So today I went hunting. Stalked the entire compound until I found my prey…the ‘higher up” element that units have to route their MEDEVAC requests through before they come to us. But I wasn’t loaded for bear…I wasn’t even upset. I felt it only fair that before I vented frustration at ‘them’ I ought to know who ‘they’ were and how they operated.
At the outlying FOBs, we live, eat, work and play with our customers- the men and women we may find ourselves extracting from a firefight tomorrow. So when things don’t go well, they know who we are and where we live. They walk into our room and want to know what’s up. They are considerate enough to not lay the blame at our feet; we all recognize that we want to do the best and get there faster, and there are systemic challenges that sometimes delay us in launching. But they feel compelled to confront us whenever one of their men doesn’t make it…tactfully wondering what THEY could have done better or differently to help us- so that maybe we could’ve helped them better. Sometimes they just need to push back against the system- to feel that they are at least doing something about it for the men they’ve lost…that they aren’t just regretting the situation and moving on, but striving to improve it so that it’s not them dying in the medic’s arms tomorrow- wondering “Where is that helicopter?!” I take it personally. We naturally take an inventory of ourselves- and what we could have done, if anything.
If only…………
I don’t mind them expressing their frustration and disappointment at my general direction. But it wears on you. The reality is that I only control the last step of the process. At issue is what happens between the point of injury and the system of checks and balances their call for help goes through on its way to us. Once the word is given and we are approved to launch- that’s my world. Your heart jumps the moment the radio squawks “MEDEVAC- MEDEVAC- MEDEVAC” and it doesn’t stop as you sprint to the ops center and back to the aircraft where the rest of your crew is waiting with their finger on the ignition switch. It’s a fight every moment. In the blur nothing seems to happen fast enough. Like trying to run in your dreams- ever try that? If those things could fly faster- I’d make ‘em. Truth is there isn’t another helicopter used for MEDEVAC that can keep up. So I’m confident that we are providing the best response and enroute medical care in world history.
I guess it wouldn’t be called a war if I could save them all….