Daily Mail Online (UK): ‘He’d still be here’: Mother’s agony
By Hannah Roberts “An inconsolable mother has told of her heartbreak after an American soldier died before a helicopter could get him to hospital in Afghanistan. It took a medical evacuation team 59 minutes to get U.S. Army Specialist Chazray Clark to a hospital, after receiving a call that a roadside bombing had severed three … Continue reading
Yon: 66 minutes is not 59 minutes
“The Army campaign around the MEDEVAC continues to unravel. They’ve tried just about everything short of assassination and witchcraft to freeze the growing stampede. In the beginning, they claimed that my accounts of the failed MEDEVAC were completely wrong. And then I produced the inconvenient high definition video and audio. Undeterred, the Army has continued … Continue reading
Kevin Lehmann: Incomprehensibly Stupid Army Regulation Killing Americans in Afghanistan
” [snip] There is no requirement for a signatory nation to follow the Convention when opposing forces do not respect it. To do so is suicide, yet to placate the denizens of PC, the Army goes right ahead. Perhaps the bureaucrats and politicians who design these policies should first be required to personally oversee their … Continue reading
AP: Should U.S. Arm Medevacs in Afghanistan?
Video Report by Brian Thomas “The death of a U.S. soldier in Afghanistan, whose evacuation took nearly an hour after he was wounded, is fueling debate about whether medevac helicopters should be equipped with firepower, not unarmed.”
Yon: Department of Army Monitoring MEDEVAC Articles
“The following message was issued behind closed doors by the Department of Army (DA). It pertains to media coverage of the MEDEVAC debacle. There is no foul in monitoring the articles, but the inside glimpse is interesting. TAMPA TRIBUNE COVERS MEDEVAC STORY WITH LOCAL ANGLE: Howard Altman, Tampa Tribune, is doing a story about one … Continue reading
Yon: Tippity Top General attempts to Deceive Congressman (in writing)
“Happy Valentine’s Day. It isn’t Valentine’s for those who will get hit with bullets or bombs today. And it will happen. So let’s get down to business. The top officer in the US Military is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Chairman is the principal military advisor to President Obama. Recently, Congressman … Continue reading
American Thinker: No Sex, Many Lies, One Videotape, and a Soldier’s Unnecessary Death
By James Simpson “It is not a movie. It could be labeled a comedy, a farce, even a Greek tragedy, except that people really are dying. It is, in fact, an absolutely abhorrent, disgraceful, and unacceptable demonstration of the hidebound, self-serving attitude, omnipresent throughout the federal bureaucracy and among many in our political establishment, that … Continue reading
Fox News: Congressman Akin Discusses Medevac Issues in Afghanistan
Video interview by Jenna Lee of Fox News. “Congressman Todd Akin (R-MO), Chairman of the Seapower & Projection Forces Subcommittee, discusses concerns he has raised with the Department of Defense regarding delays of Army medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) helicopters in Afghanistan.”
Yon: 17 Members of Congress Want Answers on MEDEVAC
The following letter dated February 3, 2012 from Members of Congress to Secretary of Defense Panetta was reproduced on Michael Yon’s blog:
Soldier of Fortune: BLEEDING OUT FOR POLITICS
By Dalton Fury, SOF Editor on Sunday, 01/29/2012 – 5:26pm [snip] “The point here is that warriors rely on speed to survive, both on the assault and after they’ve been hit. If Army policy in Afghanistan is to wait for an armed escort before the red cross-marked MEDEVAC can fly, then the answer is obvious. … Continue reading
Army Times: Rep. Todd Akin Tells DoD Savings Lives more important than Geneva Convention
01-17-2012 “A key lawmaker says the military could save more lives in Afghanistan if the Army would arm its Medevac helicopters rather than worry about its commitment to the Geneva Convention. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a letter sent Tuesday to the Defense Department that … Continue reading
Politico.com: Should Army medevacs be armed?
Politico.com By CHARLES HOSKINSON| 1/25/12 10:23 PM EST “A contentious debate over arming Army medevac helicopters sparked by the death of a soldier whose wounding in Afghanistan was videotaped by an embedded blogger is spilling into the halls of Congress.” [snip] “This is an issue that has been subjected to considerable review by senior, experienced, … Continue reading
Examiner.com: Is Army medevac policy killing our wounded troops?
By Lawrence Wood “The United State Army has a policy that is killing our wounded troops in Afghanistan. U.S. Army medevac UH60s are unarmed and require by policy an armed escort before proceeding to pick up wounded troops. Given the high demand for AH64 Apache gunships in-theater, this policy results in unnecessary and unreasonable delays. … Continue reading
U.S. Army Chief PAO: Army statement on MEDEVAC issue
WASHINGTON (Jan. 20, 2012) — Statement by the Chief Public Affairs Officer – U.S. Army “Recent news items about the use of Army medical evacuation, or MEDEVAC, helicopters in Afghanistan contain troubling information. The reporting suggests that putting red crosses on MEDEVACs, and not arming them somehow, is putting injured Soldiers’ lives at risk. The … Continue reading
CBS Evening News: Did a military rule cost a soldier’s life?
Did a military rule cost a soldier’s life? January 19, 2012 4:51 PM On a September night in Afghanistan, a wounded American soldier died waiting to be evacuated. David Martin reports on a military rule that could have contributed to the soldier’s death. The CBS Evening News video report can be viewed here: Did a … Continue reading
Military.com: Amid Criticism, Army Defends Medevac Mission
By Philip Ewing “The Army has no evidence its unarmed medical evacuation helicopters marked with the red cross are attacked more often than other helicopters in Afghanistan, the service said Wednesday, and it strongly defended its medevac policies in the face of criticism from a member of Congress. [snip] “The Army has legal and practical … Continue reading
Dennis Miller interview of Michael Yon 2012-01-18
Michael Yon gives a concise review of the problems with the U.S. Army MEDEVAC policies in the wake of the death of SPC Chazray Clark on September 18, 2011. Dennis Miller interview of Michael Yon 2012-01-18
Washington Times: Bureaucracy killing U.S. troops in Afghanistan – Political correctness keeps Army medevac helicopters grounded
By James Simpson “The U.S. military has developed the best system in the world for dealing with combat casualties. As medical technology has advanced, new methods of treatment have been developed, and the speed and efficiency of transport from the battlefield to essential medical services has greatly increased chances for combat wounded to survive. So … Continue reading
Mat-Su Valley Frontiersmen: Medevac policy is costing lives
By Larry Wood “The U.S. Army has a policy that is killing our wounded troops. The Army refuses to arm its medevac helicopters and insists on marking them with red crosses on white backgrounds so the enemy has a good aiming point and knows that they are not armed. The other services do not have … Continue reading
Big Peace: A Pilot’s Perspective on Michael Yon’s Medevac Debate
By Bill Tuttle “Connectivity, lack thereof, being what it is over here in Afghanistan, I was aware of the latest brouhaha Mike Yon has started about medevacs having target markers — ummm — big red crosses painted on them so we’d be in compliance with the Geneva Accords. I figured the controversy, which … Continue reading
American Thinker: Army MEDEVAC Choppers Travesty
By Robert J. Mack “Why are MEDEVAC helicopters (commonly called “Dustoffs”), carrying our wounded troops to safety in Afghanistan, being put at enormous risk by the U.S. Army? Why is the Geneva Convention cited by them for their actions? With every second precious when soldiers are wounded, it is a travesty that the Army will … Continue reading
Yon: Fool’s Gold – Video from SPC Chazray Clark’s MEDEVAC Wait
[snip] “This combat video was made in September 2011 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. A bomb was planted in our path. A young, highly-liked Soldier named Chazray Clark triggered the blast. Chazray lost an arm and both legs. Despite great pain, Chazray was awake and lucid the entire time. A tragedy was unfolding. The US military, … Continue reading
YON: Golden Seconds
[snip]…”The Golden Hour is crucial to survival of the seriously wounded. There also are Golden Minutes. The already-bleeding wounded are not the only ones in danger. The casualties provide a golden opportunity for the enemy to shoot down a helicopter and attack the preoccupied ground force. For the incoming helicopters, and ground forces in combat, … Continue reading
USA Today: Army to boost flight medics
By Gregg Zoroya, USA TODAY Posted 9/6/2011 10:00:37 PM The Army will be training hundreds of new medics in enhanced skills to treat wounded servicemembers during the flight from the battlefield to field hospital, when the most severely injured have a better chance of surviving with an experienced paramedic aboard. The tentative plan is to … Continue reading
Army.mil: Excellent Report of How a MEDEVAC Mission Can Run
Medical professionals in Afghanistan strive to treated wounded within ‘golden hour’ June 22, 2011 By Navy Lt.j.g. Haraz Ghanbari KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, June 22, 2011 — An air ambulance crew from Company C, 1st Battalion, 52nd Aviation Regiment, just finished their lunch in a small break room in southern Afghanistan when a nine-line medical evacuation, … Continue reading
MEDEVAC Matters 