Guardian Angels save lives

Published March 18, 2011
By Tech. Sgt. Emily F. Alley
451st AEW Public Affairs

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The temperature is warming as spring begins at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan. Major Chris Richardson, detachment commander of 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at the airfield, expects to get busier as the temperature gets hotter.

"As the fighting season erupts we find ourselves flying more," the major described how casualties slow during the winter.

As a medical evacuation team, the squadron collects injured personnel from the battlefield, provides stabilizing treatment in transit, and then delivers them to a hospital as soon as possible.

Because of the varying elements of the operations, coordinating equipment, personnel, aircraft and other tools, Maj. Richardson described them as a "large orchestra of events."

It can be an improvisation based on the demands of the mission itself. One of the important pieces of the rescue mission is Richardson's counterparts in the 26th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron, the Guardian Angels. Although both the 26th and 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadrons from the Kandahar Airfield are detachments from Helmand Province, they fall under the command of the 451st Air Expeditionary Wing from Kandahar Airfield.

The Guardian Angels make rescues within what is called the "golden hour," or the time it takes between a call to duty and when a patient is delivered from the field. They can arrive within fifteen minutes and can, ideally, deliver a patient to a hospital, such as the one at Kandahar Airfield, within an hour of the request.

With the right tools, the Guardian Angels will fly and cut their way to pull people to safety.

"There's nothing we can't get into," described Captain Stephen Colletti, detachment commander of the 46th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron at Kandahar Airfield, who said they can cut through a humvee's metal walls.

The captain said his group is slowly changing the perception that recovery and rescue operations are something they only do for downed pilots. Marines, who may have been in a vehicle accident, Afghan citizens caught by a river, or NATO coalition forces could all be searched for and saved by his team.

"The bottom line is, we work for all people," added Maj. Richardson, who mentioned that even the enemy could be treated by his medics. "They're treated no differently."

Capt. Colletti explained that it is not for his team to decide who is picked up, who is treated. They provide the best care they can and move them on to a hospital as soon as possible, regardless of the country their patients are from.

"It's humbling. We see first-hand the sacrifices made," Colletti said. "It's very humbling."

While it's absolutely not expected that Richardson or his team will ever receive a thank-you, he described it as the most rewarding part of his job when he does get that surprise. He gestured to the letters taped to the wall beside his desk.

"Getting that email, that makes it worth it."Richardson reflected. "That, to me, solidifies that guy is alive today because of what we did."

The team, from the medics on the flight, to parachute packers, expect to be busier as the weather gets warmer.