CSAR Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Missions

Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton Aerial Gunner, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron provides security during a medevac mission, Helmand province, Afghanistan, June 26. Photo by Staff Sgt. Shawn Weismiller.

Aerial Gunners Provide Cover for Lifesaving Mission

U.S. Air Forces Central Public Affairs
Story by Staff Sgt. Stacia Zachary
Date: 07.03.2009

CAMP BASTION, Afghanistan -- Air Force Combat Search and Rescue crews fly throughout Afghanistan, providing airlift and medical care to service members wounded on the battlefield. More often than not, this requires them to fly into and operate in extremely hostile and precarious situations and locations.

Aerial gunners are charged with protecting their CSAR teammates and do their best to bring everyone on the helicopter back safely.

"The HH-60s need to be able to land virtually on top of the point of injury to quickly recover the wounded," said Tech. Sgt. Scott Matthews, 129th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron aerial gunner. "The helicopters are a huge target for the enemy and we need to have our heads on a swivel making sure the PJs [pararescuemen] have the cover they need to recover injured people."

The rescue crews are successful in recovering the wounded largely because of the speed in which they can get to a location and extract the wounded on the ground.

"Speed is everything, so you need to be very familiar with your job so that you don't cause any delays," said Staff Sgt. Tim Chase, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, deployed from the 41st Rescue Squadron at Moody AFB, Ga. "We constantly train for these missions. This allows us to work confidently and quickly when we are on a mission. All that training helps us keep our guys safe in a hostile environment."

The irony of the aerial gunner's role in a rescue flight is that it often requires them to take a life in order to save another.

"The aspect of this job I love more than anything else is that we're here saving lives," Sgt. Matthews said. "On the flip side, we need to make sure that when PJs step off the bird to get the wounded, they have the protection they need. This may require taking out the bad guys so the good guys succeed."

For the crews, flexibility is important, as they never encounter the same situation twice.

"The challenges that come with being in the back are constantly changing and dynamic because the combat search and rescue platform changes according to whatever theater we operate in," said Staff Sgt. Sean Pellaton, 129th ERQS aerial gunner, a native of Castro Valley, Calif.

A common observation among the crews of the rescue flights is the amount of chaos they fly into when recovering the wounded.

"When we're on a mission, we're seeing all this chaos and right in the middle of that, there's this odd organization that exists," said Sgt. Matthews, deployed from the 129th Rescue Squadron at Moffett Federal Airfield, Calif. "We're right in the middle of these crazy situations. While we're observing what's going on all around us as thoroughly as possible for threats - whether natural or enemy - we're also playing an active part using the radios and manning a weapon."

The team, through training and experience, are completely in synch with one another, allowing the mission to become a well-orchestrated symphony of events. Once the helicopter lands, the gunners relay the signal for the pararescuemen and combat rescue officers to disembark from the helicopter to recover the wounded, while simultaneously alerting the operations center that the aircraft is wheel's down.

The flight engineers and aerial gunners man their .50 cal machine guns providing a virtual 180 degrees of security on each side, monitor the blaring radios, update the crew on the activity out their doors and prepare the ground forces for the helicopters' departure.

"It's all going down in a matter of seconds," Sgt. Chase said. "In that time, I'm looking for bad guys, the PJs are triaging their patients, I'm giving a 30 second call for liftoff, the [flight engineer] is making sure the systems are working and the pilots are focusing on getting us out of there and back to base camp. I don't know how or why, but everything just comes together."

Indeed, it's not until afterward that the crew has a moment to reflect on all the possibilities that could have happened during the mission. And it's a process built into the mission itself. Each flight results in a thorough debriefing, where the entire scenario is re-stepped and evaluated. With so much happening all at once, there can be a lot missed from one seat in the helicopter to the next.

"Everything happens so rapidly that it's only after the mission is complete that you realize how well everything went despite the chaos," Sgt. Matthews said. "That's when you realize how easily things could have gone wrong if you weren't focused enough, had enough training, or confidence in your crew's teamwork."

At the end of the day, it's the goal of the rescue mission that leaves the biggest impression on the crew.

"Being a gunner - I'm part of something much bigger than myself," Matthews said. "We go in and get guys who, if we weren't there, may not make it to the next day or even the next hour."

"One of the greatest things a person can do is risk his life for another's," Sgt. Pellaton said. "It's an awesome thing and something any of us is willing to do. It's not just a motto to us, it's the soul of the mission."

Op Khanjar photos

HELMAND PROVINCE, AFGHANISTAN - JUNE 30: Dust billows from behind a Marine military convoy as it drives to Camp Dwyer from Camp Leatherneck on a re-supply mission on June 30, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.

HELMAND PROVINCE- JULY 1: U.S. Marine Private Michael Spurling from Stewarts Town, Pennsylvania reads a letter from his mother as he sits on his cot at Camp Dwyer on July 1, 2009 in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of a stepped up effort by American troops fighting Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan. Getty.








U.S. Marines with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, along with approximately 650 Afghan soldiers and police officers from the Afghan National Security Force (ANSF), prepare to board CH-53D Sea Stallion and CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters at Forward Operating Base Dwyer, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. The Marines and ANSF are partnered for a major operation in the Helmand Province to transition security responsibilities to the Afghan forces. The Marines and ANSF will move into towns and villages along the Helmand River Valley in an effort to secure the population from the threat of the Taliban and other insurgent intimidation and violence. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Chief Warrant Officer 3 Philippe E. Chasse/Released)

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 02: A U.S. Marine from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position after off loading from a helicopter during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN - JULY 2: U.S. Marine Captain Eric Meador from Laurel, Mississippi of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. takes up a fighting position during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

MAIN POSHTEH, AFGHANISTAN- JULY 2: U.S. Marines from 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, RCT 2nd Battalion 8th Marines Echo Co. look to return fire during the start of Operation Khanjari on July 2, 2009 in Main Poshteh, Afghanistan. The Marines are part of an operation to take areas in the Southern Helmand Province that Taliban fighters are using as a resupply route and to help the local Afghan population prepare for the upcoming presidential elections. Getty.

U.S. Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, 1st Battalion 5th Marines temporarily occupy a house after arriving in an overnight air assault near the Taliban stronghold of Nawa in Afghanistan's Helmand province Thursday July 2, 2009. Thousands of U.S. Marines poured from helicopters and armored vehicles into Taliban-controlled villages in southern Afghanistan on Thursday in the first major operation under President Barack Obama's strategy to stabilize the country. AP.

U.S. Marine Corps Sgt. Ryan Pettit (left) and Cpl. Matthew Miller with 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment fire their service rifles during an operation in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan on July 3, 2009. The Marines are part of the ground combat element of Regiment Combat Team 3, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade. DoD photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)


See also Life with the Marines in Helmand (more photos) and Afghan flag raised above Khan Neshin for the first time (article, video).

Security and EOD in Wardak

U.S. soldiers of 10th Mountain Division secure the area after discovering improvised explosive devices (IED) on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in the mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Photo: REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov.


U.S. Staff Sergeant Blake Lundsfrom of 775A EOD from the 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division prepares for demining operation after an improvised explosive device (IED) was discovered on the road near Combat Operation Outpost (COP) Conlon in mountains of Wardak Province, Afghanistan, July 2, 2009. Reuters.

A Hometown Hero

Hometown Hero

By Katie Ussin, KULR8.com, "The Spirit of Montana"

BILLINGS - Just days before a Shepherd soldier was set to return home on leave from Afghanistan, he was killed in the line of duty.

Army Sergeant Terry Lynch was 22 years old and was serving his second tour of duty in Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle and killed him Monday.

Lynch was a Cavalry Scout deployed with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team last January in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was serving with the 10th Mountain Division Stationed in Fort Drum, New York. Sergeant Lynch joined the army in July 2005.

His awards and decorations are extensive. They include: the Army Achievement Medal, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, the NATO Medal, and Combat Action Badge.
...
Sergeant Terry Lynch, a hometown hero who sacrificed his life for this country.

SGT Lynch is survived by his sister and his father.

Operation Khanjar

Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, Regimental Combat Team 3, Marine Expeditionary Brigade-Afghanistan, prepare to board a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter, July 2, during the launching of Operation Khanjar. Nearly 4,000 Marines and Sailors from Regimental Combat Team 3, Combat Logistics Regiment 2 and the MEB-Afghanistan Command Element constitute the bulk of the U.S. forces conducting this operation, along with approximately 650 Afghan national army and Afghan national police forces.

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan, July 2 -- Thousands of U.S. Marines descended upon the volatile Helmand River valley in helicopters and armored convoys early Thursday, mounting an operation that represents the first large-scale test of the U.S. military's new counterinsurgency strategy in Afghanistan.

The operation will involve about 4,000 troops from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, which was dispatched to Afghanistan this year by President Obama to combat a growing Taliban insurgency in Helmand and other southern provinces. The Marines, along with an Army brigade that is scheduled to arrive later this summer, plan to push into pockets of the country where NATO forces have not had a presence. In many of those areas, the Taliban has evicted local police and government officials and taken power.

Once Marine units arrive in their designated towns and villages, they have been instructed to build and live in small outposts among the local population. The brigade's commander, Brig. Gen. Lawrence D. Nicholson, said his Marines will focus their efforts on protecting civilians from the Taliban and on restoring Afghan government services, instead of mounting a series of hunt-and-kill missions against the insurgents.

Godspeed, Marines.

Missing

One of our soldiers is missing in Afghanistan and is believed to have been captured by the Taliban. His family has been notified.


St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by the power of God, thrust into hell Satan, and all the evil spirits, who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Photo of the Day

STUTTGART, Germany — Bravo Battery, Fourth Battalion, 319th Airborne Field Artillery Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team provided 19-gun salute for arrival of Robert M. Gates, Secretary of Defense at U.S. European Command Change of Command Ceremony, June 30, 2009. Photo: David Robinson, Eucom Public Affairs.

SecDef at Landstuhl

Nice writeup of the SecDef's visit to Landstuhl with a lot of other interesting background information, so I'm posting the whole thing. Just one quibble: the person the writer calls Dr. Raymond Funk is actually Dr. Fang. And a big shout out to SFC Lawrence, who has been on staff at the MTD as long as I can remember. Good to see him mentioned here. And how cool that Secretary Gates brought two patients back to the US on his plane! I'll add photos as I find them.

Gates Visits Wounded Warriors, Returns Two to Washington

Office of the Secretary of Defense Public Affairs
Story by Donna Miles
Date: 07.01.2009


LANDSTUHL, Germany - Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates visited Landstuhl Regional Medical Center here on June 30, meeting with wounded warriors and the staff that treats them and touring a new USO facility that's providing them a better quality of life as they heal.

Gates paid a call to the largest U.S. military hospital outside the United States after presiding at change-of-command ceremonies at the U.S. European Command headquarters in Stuttgart.

The secretary toured the center's intensive care unit and the USO Warrior Center that opened in November, and he met with patients wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan. The patients represented about a 50-50 split between the two combat zones, reflecting what the staff here calls a trend as battle injuries drop in Iraq but increase in Afghanistan.

Air Force Lt. Col. Raymond Funk, deputy trauma director at Landstuhl, called the fact that many of these patients survived their injuries to be flown here for advanced care a testament to the military medical care system.

Gates has been a champion of improving wounded warrior care at every level from the point of injury. He ordered more field hospitals and medevac helicopters to Afghanistan this spring after learning that many troops there were too far from advanced-level treatment facilities to be treated within 60 minutes — the so-called "golden hour" after being wounded.

Gates told reporters traveling with him yesterday that he has his staff tracking "every single medevac" flight, and that he believes the additional medical assets are making a difference.

"Now, we're down to about 68 minutes" in average medevac time in Afghanistan, he said. But there's still a disparity in the response times – sometimes as little as 20 minutes, sometimes an hour and a half. "I want to equalize that," he said.

In addition to providing more assets, Gates said, he wants to cut through the administrative hurdles required to launch a medevac mission in the first place. "We want to try to get them to the point where they launch the helicopter even if they don't have the full chain of approvals," he said.

As he visited Landstuhl yesterday, the secretary met some of the servicemembers who have benefitted directly from the additional battlefield medical capabilities he ordered and his overall emphasis on wounded warrior care. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey Lawrence, platoon sergeant at the Medical Transient Detachment, said he was delighted to see the way the secretary interacted with his troops being treated for "anything from mental health issues to gunshot wounds and everything in-between."

"He's in there with about 55 people, talking to each one and shaking their hands," Lawrence said as he stood outside the new USO center. "It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Their faces light up, and it makes their day."

Lawrence called working with wounded troops at Landstuhl the most rewarding job he's had in his Army career.

"The patients we take care of here are very deserving," agreed Funk, who has served at Landstuhl since 2004 and keeps asking to extend his duty here. "Everyone who comes here has been doing something for their country."

After Gates' visit, as he lifted off from Ramstein Air Base bound for Washington, he had two of Landstuhl's patients in tow, headed for military treatment facilities in Washington.

Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Tracy Morton and Army Spc. Anthony Martinez represent the large percentage of Landstuhl's patients who come to the facility with non-combat-related injuries.

Morton, a Navy corpsman who spent nine months at Forward Operating Base Sharana in Afghanistan's Patika province, was headed to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., to be treated for complications following appendicitis surgery.

Martinez is a Fort Drum, N.Y.-based UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew chief who spent the past eight months ferrying troops around Iraq. That all came to a screeching halt when he woke up one day – May 4 to be exact – with vertigo, then developed Bell's palsy, a facial paralysis that caused the side of his face to droop. Yesterday he sat alongside Morton in Gates' C-32 aircraft, bound for Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington for additional testing.

Both Morton and Martinez had experienced the full range of combat medicine the military provides deployed combat troops.

Morton, 42, first went to sick call at his forward operating base's Army hospital, where he got first-level care from a forward surgical team that had just arrived. From there, he was taken to Bagram Airfield for surgery.

The plan was to return him back to Sharana after recovery, but Morton began developing blood clots, gall bladder problems and an embolism.

Because troops taking blood thinners aren't permitted to serve in the combat theater – a precaution to safeguard against excessive blood loss in the event of an injury – Morton was again flown to Landstuhl. He spent two days in a ward, then to make room for other inbound troops, two additional days in an outpatient status while undergoing tests. From there, he was set to be transferred to Bethesda for higher-level care.

Martinez, got his initial evaluation by a doctor assigned to Contingency Operating Base Speicher. The 22-year-old 10th Mountain Division soldier was then sent to a combat surgical hospital, where he was diagnosed with vertigo.

He recalled the frustration of being taken off flight status and assigned to office duties as he waited for the symptoms to subside before the Bell's palsy set in. He paid daily visits to the doctor's office, getting evaluated by a neurologist at Balad Air Base who consulted closely with neurologists at Walter Reed.

From there, Martinez was flown to Landstuhl, a stopover on his way to Walter Reed for an MRI and other care.

Neither Morton nor Martinez knows exactly how long they'll be at the capital region medical centers, and both expressed regret that they've left their units behind in the combat zone. They also had nothing but praise for the medical care they've received every step of the way.

"I've been taken care of very well," Martinez said. "Everything has been there for me. They've been awesome."

Morton said his medical issues gave him the chance to experience firsthand the range of care patients he treats receive once they're evacuated from the point of injury.

"We would ship people off and not every really know what would happen to them," he said. But after his experience at Landstuhl, Morton said, he's a believer in the military medical system.

"The people here are really mission-oriented with the wounded warriors," he said. "To see how they handled wounded warriors at Landstuhl was mindboggling. It was obvious that their mission was to take care of us – at any cost."

1st Cav Battalion Commander wounded in Sadr City

ABC’s Martha Raddatz has covered the First Cavalry Division during all three of their deployments to Iraq, particulary the 2/5 Cav which LTC Timothy Karcher commands. Having spent time recently with LTC Karcher, she's been following developments about his injury on her blog.

Yesterday:

I keep looking at the pictures I took of Lt. Colonel Tim Karcher a few months ago in Sadr City, Iraq. Even though we are walking through alleyways of raw sewage and rotting vegetables, Karcher has a soft smile on his face in every shot. In the interview we did he is optimistic, but realistic about Iraq’s future. No spin.

Now this big bear of a man is lying in a hospital bed fighting for his life, both his legs blown off above the knees. It breaks my heart, and judging from the tons of emails I have received from soldiers, reporters and others who knew him, many feel the same. LTC Karcher was on his 3rd deployment to Iraq. He felt a profound responsibility to his soldiers, and two years ago despite a gunshot wound to his shoulder that ripped out much of his deltoid muscle, he fought hard to get back to the point where he could return to his soldiers. He said he felt guilty if they were in the fight and he was not. He also profoundly loves his family -- his wife and daughters aged 14, 12 and 9.

Martha later spoke with LTC Karcher's wife Alesia and blogged about it here.

Today's update.

LTC Tim Karcher is still in intensive care at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, but his vital signs remain stable. I have learned more about the events that surrounded his injury, made more tragic by the death of a sergeant who had been part of Karcher’s rescue.

LTC Karcher was riding in an MRAP just before noon on Sunday, June 28th. The MRAP is considered the Army’s heaviest and safest personnel carrier. But the multiple and powerful EFPs (explosively formed penetrator), those Iranian made shaped charge that penetrate metal, struck the door near where Karcher was seated. His legs were gone.

Normally a medevac helicopter would be called, but the soldiers were socked in by a dust storm, and nothing was flying. Karcher would have to be driven to Baghdad’s combat support hospital, or CSH as it is known. Tourniquets were quickly applied in the field, but when he arrived at the CSH Karcher was in shock and losing blood. Doctors at the CSH were finally able to stabilize him Monday morning when he was transferred to Balad air base for further medical care and then transferd to Landstuhl. When Karcher was loaded onto the plane for Landstuhl, those with him say he looked “strong and stable.”

Throughout his time in the CSH, Karacher was surrounded by men from his unit, including his Command Sergeant Major Richard Franklin. Tragically, when these soldiers headed back to their sector after heroically delivering their severely wounded battalion commander to the hospital, their patrol was struck by a huge EFP and small arms fire. 28-year old Sergeant Timothy David, of Gladwin, Michigan, was struck and gravely wounded. His men fought to save him, but he died en route to Balad air base. A terrible, terrible day for the soldiers of 2-5 Cavalry Division.

I have also learned that in addition to getting shot in the shoulder two years ago, LTC Karcher was struck by a roadside bomb in December of 2006 in Baqubah while delivering blankets, stuffed animals and fuel to Iraqis as part of a military training team.

Please pray for LTC Karcher, the family of SGT Timothy David, and all the men and women of 2-5 Cav.

Thanks to Ms. Raddatz for covering their stories.

Update 3 July: LTC Karcher is on the way to the US. All the best for a safe flight and speedy recovery.

Update from Martha Raddatz 6 July: Lt. Colonel Karcher's Homecoming

Update from Rich Lowry of OpFor 15 July: Another Tim Karcher Update

Chosen Co. NCO receives Silver Star for Aranas battle

Maj. Gen. William B. Garrett pins the Silver Star on Staff Sgt. Conrad Begaye during a ceremony Tuesday on Caserma Ederle in Vicenza, Italy. Begaye was honored for his actions in a battle near Aranas, Afghanistan, in which five fellow soldiers and a Marine were killed. Photo: Kent Harris / S&S.

Vicenza NCO receives Silver Star for saving lives in Afghan ambush
By Kent Harris, Stars and Stripes
European edition, Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Ambushed near Aranas, Afghanistan, on Nov. 9, 2007, the soldiers were caught in a well-planned crossfire and needed to find cover.

Though he had been shot in the arm, Begaye took a minute to consider his options.

"It was almost like time stood still," he said Tuesday after receiving the Silver Star for his efforts that day. "The only real option I had was over the cliff."

So he started down into a steep ravine, telling his men to follow.

"We were sliding down and the whole time we were still taking accurate fire," he said.

Several soldiers were wounded on the way down and one was killed. But the rest survived to fight on.

Once Begaye and his men found adequate cover, he treated the wounded, called in mortar support and rallied other soldiers who were farther back in the convoy to hold their positions. Mortar fire and reinforcements eventually drove the enemy from the field.

Five soldiers and one Marine died in the battle. Begaye, the ranking soldier after his platoon leader [then 1LT Matt Ferrara] was killed in the initial attack, said he’ll wear his medal in honor of those who didn’t make it.

"I really don’t know how I feel about getting a medal for just doing my job," he said. "So this medal’s not for me, but for the guys who died that day."

They were:

1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, 24, of Torrance, Calif.
Sgt. Jeffery S. Mersman, 23, of Parker, Kan
Spc. Sean K.A. Langevin, 23, of Walnut Creek, Calif.
Spc. Lester G. Roque, 23, of Torrance, Calif.
Pfc. Joseph M. Lancour, 21, of Swartz Creek, Mich.
Marine Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks, 28, of Troy, Mich.

[General] Garrett noted that the ceremony was just a few days before July 4, a day when Americans celebrate Independence Day.

"Freedom isn’t free at all," he said. "Our freedom has been bought by the sacrifices of American soldiers."

Begaye was a member of Company C, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment. Twenty-four soldiers from the battalion died during 14 months in Afghanistan. The battle near Aranas was one of the deadliest of the tour.

He’s currently a member of Vicenza’s Warrior Transition Unit, though he has recently re-enlisted and hopes to join the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team’s headquarters before its next deployment. ...

To date, soldiers from the battalion have received a Distinguished Service Cross and 25 Silver Stars. Four awards are still pending.