SAND GNAT 

Issue 3 - Volume 1

April 23, 2008

Page 1 of 2

BEAUFORT, S.C. - The Vigilant 

Guard exercise taking place this 

week in Beaufort County, S.C., 

reinforces that all incidents are 

local, and for one local father and 

his daughter, the exercise has given 

their family some much cherished 

time together.

 Airman 1st Class Sarah Colwell 

says she was inspired to join the 

military because of her father’s 

service in the Marine Corps and 

the terrorist attacks on New York 

and Washington, D.C. The 22-year 

old joined the U.S. Air Force three 

years ago as a military police officer and completed her first tour of 

duty in Iraq in September 2007.

 Because of her roots to Beaufort, 

Colwell was asked by her commander, Maj. Shannon Smith of 

the 75th Security Forces Squadron, 

Hill Air Force Base, Utah, to represent the Air Force’s military police 

community at Vigilant Guard.

 Colwell’s father, James who 

serves as the assistant fire chief 

for the city of Beaufort says he 

couldn’t be more proud of his 

daughter and her service to the 

country during this time of war.

“I’m in the evening of my firefighting career serving the citizens of 

Beaufort -- so to be able to go out 

serving with my daughter -- in support of Vigilant Guard means a lot 

to us and her mother, Brenda, my 

bride for the past 25 years,” said 

Colwell.

 Airman 1st Class Colwell’s duties 

at Hill Air Base prevent her from 

flying home as often as she and her 

family would like but she says she 

is hopeful her next assignment will 

be at Charleston Air Force Base.

“I’m just glad to be home helping 

serve the people of the town I grew 

up in,” said Colwell.

By Maj. Scott Bell

Local father, daughter support Vigilant Guard

Airman First Class 

Sarah Colwell, 75th 

SFS Squadron, Hill 

AFB, Utah (right) 

and her father, Asst. 

fire chief James 

Colwell of Beaufort.

photo by Maj. Scott Bell 

Father and

Daughter serve

together in

Vigilant Guard
NEWS BRIEFS

WEATHER

Wednesday

PARTLY CLOUDY HIGH TEMP 78 F

PRECIP 10% LOW TEMP 60 F

Thursday

MOSTLY SUNNY HIGH TEMP 81 F

PRECIP 10% LOW TEMP 60 F

Al Qaeda No. 2 targets West

Al Qaeda still has plans to target Western 

countries involved in the Iraq war, Osama 

bin Laden’s chief deputy warns in an 

audiotape released Tuesday to answer 

questions posed by followers. Ayman alZawahiri, seen in 2006, said in a recent 

tape that Iran and Hezbollah sought 

to discredit al Qaeda. The voice in the 

lengthy file posted on an Islamic Web 

site could not be immediately confirmed 

as al Qaeda No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahiri’s. 

But it sounded like past audiotapes from 

the terror leader, and the posting bore 

the logo of As-Sahab, al Qaeda’s official 

media arm.

Fallen GI’s Dog back home

Bo, a 2-year-old black Labrador and 

specialized search dog, has good reason 

to be wagging his tail. Willie Smith fought 

back tears Friday as he officially received 

Bo, a military working dog wounded in 

Iraq. The military working canine officially 

hung up his war leash at a moving 

ceremony Friday and retired to the good 

life in Georgia after being wounded in a 

roadside bombing that killed his handler 

in Afghanistan two months ago.

SC teen faces WMD charge

Federal authorities have charged Ryan 

Schallenberger -- the Chesterfield teen 

accused to plotting to blow up his high 

school -- with three federal charges, 

two dealing with explosives, Acting U.S. 

Attorney Kevin McDonald said today. If 

convicted, he could spend the rest of his 

life in prison, McDonald said.

SAFETY TIP

“Safety - Never Off Duty”

Be especially vigilant when crossing roadways. 

There’s a lot of traffic on Shanklin Road and 

in the exercise area. As your mother told you, 

“Look both ways before crossing the street.”

Page 2 of 2

Medical teams airlift victims to 

local hospitals

BEAUFORT, S.C. – With roads 

out and bridges down, medical teams 

rely on helicopters to transport victims 

to hospitals during the Vigilant 

Guard 2008 exercise April 21 – 24 in 

Beaufort, S.C.

The Expeditionary Medical 

Support team (EMEDS) from the Air 

National Guard runs the field hospitals 

when responding to a natural disaster. 

If a victim needs more treatment than 

the field hospital can provide they must 

be airlifted to another treatment center.

“Standard procedure for evacuating 

victims is to treat the patient and call in 

an air evacuation,” said Maj. Douglas 

Genereux from the 143rd Medical 

Group with the Rhode Island Air 

National Guard. “The intensive-care 

patients get prepped with staff being 

conscious of their injuries. The patients 

are loaded onto a stretcher and taken 

out to the loading zone.” By Spc. Erica Knight

Capt. Pauline Goss, of the 187th Medical Group, attends to a simulated disaster victim 

during National Guard exercise Vigilant Guard April 22 in Beaufort, S.C. Vigilant 

Guard is a three-day National Guard-hosted exercise involving a mock 7.3 scale earthquake, in Beaufort County, which began April 21. The exercise is designed to better 

prepare the National Guard for natural disasters in a cooperative effort with various 

national, state and local government agencies. (National Guard photo by Senior Master 

Sgt. David H. Lipp)

Multiple types of helicopters 

are used for medical evacuation 

(MEDEVAC). The most common are 

UH-60 Blackhawks, CH-47 Chinooks, 

and UH-1 Hueys. The number of 

people who are able to be evacuated 

depends on the type of helicopter. 

 “During a mass casualty we stay 

with each patient, maintaining life 

support, until we can get an available 

aircraft,” said Genereux.

 The field hospital staff is certified 

every five years and takes an annual 

class for EMEDS and MEDEVAC.

 According to Genereux this is 

the first time the EMEDS team has 

deployed to get certified.” They were 

able to have the emergency room up 

and running in 24 hours. 

 “Setting up from a dirt lot, then 

staffing and stocking it in two days – 

during a natural disaster is huge!