoper Moser, commander of Charlie Company, 2916th Aviation Battalion, Fort Irwin, California, played a pivotal role in securing relics in Bagram before the U.S. withdrew from Afghanistan. “We were there to provide unwavering support to those in medical need, even in the face of the planned end of our involvement in Afghanistan.”
Just a couple of years after the DUSTOFF sign's already legendary journey and history, it would follow the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade to Iraq in late 2023, encompassing on Operation Inherent Resolve as a continual beacon of hope to those injured during the next chapter of the Global War on Terror and beyond.
“DUSTOFF is an acronym meaning Dedicating Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces,” explained Maj. Jillian Champagne, commander of Charlie Company, 3-82 GSAB. “Whenever anyone is injured and calls, DUSTOFF is going to be there regardless of the weather or situation.”
The DUSTOFF call sign traces its historical legacy to the Vietnam War, where Maj. Charles Kelly, or “Combat Kelly,” flew into dangerous landing zones to recover wounded Soldiers during battle. Kelly was tragically killed in 1964 after he refused to withdraw from a hot landing zone, taking fire in the pursuit of recovering casualties. Kelly’s final words to the ground forces were, “When I have your wounded.”
“It’s definitely something that ties us together — the experiences, the familiar names of people who have been around for a while. It’s like a huge family, and you see those relatives spread to other units as they do their permanent change of station. The sign makes you remember the community,” said Ortiztovar.
The Soviet Union constructed Bagram Airfield in the 1950s. As the latter half of the 20th century unfolded, it witnessed a tumultuous period of extensive construction and war. From the Soviet-Afghan war from 1979 to 1989 to the Taliban's complete control of the airfield by 2000, Bagram played and likely will continue to play a pivotal role operationally during peace and war in Afghanistan.
Following the Sept. 11th attacks on the United States at the hands of Al Qaeda, a U.S.-led invasion seized Bagram a mere three months following the attacks, allowing the U.S. to hold the biggest base in Afghanistan. In January 2002, the first DUSTOFF unit would begin operating out of Bagram.
“I can tell you, working on casualties out in the field, nothing feels better than hearing that helicopter coming,” explained Sgt. 1st Class Seain Dunne of Charlie Company, 3-82 GSAB.
Dunne also played a massive role in the recovery of the DUSTOFF sign that’s now in Iraq and the greater DUSTOFF history in the region. The sign hung in Bagram as early as 2006 and resided there until the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021.
“For me, it served as a final send-off when I went out to the aircraft. We passed beneath it, coming out of the operations building. It was a daily reminder of what I was doing for my country,” said Moser.
Hundreds of medical evacuation missions would bear witness under the sign, ensuring prolonged life for military personnel and civilians who were the victims of both war and circumstance. The sign would be one of the first things medics and pilots saw before departing for a mission and one of the last things they saw upon their return.
“We had one on the street side that people knew what unit was there,” recalls Ortiztovar. “The ground units would come to talk to us to coordinate hot and cold load training for their personnel going outside the wire on missions. When flight medics briefed them on what we could do in the back of the aircraft, and pilots briefed how quickly we could take off on urgent missions and how fast the helicopters could go, I think that made them more sure that if they got hurt, we would come for them as fast as we could and take care of them the best way possible.”
The DUSTOFF signs of Bagram, however, did not only serve as something of a tunnel run you’d see from the likes of football stars, but they were also there when Soldiers needed downtime following the tense and often horrifying pursuits of recovering and treating casualties from day-to-day in combat.
“We placed the sign right outside the then-new tactical operations center in Bagram next to a swing that an engineer unit made for us,” recalled Ortiztovar. “That was where we decompressed from the missions after dropping off our gear in the TOC. A lot of after-action reviews of the flights and mental decompression with each other. What we do and see can be very traumatizing, and sharing your thoughts and fears about it definitely makes you feel like you are not alone.”
“The first time you do a medical evacuation mission in country, your adrenaline is going, your blood is rushing,” said Champagne. “You go and save a Soldier, and then the call sign DUSTOFF really starts to mean a lot to you.”
The U.S. began reducing the number of troops in Afghanistan in 2020, and by January 2021, the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan had been at its lowest since 2001.
As the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade was called for what would be the final rotations in Afghanistan, paratroopers were tasked with shutting down 20 years of conflict in a war that defined most soldiers' careers and the childhoods of those who were just starting theirs.
“We deployed as a task force with the express purpose of recovering aviation operations,” said Dunne. “Our unit was there to cover medical evacuation missions and shut down operations that had been running for a long time. When we got on the ground, we knew that we weren’t going to be there for very long.”
When Moser and Dunne arrived in Bagram, they began recovering anything and everything historical within their footprint.
“We knew that we were going to have to basically sterilize the entire place,” said Dunne. “If you’ve ever been to a DUSTOFF hangar, there’s a lot of memorabilia because that’s really where we live. 24/7, 365 days, it’s home.”
Beginning in mid-May 2021, the recovery efforts were in full swing, with Moser and Dunne tearing down, unscrewing, and packing all of 20 years up and shipping it back to Kuwait and eventually back to the United States.
“When the withdrawal was in full swing, DUSTOFF was tasked with breaking down the entire footprint on Delta Ramp,” said Moser. “This included all of the DUSTOFF compound and portions of the barracks that once housed countless aircrews. We began by removing from the buildings anything that symbolized those who once called the footprint their home. We pulled several plaques commemorating fallen Aircrew Members with the intent of returning them to their units. When it came time for us to load the containers, we pulled down the DUSTOFF sign, lowered the flag from the rafters of the hangar, and, with reverence, packed them in the containers for return to the States.”
In July 2021, the U.S. announced the complete withdrawal of Bagram airfield, and the signs would be recovered and repatriated to the 10th Mountain Division and the 82nd Airborne Division.
“The war in Afghanistan defined my whole career,” said Dunne. “Bringing that down, folding it up, and getting it home was a big deal. The DUSTOFF mission gets a lot of credit, but a lot of times, the people don’t. I felt a personal responsibility to get a lot of this stuff back and repatriated to the DUSTOFF community as a whole. I thought it needed to be recognized and remembered more for the people who have done the mission for 20 years than just for the history of DUSTOFF.”
From January 2002 to July 2021, every DUSTOFF unit that served in Bagram for 24/7 operations, 365 days a year, resulted in approximately 170,937 hours on duty throughout the entire War in Afghanistan, a credit and specialty unique to the whole DUSTOFF community.
“It was a somber moment in history for those charged with it, especially those who had been to theater multiple times. For many of my detachment, it was our first time deploying in the 20-year conflict. A few had been through multiple tours at Bagram,” Moser recalled.
The other DUSTOFF sign, which was actually a memorial for a fallen Soldier of 10th Mountain’s DUSTOFF, would go back to Fort Drum, where Soldiers of their DUSTOFF now take photos for their promotion in front of it in homage to the unit's historical legacy.
“They all take pride in what we do and want to represent DUSTOFF,” said Ortiztovar.
The DUSTOFF sign that went to the 82nd Airborne Division and is now in Iraq would spend the following months in an office, as Dunne explained. " It didn’t need to sit in a connex forever.”
The sign’s vacation from history would be short-lived, however. Its call of duty, much like the Paratroopers that make up the 82nd Airborne Division and especially those of DUSTOFF, needed to be on the frontlines.
“I took command in June of 2023,” said Champagne. “When I showed up in May for inventories, it was just sitting there. I thought, ‘Oh my gosh. This is amazing. Where did you guys get this?’ The last time I saw it was in Afghanistan. They told me they had rescued it from Bagram.”
In August 2023, two years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, it was announced that the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade would deploy to the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) areas of operations supplying aviation assets to the Middle East. Now, for a second go-round, the DUSTOFF sign would also be utilized in a new theater during the latest era of the Global War on Terror.
Champagne and her team got to work meticulously packing the sign for shipment, ensuring nothing could compromise its frame. There was no question amongst the company that the sign needed to return to a combat theater.
“I felt that’s where it needed to be,” explained Dunne. “DUSTOFF’s mission is always where the Soldiers are. That’s where we belong, and that’s where the sign belongs. I hope it will be in operation for a very long time. It needs to be forward where the mission is.”
“There’s a lot of legacy and pride,” said Champagne. “When we came through Kuwait, the Guard unit there was so excited to hear that we had the sign. Everyone in the community remembers seeing it. No matter the theater — Afghanistan or Iraq — DUSTOFF’s mission always stays the same. It means something to everybody. When they see DUSTOFF, they know what it means, who we are, and what we do.”
Months into the deployment, with the timing right, the DUSTOFF sign would rise again by the hands of the Paratroopers of Charlie Company, 3-82 GSAB.
Now, for yet another time in the signs and the greater DUSTOFF community history, the 10th Combat Aviation Brigade relieves the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. The DUSTOFF sign, as it has many times before, will bear witness to a new group of DUSTOFF Soldiers waiting to embody the mission and mentality of “When I have your wounded.”
“Seeing it in Afghanistan and the United States, I knew we had to bring it back to preserve the legacy. I wanted to set it up for everyone from the past who saw it and everyone who will see it in the future. It’s our sign. It’s our mission,” said Champagne.
Twenty years ago, the men and women who served in Afghanistan would go on to be bearers of history, those who exemplified courage in the face of the unknown and fear. Now, the torch is passed to the new generation of soldiers who will serve in Iraq—those who will become the next bearers of history and those who stand up to fear with courage. No matter the wounded, no matter the unit or circumstance of Earth and advisory, DUSTOFF will be there, and with that mission, the sign will continue as that beacon of hope and recovery.
| Date Taken: | 07.07.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2024 15:13 |
| Story ID: | 475699 |
| Location: | IQ |
| Web Views: | 48 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, The Sign Not Left to Dust, by SGT Vincent Levelev, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
