Here's how you know
 **Official websites use .mil** .mil
 **Secure .mil websites use HTTPS** lock () https://


Skip to main content (Press Enter).
 Toggle navigation
            
            
            
            
            National Guard
                        Always Ready Always There
                    National Guard
            
            Search National Guard:
                        Search
                    Search
                        Search National Guard:
                            Search
    Home

    News
    
        Guard News

    Overseas Operations

    State Partnership Program

    News Features

    RSS Feeds

    Press Releases

    Transcripts

    Features
    
        Features by Year

    State Partnership Program

    Special Features

    About the Guard
    
        How We Began

    Air National Guard

    Army National Guard    
    
        DEERS Soldier Journey

    Leader Development Program

    History and Heritage

    I am the Guard

    NGB Official March

    Leadership
    
        CNGB

    VCNGB

    SEA

    DANG

    DARNG

    Joint Staff    
    
        J-1

    J-2

    J-3

    J-4

    J-5

    J-6

    J-7

    J-8

    Personal Staff    
    
        Inspector General

    General Counsel    
    
        Special Victims Counsel

    Public Affairs

    Executive Support Services

    Legislative Liaison

    Special Staff    
    
        Office of the Provost Marshal

    Office of the Joint Surgeon

    Director of Acquisitions

    Small Business Programs

    Chaplain

    Senior Leader Management Office

    Diversity Equity Inclusion

    Comptroller

    Resources    
        National Defense Strategy Implementation Guidance

    Community Engagement

    FOIA

    Fact Sheets

    Helpful Links

    Image Gallery
    
        News Images

    Graphics

    Historical Paintings

    Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

    Legislative Liaison

    Small Business Programs

    Social Media

    State Websites

    Videos    
    
        Featured Videos

    On Every Front

    2019 Videos

    2020 Videos

    2021 Videos

    Suicide Prevention

    Family Programs

    Environmental

    Trial Defense Service

    Holistic Wellness Challenge

    Contact Us  Home
  News
  Article View
 
 Download
 Details
 Share
 NEWS
 Wisconsin Guard medevac unit answers the call in Middle East By Vaughn R. Larson
                Department of Military Affairs
 UNDISCLOSED LOCATION – The officer in charge of about 35 Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers performing medevac missions across the Middle East in support of Operations Inherent Resolve and Spartan Shield reports the deployment is going well. “We have a disclaimer phrase — deployment experiences may vary,” said Capt. Robert Holt of Detachment 1, Company G, 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation, which left Wisconsin in June. “Medevac is a pretty unique mission set, where most of the time we find ways to keep ourselves occupied. Overall, we haven’t been super busy, which is a bit of a Catch-22.” Holt said the medevac mission is more than transporting sick or injured troops — crews have resupplied blood, oxygen, medication and other critical medical equipment in a deployed setting. Still, the relatively quiet deployment has allowed plenty of time for training on individual and collective tasks, as well as training events with U.S. ground forces and coalition partner forces. “During these training events, we showcase our capabilities while completing familiarization training in loading and unloading a litter onto a Black Hawk helicopter,” Holt said. “Recently, we also conducted a realistic critical patient transfer scenario with a coalition partner force surgical team, which resulted in the surgical team revising a few of their practices and procedures to better suit real scenarios.” The 2nd Battalion, 104th Aviation Regiment, is a Pennsylvania Army National Guard unit, with subordinate units in other states, including the detachment for Company G in West Bend, Wisconsin. It is not uncommon for Army National Guard aviation units to be dispersed across large geographic areas, as this helps distribute helicopter assets across states. But this also meant that Wisconsin National Guard Soldiers were parceled across three sites in three countries and two time zones for this deployment. “Our aircrews are intermixed with an identical detachment from Nebraska,” Holt explained. “Our maintenance and refueling Soldiers were also absorbed into our Battalion’s D and E companies and have been split up across multiple locations as well. Keeping track of where all our Soldiers are as they rotate between locations has been one of the most difficult tasks.” Still, morale is good, Holt said. “Each location has found ways to come together as a small family,” he said. Being away from home for months is difficult, Spc. Mikaela Bolker acknowledged, “but FaceTime, letters, social media and phone calls have helped.” With reduced demand for medevac missions, Bolker has kept busy with graduate school, fitness and personal projects. She also brought her violin and uploaded videos of her playing the violin in a hangar. “My video went viral on Twitter,” she exclaimed, noting that her video of the fiddle tune “Devil’s Dream” was retweeted by Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Grinston, the U.S. Army’s senior enlisted leader, and Gen. Paul Funk, commanding general of the Army’s Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC), and displayed on other military social media platforms. Spc. Jessica de la Torre compared the deployment to a learning sabbatical. “Being so new in the Guard, I came with so much room to exercise what I learned in (advanced individual training) as a signaller and learn the ins and outs of flight operations in a medevac unit,” de la Torre said. “I have had the opportunity to learn what options there are in one-off medevac situations, troubleshoot radios, establish communications when they’ve been lost, and so much more. I want to continue to gather as much information as I can. If I’m ever in a tough situation, I want to have the background and experience to have a sense of direction for how to solve it.” Approximately 40 percent of the Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers on this mission had deployment experience, which has proven beneficial. “One of the biggest assets we’ve had was the level of crew experience we brought,” Holt said. “When we left for deployment, our aircrew members had the highest average of flight hours of any company in our brigade.” The Wisconsin troops include pilots, mechanics, crew chiefs, aircraft maintainers, supply specialists, aviation refuelers, signal support specialists, and flight operations. As the deployment winds down, Holt said time seemed to be speeding up. “We are all looking forward to being home with our families soon and hope that everyone back home is staying happy and healthy,” he said. The Wisconsin Army National Guard Soldiers are expected to return to Wisconsin this spring.
 SHARE
 PRINT
  Wisconsin National Guard
 Pennsylvania National Guard
 Nebraska National Guard
 Deployment
 middle east
 
 California Air Guard 146th Maintenance Group Learns New Skill
 By Staff Sgt. Kalia Jenkins,
  Wisconsin Air Guard Trains with Papua New Guinea Partners
 By Staff Sgt. Kati Volkman,
  28th ECAB hurdles challenges, completes training
 By  Capt. Travis Mueller
  More
 Oregon Guard Sharpens Combat Skills Before Deployment4/24/2024Alaska Army Guard, Marine Corps Enhance Aviation Tactics4/24/2024Guard Chief Visits Pennsylvania Guard, Aviation Training Site4/23/2024 View more Guard News »
 Pennsylvania National Guard Members Deploy to Africa4/19/2024
US, Canadian Special Forces Forge Partnerships in Jamaica4/8/2024
Deployed Pennsylvania Guard Soldiers Earn Their Combat Patch3/27/2024 View more Overseas Operations News »
 North Carolina, North Dakota, Maine Honored for State Partnership Work4/25/2024

Ohio Guard Air Control Squadron Trains with NATO Partners4/23/2024

New York Army Guard Chaplains Train with African Counterparts4/23/2024 View more State Partnership Program News »
 Back-to-school tools for military families8/11/2015DoD sends blended military retirement proposal to Congress6/16/2015First employment symposium held for National Guard spouses5/11/2015 View more Family Programs News »
 Home
 Site Map
 Privacy & Security Policy
 Link Disclaimer
 Web Policy
 DOD Information Quality
 DOD Open GovernmentFOIA
 No FEAR Act
 Accessibility/Section 508
 Contact Us
 Army Guard Careers
 Air Guard Careers
 USA.gov
                    
Staying Connected
    XYouTubeFlickrFacebookInstagram
                 
                
                

Hosted by Defense Media Activity - WEB.mil