Units train on hoist operations

Braving 89 mile per hour winds, debris, trees and dead limbs, Soldiers from the 4th Ranger Training Battalion, Ranger Training Brigade practiced air medical evacuation of casualties with a flight crew from the 498th Medical Company (Air Ambulance), 36th Engineer Group (Construction) hovering above.

Primary instructors and medical platoon members of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th RTB participated in quarterly Skedco and hoist operation training April 15. The training included instruction on MEDEVAC requests, hoist training. Skedco operation and practical exercises evacuating casualties to a hovering helicopter utilizing Skedco-hoist procedures.

According to Staff Sgt. Michael Holloway, medical platoon sergeant with the 4th RTB, a Skedco is a piece of equipment used either in water or on land to evacuate a casualty in the event a helicopter can't land or the patient is too severely injured to be carried out on a litter. "Becoming familiar with this equipment and procedure is valuable especially when a casualty is located in an area or terrain that is not feasible for a ground ambulance." Holloway said. "This type of realistic training benefits both primary instructors and battalion medics, who are usually first on the scene."

Participant Staff Sgt. Michael Stockdale, HHC, 4th RTB, was on the ground for a casualty evacuation last year and knows the benefits of a practical exercise such as this.

"If a Ranger or a Long Range Surveillance Leaders Course student goes down in rough terrain and we cannot extract him by vehicle it is essential to know hoist operations." Stockdale said. The exercise prepares instructors for actual events and shows them what the conditions are like under a helicopter while extracting a casualty.

Hoist operations not only benefit the Soldiers working on the ground but also allows the flight crew to practice the mission they are assigned to do (Air Ambulance). The 489th Med. Co. supports several sites in Florida and Georgia for the RTB and train as often as possible.

"Supporting the Ranger Training Brigade allows us to practice our mission and gives the entire crew practical training such as running the hoist and loading the patient." said Chief Warrant Officer Calvin Howell, pilot in command.

Howell said the difficulty of a casualty evacuation depends on environmental conditions, winds and visibility, but missions at night while wearing goggles are the most difficult. Practicing prepares the medics for an evacuation from a confined area where a number of things can happen while hovering at tree top level.

"The benefits of landing in an open area greatly outweigh a wooded extraction because it limits the risks of further injuring the patient and damaging the aircraft." he said.

SPC. Steven Stevenmyers, flight medic with 498th Med. Co., said safety is the number one factor and "hands-on training" is the best way to prepare for future missions.

"It is important for Soldiers to know proper evacuation procedures because the life of a fellow Soldier is in their hands. Things can go wrong and Soldiers need to understand how to deal with problems that arise in order to increase the casualty's chances of recovery and sometimes survival."

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