As dust storms pass, Oregonians flying again in Iraq
JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- The UH-60 Blackhawks have been grounded from dust storms. Now multiple crews of two pilots, a crew chief and a medic, will spend the evening making up for lost time.
CW 2 Bryan Caudle, CW 4 Richard Chagnon, Sgt. Jason Westlund and Spc. Scott Thurman discuss today's mission.
“We’ve got six days of patients backed up,” says Sgt. Rob Boyce, 45, from Keizer, Ore., who has not flown yet during his nine-day rotation as a crew chief.
Late in the afternoon soldiers from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac unit based out of Salem, Ore., are given the go ahead to fly.
There are 37 patients and six boxes of blood waiting for transport.
The scene is chaotic. Soldiers rush from building to building, checking schedules with their crews.
“It's definitely taking extra planning and coordination to make sure the right patients get on the right aircrafts,” says Chief Warrant Officer 3 Dennis Cooper, 39, a pilot from Portland, Ore, pictured below. “We’re working on it.”
Starting at 8 p.m., several helicopters lift off. The silent airfield is now filled with flashing lights, roaring engines and swift rotor blades. Crews will not make it home until after midnight.
For over two hours helicopters fill the air, transporting patients suffering from everything from fractures to depression to diabetes.
Inside the dining facility on the airfield there is a moment of calm before the storm of work. Chief Warrant Officer 2 Bryan Caudle from Eugene, Ore., leans back in his chair for a moment.
The 34-year-old pilot will fly one of the helicopters tonight.
“It’s going to be a long night,” he says.
Cali Bagby is embedded with the Oregon Army National Guard from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac Unit based out of Salem, Ore., for KVAL.com. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly. | More stories | Visit her Web site
