Posted on Sep 22, 2017
What was your reaction the first time you witnessed the horrors of war?
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After a deployment to Iraq as an MP and a deployment to Afghanistan as a Black Hawk crew chief in an Air Assault Company, I've been fortunate to not have witnessed the horrors of war so far. I now find myself in a MEDEVAC detachment that's just over a year old with an excursion planned in the not so distant future.
Coming from a line of work where seeing death and dismemberment isn't that commonplace and diving into one where that's my job, I've had questions about how I'll react to it and how it will impact me, as many of us do when it's an unknown to us.
For the other MEDEVAC crew chiefs out there, what was it like for you? Did your training kick in and make it business as usual? Was there a "fascination", so to speak? Did you have a hard time with it? What did you do to prepare yourself or come to terms with it?
Coming from a line of work where seeing death and dismemberment isn't that commonplace and diving into one where that's my job, I've had questions about how I'll react to it and how it will impact me, as many of us do when it's an unknown to us.
For the other MEDEVAC crew chiefs out there, what was it like for you? Did your training kick in and make it business as usual? Was there a "fascination", so to speak? Did you have a hard time with it? What did you do to prepare yourself or come to terms with it?
Aviation
UH-60 Crewchief
Flight Medic
Medevac Pilot
Combat
Posted 7 y ago
Responses: 5
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25 Mar 69, been incountry for a month and never saw anything but water buffaloes and rice paddies. Blocking force for another company in contact. After about 30 minutes the mortars started raining down. L-T says they need you at 3-2 track. Grabbed the aid bag and started running, mortars still dropping. Got there, patched up 2 troops who had shrapnel up and down their backsides. went back to command track, 15 minutes and L-T says they need you at 3-3. Same thing, 2 troops shrapnel wounds. We went from a blocking force to an all out firefight. One man had his penis severed by a chi com. In the contact, though we didn't know it at the time was a platoon leader performing acts that got him both the CMH and MOH. (Casket with Metal Handles). The enemy broke contact, we did our little sweep, got a few weapons, ammo and such. We went back to the Fire Base, (we called them FSB's as in Fire Support Base) I sat down behind an APC, looking at the jungle fatigues that were covered in blood from shoulder to boot top. Wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into, an 18 year old medic became an old man that day.
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I wasn't a medic but from what I experienced, the training takes over. I never thought much about anything until after it was over.
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I was never given the honor of going downrange. Volunteered for two deployments and shot down as being “non essential”. That said, first time I saw the elephant was at my front door.
July 4th 2012, out in the country west of Tucson. Heard a string of pops at 9:30, and ten minutes later my door bell rings off the hook. Illegal is laying on the ground holding his chest and shouting for help in Spanish. We call local LE, they clear the scene, and I offer to go out and help translated. We both found out neither of us had treated a gunshot wound before, and got to work.
My ears were buzzing from the adrenaline rush, and yeah my training kicked in. When the fecal matter hits the round circular object, you revert to the most basic level of training. CLS helped. All there was to it.
July 4th 2012, out in the country west of Tucson. Heard a string of pops at 9:30, and ten minutes later my door bell rings off the hook. Illegal is laying on the ground holding his chest and shouting for help in Spanish. We call local LE, they clear the scene, and I offer to go out and help translated. We both found out neither of us had treated a gunshot wound before, and got to work.
My ears were buzzing from the adrenaline rush, and yeah my training kicked in. When the fecal matter hits the round circular object, you revert to the most basic level of training. CLS helped. All there was to it.
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SSG (Join to see)
We always have a medic with us so occasionally I may have to "plug a hole" or something, but they do most of the work from what I've gathered. I guess I'm fortunate beyond my experiences down range since I've never had someone else's blood on my hands.
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