Airmen evacuate injured Russian sailor

  • Published
  • By Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Travis D. Eisele
  • Iceland Defense Force Public Affairs
NAVAL AIR STATION KEFLAVÍK, Iceland (AFPN) --  Two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the 56th Rescue Squadron raced 230 miles to evacuate an injured 19-year-old sailor from a Russian destroyer Sept. 14.

The mission off the southern coast of Iceland began after squadron officials were notified of the situation at 1:25 p.m.

“We always keep one helicopter on alert,” said Tech. Sgt. Paul Crumpton, the flightline expediter for the mission. “In this instance, we just happened to have another helicopter preparing to take off for a training mission, so we were able to launch the alert crew on it (right away).”

Sergeant Crumpton said the 13 Airmen of the 85th Maintenance Squadron’s helicopter flight quickly reconfigured both aircraft for the mission.

“Both of the helicopters had ammunition and mini-guns on board when the call came in,” Sergeant Crumpton said. “Our weapons crew went to work removing all of the ammunition and guns so that there would be room for the flight crews to perform their mission. They had the first helicopter ready within about five minutes, and once it had launched, they began pulling the second helicopter out so that it could be launched as a cover ship.”

While the maintainers reconfigured the aircraft, another flight crew and pararescue team assembled, gathered information and reviewed the mission plan. The second helicopter lifted off 14 minutes after the first.

Because of the long distances involved in the round-trip mission, both helicopters were required to stop and refuel in the Vestmann Islands before continuing to the Russian vessel.

By 3:48 p.m. the lead helicopter had made contact with the Russian destroyer and was gathering information so the crews would know what equipment they might need or what precautions they should take.

At 4:10 p.m. several pararescuemen were lowered to the deck of the ship, and they went to the ship’s medical ward where they talked with the ship’s crew through one of the sailors who spoke English. The Airmen saw the wounded Russian sailor still on the operating table with an open abdomen.

“The language barrier itself wasn’t much of a problem,” said Tech. Sgt. Eric Barry, one of the pararescumen. “The problem was in translating medical terminology from one language to another so we could properly assess the situation.”

Through their initial observations and conversations with the crew, the pararescuemen determined the man had suffered blunt trauma from a large object, and the ship’s medics had suspected internal bleeding. They made an incision to stop the bleeding.

“Each of us (is) trained as paramedic,” Sergeant Barry said. “It’s critical for us to understand the mechanisms of injury so that we can safely transport and properly treat the patient. So it’s very important for us to have this level of medical training.”

The pararescuemen bandaged the man and kept his organs moist to prevent further damage to them. They then carried him through narrow passageways and up two flights of stairs to the top deck.

“It was pretty difficult to maneuver the patient through the dark and cramped passages and stairs to get him to the top deck while concentrating on not causing any further injuries,” Sergeant Barry said. “We were able to get him up top though.”

From there Staff Sgt. Jamie Sowels, the flight engineer for the helicopter, and Staff Sgt. Jason Marfell, a pararescueman, used a tagline to hoist him to the helicopter.

The mission did not end with the retrieval of the wounded man. The Airmen still had to keep him stable while they flew back to the hospital in Reykjavík, Iceland.

“Our primary concern was to make sure he remained stable throughout the flight,” said Maj. (Dr.) Brian Tollefson, 56th Rescue Squadron flight surgeon. “It was clear from his injuries and subsequent surgical procedure that the patient was in critical condition. We were able to keep the patient (stable) and keep his exposed abdominal organs viable during the long helicopter ride.”

Sergeant Marfell said the environment inside the helicopter was difficult to work in.

“Although we get all of the same medical training as most paramedic crews have, it’s a whole different ballgame out here,” he said. “They might have a 10- to 15-minute drive as opposed to our 200-mile trip. We’re also working in a cramped, dark and noisy area with the wind shaking us as we’re trying to care for the patient.”

En route to the hospital, the helicopter crew passed vital information to the surgical team at the hospital through the Icelandic Coast Guard. This allowed the Icelandic doctors to better prepare for his immediate surgery.

At 5:50 p.m. they delivered the patient to the hospital, and the helicopter crew returned to the base while the sailor was rushed to the operating room.

“The work the maintenance team did … was phenomenal,” said Capt. Ron Henderson, the aircraft commander. “Once we were in the air, both crews worked exceptionally well together. I couldn’t have asked for a better rescue.”

Sergeant Sowels said as his first real-world mission it was intense; but he did not really have time to be nervous during it.

“We had to make sure all of our bases were covered,” he said. “We planned the mission well, and throughout the entire flight, I was concentrating on (my) portion of the mission.”

Sergeant Sowels said the best moment for him was when he found out the sailor had come through surgery and was going to make it.

“When I got the call …, I got really excited,” Sergeant Sowels said. “It finally hit me what we had done -- that we had saved this guy’s life.” (Courtesy of U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service)