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BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - "The Golden Hour" refers to
the hour immediately following a serious injury and is the
most critical period in the patient's survival.
The
call comes in: there is a coalition forces member in need of
immediate and serious medical care in the eastern mountains
of Afghanistan. Within minutes, a small tactical recovery
team, known as Guardian Angel, is on a helicopter heading
towards their objective.
Members of the 83rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel attend to a simulated casualty during a training mission outside of Bagram
Air Field, Afghanistan, March 12, 2013. The 83rd ERQS Guardian Angel
is a small tactical unit that trains and executes their mission in
personnel recovery throughout eastern Afghanistan. (U.S. Air Force
photo by Staff Sgt. Chris Willis)
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For the members of Bagram's 83rd Expeditionary Rescue
Squadron Guardian Angel, this is exactly what they train for
and are ready to execute. Their mission is to rescue,
recover and return American or allied forces in times of
danger or extreme duress.
“We have less than an hour
to get that patient under ‘bright lights and cold steel' if
they are going to live,” said Staff Sgt. George Reed, 83rd
ERQS
pararescueman, referring to that “Golden Hour” when a
patient has no other option than immediate surgery.
“Any environment, anytime, anywhere we will execute a rescue
mission or patient recovery,” said Reed.
Maj. Joe
Lopez described Guardian Angel as a U.S. Air Force weapons
system comprised of three career fields: the CRO (combat
rescue officer), the PJ (pararescuemen) and SERE (survival,
evasion, resistance, escape).
This combined weapons
system can execute the five phases of personnel recovery
from Report, Locate, Support, Recovery and Reintegrate.
Recovering patients in Afghanistan requires not just
combat medical training but increased situational awareness
in case of enemy activity.
“Our team is highly
trained on ground tactics,” said Lopez, 83rd ERQS combat
rescue officer. “In many cases we have to provide our own
security in a hostile location while we prepare the patient
for transport.”
One of the distinct capabilities of
the GA team is technical rescue where they utilize
extrication equipment to remove war fighters or civilians
trapped in wreckage or collapsed structures in almost any
terrain or environment.
The situation can vary from a
high altitude crash to a mass casualty incident to a
packaged patient ready for evacuation.
“The idea is
to get in and out as fast as possible without exposing the
patient to additional threats,” said Lopez. “The longer we
are on the ground, the longer we are vulnerable to attack
and can decrease the patient's chance of survival.”
While in flight, the parascuemen perform trauma medicine to
stabilize the patient in order to bring them safely to a
higher level of care.
The actions of these
Battlefield Airmen of the Bagram 83rd ERQS Guardian Angel
prove their dedication and commitment to saving lives and
staying true to their motto, “These Things We Do...That
Others May Live...To Return With Honor.”
More photos available below
By USAF Staff Sgt. Christopher Willis
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2013
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