Soldiers with the Pennsylvania Army National Guard’s 28th Expeditionary Combat Aviation Brigade (ECAB) joined civilian first responders from Dauphin and Schuylkill counties for a helicopter familiarization and emergency response drill this past summer.
According to ECAB staff, the goal of the training was to familiarize civilian emergency responders with helicopters used in the military and broader aviation community, and to instruct them on the special considerations that should arise during an aviation accident.
ECAB staff members went on to note that while ECAB leadership goes to great lengths to ensure the safety of the brigade’s Soldiers while doing their jobs, if Soldiers are ever involved in an aviation accident, this training will help to ensure they are under the best care possible and that first responders know how to handle the unique nature of military accidents.
The first responders were from Wiconisco Fire Company No. 1, Lykens Liberty Hose Company No. 2, Williamstown EMS, Wiconisco Township Police and Pennsylvania State Police.
Two helicopters operated by Soldiers from the 28th ECAB – a CH-47 Chinook and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter – took off from Fort Indiantown Gap in the morning and landed near the Wiconisco Fire Company. Helicopters and flight crews from the Pennsylvania State Police, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Geisinger Health System joined them.
The flight crews briefed the first responders on aircraft orientation, hazard identification, safety considerations, the removal of injured flight crew members from the aircraft, and emergency fuel and battery shut off procedures.
After the briefing portion of the event, the local first responders participated in a helicopter disaster drill. A flight crew from the 28th ECAB’s 2-104th General Support Aviation Battalion landed a CH-47 on a field east of the fire company and simulated a crash scene with major injuries. Local first responders then rushed to the scene and performed triage and emergency medical care on the mock victims.
“Aside from the training, we wanted to build and foster relationships with the civilian agencies,” said CW5 Joe Sandbakken, safety officer for the 28th ECAB. “We are all partners in assisting and protecting our community. The civilian responders here are experts at what they do, and after today’s training, we have no doubt that if anything were to happen to us that we’d be under top-notch care.”
The 28th ECAB, citing the value of training for their aviators as well as civilian first responders, hopes to expand this training in the future and include first responders from other communities.
By 1LT Travis Mueller, Pennsylvania National Guard
