Apache Pilots Rescue Critically Wounded Soldier

Army, Sep 2007

Two pilots flying their last combat mission in Ramadi, Iraq, risked their lives in an unorthodox medical evacuation of a critically wounded soldier in June. CW4 Kevin Purtee and CW2 Alien Crist-both from Company B, 1st Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment (Attack), 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, based at Logistics Support Area (LSA) Anacondarescued Spc. Jeffrey Jamaleldine, from Company A, 1st Battalion, 77th Armor, and delivered him for medical care.

Purtee and copilot/gunner Crist were part of a team of four Apache helicopters that flew to Ramadi to support Coalition forces searching for insurgents and weapons caches. The troops were pinned down by heavy gunfire, and the AH-64 Apache crew provided air fire support. Jamaleldine was shot in the jaw and arm during the firefight.

When the helicopter crew returned to the scene about 40 minutes after refueling and rearming, a medevac helicopter had not arrived to evacuate him. Purtee and Crist decided to land despite heavy small arms fire in the area. Crist jumped out, strapped Jamaleldine into the cockpit, harnessed himself to the steps of the aircraft, and crouched on the wing for the approximately 10-minute flight to the medical pad.

Crist and Purtee were flying their last combat mission, and they immediately returned to cover the troops still fighting.

LSA Anaconda and Balad Air Base, about 50 miles north of Baghdad, are colocnted on the largest Coalition forward operating base in Iraq. Balad is one of the busiest air bases in the world.

LSA Anaconda is the major supply hub of all military operations in Iraq. It is one of four strategic hubs in Iraq that became a contingency operating base in 2005.

Air support, surveillance and reconnaissance have contributed to a lowering of the U.S. death toll in Iraq.

Training Salvadorans for Iraq. Joint Task Force Bravo sent a 26-member team to El Salvador to conduct weeklong training for Salvadoran soldiers deploying to Iraq. Lt. Col. Greg Jicha, commander of Army forces at Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras, was the task force commander. El Salvador is the only country in Central America that provides personnel to support Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Upon deployment the Salvadoran troops will use U.S. military equipment. Thus their training was educational in a number of ways. Drivers had never operated a Humvee, medics were unacquainted with some of the latest medical technology and radio operators had never seen the equipment they would be using. The U.S. Army team taught them about convoy and perimeter security, communications, and civilian and military cooperation. The soldiers also received combat lifesaver training and learned how to drive American military vehicles.

To test their new skills, a simulated convoy attack at the end of the week concluded their training. In that exercise, a convoy of a Humvee and a 5-ton truck were hit with a simulated improvised explosive device. The security troops neutralized the enemy, while medical personnel treated wounded soldiers in the back of the truck. When the area was secure, the drivers rushed the wounded to a triage center where medical students evaluated each patient, completed the necessary treatment and prepared the wounded for evacuation.

Throughout the exercise, radio operators radioed coordinates to a simulated helicopter to provide medical evacuation. SSgt. Edgardo Alvarez performed the crucial job of translating between the two groups. One measure of the operation's success was that soldiers of both countries agreed they learned a great deal from each other.

Iraq/ Afghanistan Rotations. The DoD has announced that the 3rd Brigade, 4th Infantry Division (Mechanized), Fort Hood, Texas, will deploy to Iraq beginning at the end of this year and continuing into 2008. The deployment is not associated with the current troop surge, but rather is part of a normal rotation of forces to replace soldiers currently in Iraq. The 27th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, New York Army National Guard, will deploy to Afghanistan to train Afghan National Security Forces beginning in late 20OZ with the majority of the 1,700 servicemembers deploying in mid-2008.

DoD Amends R&R Policy. The Department of Defense has increased R&R leave from 15 to 18 days for servicemembers currently on 15-month deployments in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. The policy, effective July 13, is not retroactive and applies only to military personnel. Travel time is not charged; leave begins when the servicemember arrives at the commercial airport closest to the leave destination. Troops serving one-year tours will continue to receive 15 days of R&R leave.

MLRS Unitary Combat Worthy. The expanding application of the guided multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) unitary in Iraq is changing the way the U.S. military thinks about using rockets in close support missions. That was the principal message from a recent program update provided by senior program participants from both Army user and development communities.

"Guided MLRS is truly a transformational product in that it gives the maneuver commander a lot more responsive and effective options," said Col. David Rice, Project Manager, Precision Fires Rocket & Missile Systems, under the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space at Redstone Arsenal, Ala.