U.S. Army helicopter unit conducts medevac from Yukon River cabin

FORT WAINWRIGHT, Alaska - Soldiers assigned to Charlie Company, 1-52 General Support Aviation Battalion, recently performed an aeromedical evacuation of a civilian adult from a remote site along the Yukon River.

The patient had fallen off the roof of a cabin far from the road system, and assistance was requested through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center for evacuation by air. The aeromedical evacuation unit, known as Arctic Dustoff, received the notification of a potential medevac request at 6:05 p.m. on July 5 and lifted off from Ladd Field at Fort Wainwright at 7:30 pm.

Upon arrival to the general area of the patient's location, the crew noticed the patient's friends had set up a landing zone and had a boat waiting approximately 600 yards from the cabin. The flight paramedics were taken by boat to the cabin site to begin treatment and evacuation.

After providing initial evaluation and treatment, the medics stabilized the patient for transportation by water and air and traveled back to the waiting helicopter.

"By land, air or sea, Arctic Dustoff will always be there," said flight paramedic Sgt. 1st Class Benjamin Erny.

Turbulent weather conditions on the flight to the remote site had cleared, so the patient and crew had a smoother flight to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital, though they did have to avoid a temporary flight restriction in the vicinity of the Grapefruit Complex fires. The central Alaska area has experienced significant wildfire activity this summer, though recent rains have greatly diminished fire growth.

After touching down at Fairbanks Memorial Hospital at 10:35 pm, the patient was transferred to a waiting ambulance and then to the hospital to receive further care. The flight paramedics informed the hospital staff of their evaluation of the patient and treatment given, and then the crew proceeded back to Ladd Field to clean up and reset the aircraft for the next mission.

Capt. Laura Penley, the Arctic Dustoff operations officer, commended the efforts of the entire crew.

"I am proud of the crew for adapting to the changes in the mission. No one on the crew was expecting to land on the riverbank and take a boat upstream to a remote cabin to treat the patient," she said. "The flight paramedics and crew handled the situation with ease and professionalism, prioritizing the medical care and safe transfer of the patient to a higher role of care."

Based out of Fort Wainwright in central Alaska, the unit operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to provide aeromedical evacuation support for thousands of service members training at the installation each year.

Additionally, the unit works with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and local emergency services to provide rescue coverage in northern Alaska's remote wilderness areas.

This life-saving mission is a collaborative effort: As the only active-duty Army aeromedical evacuation unit in Alaska, every member of the team is vital to the mission. Along with paramedic Erny, the crew for this mission included pilot in command Chief Warrant Officer 2 Everett Fowler, pilot Capt Seth Koester, crew chief Sgt. Andrew Scherer, and flight paramedic Sgt. Hamilton Erickson.

Reflecting on the mission, Fowler said, "Missions like these remind me of why I love this job and why we work and train so hard each day to maintain all the helicopters and proficient flight crews."

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