RESCUE FLIGHT Medevac unit keeps an iron in the fire

When someone’s life is on the line, minutes matter. Seconds matter. Quick response by emergency personnel can be the difference between life and death.

Since 1957, the Fort Rucker Air Ambulance Detachment known as Flatiron has been an important part of providing quick response during emergency situations, for both Fort Rucker and surrounding communities.

Flatiron got its name in 1970. As a result of frequent aviation training accidents, the commanding general at the time ordered that he wanted a medevac helicopter in the air anytime flight school training was occurring. With flight school being a 24-hour operation, this meant medevac helicopters were constantly in use.

“It was one iron in the fire and one iron on the stove getting ready and warmed up,” said Lt. Col. Christian Cook, commander of Flatiron. “When one medevac would come in to refuel, another one would take off. They were constantly in the air. Today we don’t have to have one in the air all the time due to a much-improved Fort Rucker safety record.”

Flatiron covers Fort Rucker’s entire local flying area, which includes portions of Southeast Alabama, Southwest Georgia and parts of North Florida.

In civilian crash response cases, the unit covers an area within 100 miles of Fort Rucker.

A crew is on duty at Carins Army Airfield 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long, aside from Christmas when a crew is on call.

“There’s a little bit of sacrifice. It’s not a combat deployment, but all our guys are sacrificing nights and weekends and weeks-long away in Georgia, not only to support Fort Rucker, but the civilian community (as well),” Cook said. “We have as much dedication to take care of our communities here (as overseas).”

Once a call comes in from Wiregrass MAST (Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic), an alarm sounds and a crew of four, including a pilot in command, a pilot, Army firefighter and emergency medical technician assembles and is off the ground in as little as five minutes.

“We don’t let the adrenaline get to us. When that bell goes off, you get kind of excited, you want to go out there and fly. The unfortunate problem about that is that means that somebody is hurt. We want to go do the mission, but we want to make it as safe as possible,” Cook said.

Everything is prepared and ready to go before that call comes. Gear has already been prepared, aircraft are “pre-flighted,” radios and weather are checked and briefings are completed before assuming duty and relieving the previous 24-hour shift.

“Once I let my pilots go out on a mission, there’s nobody there holding their hand,” Cook said. “They’re high time pilots and they’re executing the mission.”

Frequency of calls can range from two to three a day to not one in a month’s time.

“We’ve had one (call) eight days in a row, and then have nothing for 35 days,” Cook said. “You can’t let your guard down.”

Since 1974, the unit, which currently consists of about 40 soldiers, has completed about 2,400 civilian calls. Looking at data, Cook said some years, the unit received 60-70 calls and some years it received as low as 30 calls.

Patients in critical care are picked up and usually transported to either Flowers Hospital or Southeast Alabama Medical Center in Dothan.

“We only respond to urgent missions,” Cook said. “It has to meet life, limb or sight criteria, and there has to be no other applicable asset available to do it.”

Civilian missions keep the medics ready and seeing patients, Cook added.

“Many are fresh out of combat assignments and they come here and they’re not seeing that (combat), but its good to keep them in a high state of readiness, mentally sharp toward their skill and their trade. The same thing for the pilots,” Cook said. “Our number one mission is crash rescue. We always want to be ready for that, and one way to stay ready for that is to keep doing the civilian missions.”

But the civilian mission is only a small part of the work done at Flatiron.

“We enjoy doing the civilian mission, but it’s not our primary mission,” Cook said. “We spend a lot of time on other installation support missions and training support.”

The unit supports Ranger training completed at Camp Frank D. Merrill in Dahlonega, Ga.

The unit has an aircraft and crew at the camp 40 weeks during the year.

Crews complete their missions in what’s called a LUH-72 Lakota, or light utility helicopter. Fort Rucker received the helicopters in 2009 when the post retired the UH-1 Huey that was previously used by the unit. Today, Fort Rucker has eight LUH-72’s used by Flatiron pilots.

Sgt. Patrick Shultz, a flight medic with Flatiron, said during an emergency, the crews work and train to work in the confined quarters of the helicopter. Among the many things soldier have to consider during a rescue mission, they also have to consider the weight in the helicopter before taking off.

In addition to the two pilots in front, he said three to five people can be in the back of the helicopter, including the crew’s firefighter and medic, a civilian paramedic and if a child is involved, sometimes a parent as well.

The helicopter is equipped with much of the same equipment as a civilian paramedic or firefighter.

When an emergency happens, Shultz said getting a patient to the Dothan hospital in 12 minutes as opposed to 45 minutes can make all the difference.

Safety is also something the unit prides itself on. Cook said the unit has a shining record for safety, and can recall no incident or accident resulting from actions of Flatiron.

“It’s a privilege to be in command of this unit that services Fort Rucker and the local community. It’s also a privilege to just be in command. That’s a great responsibility that no commander takes lightly,” he said. “I’m proud of Flatiron. The number of missions they do, how they operate, how they conduct themselves and their safety record.”

Completing the mission and completing it safely is something Cook attributes to skilled, mature and dedicated pilots.

“All the soldiers I’ve met anywhere, whatever mission they’re given, they’re dedicated to doing it,” Cooks said. “The soldiers that are here understand the importance of this mission. They understand how they are viewed within the community and the status they hold and are looked upon. I think that they are disciplined enough to understand that ... but I wouldn’t expect any less of any other soldier that would come in here.”

Something that sets Flatiron apart from other units associated with Fort Rucker is the level of compassion required for the mission.

“They understand that their actions are directly responsible for saving somebody’s life in the community or on Fort Rucker, no matter where they’re called,” he said.

“These guys are mature pilots, medics and firefighters and they fly complex missions and it takes ... solid judgment and good decision making on scene on these missions to make whatever the right call is. That’s the dynamic that makes medevac a little bit different.”

In the unit’s 55-year history, it’s not possible to know just how many lives they have saved or people who, without their work, wouldn’t be the person they are today.

A quick response and making the right call is the difference between life and death in the work of these soldiers. It’s something their eager to do. It’s something they do safely and something to take pride in.