Deployment to end Alaska air ambulance service - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Deployment to end Alaska air ambulance service

FAIRBANKS, Alaska — The Army plans to send a Fort Wainwright air ambulance unit to Iraq or Afghanistan in July, ending service to civilians in interior Alaska.

Local emergency officials fear that will leave dozens who need emergency aid in remote areas without a fast option for help.

Company C of the 1st Battalion 52nd Aviation Regiment provides Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic service, known as MAST, throughout the Interior. The unit aids in dozens of emergency rescues every year, from small plane crashes to all-terrain vehicle accidents.

“Rural and Fairbanks EMS are very concerned if the service is lost, what might replace it,” said Dan Johnson, executive director of the Interior Region EMS Council.

Lt. Gen. John M. Brown sent a letter to Gov. Sarah Palin’s office notifying her of the impending deployment. MAST service will be discontinued July 1.

Johnson has sent letters to Palin and Alaska’s congressional delegation asking for assistance in keeping a portion of the MAST program in Alaska.

Half of the unit was deployed two years ago and the civilian program was largely unaffected. The Army insists the whole unit deploy in July.

“They’re really needed in the theater,” said Army Alaska spokesman Maj. Chris Hyde. “There are a lot of soldiers in the Middle East getting hurt who need air ambulances.”

MAST service in other states has been dropped. The last other state with an Army MAST program, Hawaii, lost the service in July.

The Army provides civilian service for training.

“When they’re deployed, they’re doing quite frankly the same thing except they have people shooting at them,” Hyde said.

Other states affected by deployments have turned to the National Guard to take over air ambulance services. The National Guard or civilian contractors are likely the best bet for continuing MAST service in the Interior, said McHugh Pierre, spokesman for the state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs.

The Alaska National Guard has a Blackhawk unit and a combat search and rescue unit that could perform air ambulance rescues. The units, stationed at Fort Richardson in Anchorage, are rarely used because of MAST.

“Right now it’s covered,” Pierre said. “We just might not get there as fast as MAST.”

The Blackhawk choppers also are scheduled for overseas deployment next year but Pierre said they might only be able to cover part of the 12- to 15-month deployment for Company C.

Army officials recognize the importance of MAST to the Interior and but say there is a greater need elsewhere.

“We know what kind of need Alaska has, but the overriding, driving force here is that we are in open combat with insurgents in Iraq,” Hyde said. “We can’t always rely on certain air ambulance companies.”