My two-weeks length embed with “Dustoff” Medevac team, C Company, 1-214 Aviation Regiment, 101st Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Camp Dwyer in Afghanistan’s war-torn Helmand Province is over. But I’ve been still looking around trying to find my two-way radio. I haven’t heard “Medevac, Medevac, Medevac” call signs for a long time already. Those calls mean that something bad has happened. Created in the 70th to airlift casualties from battlefield Dustoff still exists. The legend says, when the US army deployed the 57th Medical Detachment to Vietnam in 1962, they were given the radio call sign Dustoff. The main idea of its existing hasn’t changed. But in Afghanistan over 70% of Medevac missions are to pick up Afghans, be they civilians, soldiers or even militants. In country where life costs nothing and every forth child dies before reaches five their attempt to improve statistic and help every wounded or diseased looks utopian but so humanity. As Sergeant Farrell said to me: “We try to do all we can.” And they can do a lot, indeed.
Дневник на русском read more »