Sometimes, the fastest way out is up.

U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers with G Company, 5th General Support Aviation Battalion, 244th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Warhawk, provided air support to fellow comrades, with 1st Squadron, 102nd Cavalry Regiment (102 CAV), 44th Infantry Brigade Combat Team of the 42nd Infantry Division, New Jersey National Guard, for medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) training at Joint Training Center-Jordan August 23, 2019. 

The troops trained on MEDEVACs using the Rescue Seat and Skedco, simulating the removal of casualties from areas where a helicopter would not be able to safely land due to terrain or enemy forces. The focus of this training was readiness, the capability of our forces to conduct the full range of military operations to defeat all enemies regardless of the threats they pose.

The 102 CAV Soldiers took turns, in teams of two, being hoisted into a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter on a Rescue Seat with the aircraft circling the area after each team iteration. This imitated a real-world situation where the aircraft would not be able to stay stationary for long periods of time. In a real-world scenario, a combat medic would be dropped near the casualty, with MEDEVAC gear best suited for the injury, and the helicopter would leave and then come back to hoist the combat medic, with the secured casualty, to safety. 

The aviation brigade is on-ground in Jordan supporting Operation Eager Lion, U.S. Central Command’s premier exercise in the Levant Region and a major training event that provides U.S. forces, Jordan Armed Forces and 28 other participating nations the opportunity to improve their collective ability to plan and operate in a coalition type environment.