Clockwise from top left, Capt. Trish Barker, Chief Warrant Officer Andrea Galatian, Staff Sgt. Misty Seward and Sgt. Debra Lukan, of the Army’s 3-238th Medevac, C Company, became the company's first all-female crew just before Thanksgiving. They are serving in Iraq as part of Task Force Keystone. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Neil Gussman

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq, Dec. 1, 2009 – Four soldiers serving here with the New Hampshire National Guard earned a special distinction last week when they became their company’s first all-female medical evacuation crew.

Army Chief Warrant Officer Andrea Galatian, a pilot in C Company, 3-238th Medevac, prepares a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter for flight at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq, Nov. 25, 2009. Galatian is part of the company's first all-female medical evacuation crew. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Neil Gussman

In the three days before Thanksgiving, Capt. Trish Barker, Chief Warrant Officer Andrea Galatian, Staff Sgt. Misty Seward and Sgt. Debra Lukan, of the Army’s 3-238th Medevac, C Company, comprised one of the on-alert crews for Task Force Keystone. Officials aren’t sure how rare the all-female medevac crew is, but it is a rarity the company is proud of.

“There must have been another all-female medevac crew somewhere, but I haven’t seen one,” said Galatian, the crew’s pilot.

The odds are slim for such a crew to come up on rotation, said Army Maj. David Mattimore, commander of C Company, 3-238th Medevac, from Hampton, N.H.

“It would not have been possible until one of our avionics sergeants became a crew chief,” he said.

That crew chief also is the newest name on the flight roster: Lukan, 43, of Keene, N.H., enlisted following 9/11. “I just barely made the age cutoff,” she said of her age.

Lukan trained as an avionics mechanic and just recently switched from the shop to flight crew. She deployed to Camp Speicher and Tikrit from 2005 to 2006 and served in the avionics field. She’s happy to be on the flight rotation this time, she said.

“My family doesn’t know I’m flying,” she said. “They worry a lot, but I suppose I’ll have to tell them eventually.”

In the civilian world, Lukan is a federal technician in avionics for the New Hampshire National Guard.

Seward, 30, of Owosso, Mich., agreed with Galation on the uniqueness of the crew. “Same for me,” she said. “Never flew with an all-girl crew.”

In fact, with a total of nine deployments among them and between eight and 12 years of service apiece, this still is a first-time experience for the entire crew, Barker, the operations officer, said.

Seward enlisted in 1998 and has served as a medic for 11 years. She has four years as a flight medic and seven on the ground. She deployed to Kuwait from 2001 to 2002 and to Baghdad from 2006 to 2007, both tours as a ground medic.

When she returns from her current tour, Seward will resume her job as a security officer at a level-one trauma clinic in Lansing, Mich., part of Sparrow Health Systems.

Galatian enlisted in 1997 and served five years as an administrative clerk before going to flight school in 2002. She has served seven years as a pilot, including a deployment to Bosnia in 2005.

As a civilian, Galatian is the business analyst for the real estate division of the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Barker, 30, enlisted in 1999 as an aircraft fueler. She went to Officer Candidate School in 2003 and Flight School in 2004. A native of Menominee, Mich., she was deployed to Bosnia in 2005 as a medevac section leader.

When she returns from this deployment, she will resume her job as the state occupational health specialist for the Michigan Army National Guard.

From left, Sgt. Debra Lukan, Capt. Trish Barker, Staff Sgt. Misty Seward and Chief Warrant Officer Andrea Galatian, of the Army’s 3-238th Medevac, C company, became the company's first all-female crew just before Thanksgiving. They are serving in Iraq as part of Task Force Keystone. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Neil Gussman

“It may be months before this crew comes up in the rotation again,” Mattimore said. “We only have nine female flight crew members and everyone rotates to our remote bases, so the odds of them being back together again are low.”

Still, the crew is happy to have had the experience. “I’m glad we got a chance to be first,” Barker said, “even if it is just first for us.”

DoD
By Army Sgt. Neil Gussman
Special to American Forces Press Service

Members of the 542nd Support Maintenance Company work with local Iraqis to help sustain the flow of water into Contingency Operating Base Adder and Camp Cedar. Serving under the 7th Sustainment Brigade, the 542nd fuels and services generators located at nearby homes off base. Locals are hired to monitor water pumps and canals that run into the Euphrates River, so the team also practices community relations. Their efforts provide a steady water supply to the thousands of service members on COB Adder and Camp Cedar.

The 542nd, a unit from Ft. Lewis, Washington, travels four or five times a week to visit the three sites. They routinely check pipes for leaks, annotate if a centrifugal pump is not working correctly, and make sure no one is stealing fuel from the generators.

They also get a report of any physical activity from the Iraqi monitors. Monitors generally watch for debris and small animals like fish in the pipes. Curious children would seem to be a concern, but one Iraqi monitor said there have been no real problems.

“The kids normally don’t bother the area,” said an Iraqi who has worked with the military since 2005. “The kids come over when the soldiers visit but only to get stuff [like candy and clothes].”

Sgt. Kevin Tamberg, the team’s non-commissioned officer in charge, said the local sheiks keep a tight guard on the area. Anything out of the ordinary is reported to the sheiks. The sheiks pass the info to a local post’s garrison command through an interpreter.

Tamberg, a Hattiesburg, Mississippi native, said the sheiks are highly respected and the locals normally have no issues with the military.

“We have a tight bond and it begins from working with the locals,” he said.

During these reports, it’s common for the team to get requests from the monitors. At the first stop, Tamberg meets with water monitor ‘Hani’. After giving his report, ‘Hani’ leads the group inside his hut and points out the condition of his bed. Constructed of cardboard slats and thin bed rails, ‘Hani’ said his wife has continually complained about its condition and said he should ask the Coalition Forces to bring a new one. Tamberg takes down the information, thanks ‘Hani’ for his time and moves to the next station.

Furniture requests was not an action team members expected to do when they got orders to deploy to Iraq. Tamberg said when the unit arrived in Iraq, some soldiers were nervous.

“They were worried about being shot at and blown up,” Tamberg said. “Once [the soldiers] realized we were working with the locals and how important their efforts were to the leadership, they were motivated.”

Tamberg said his soldiers don’t feel like they’re wasting time.

“They’re motivated because every time they go out, they know they were making a true difference.”

“We’ve connected emotionally with these people,” said Tamberg. “They don’t want anything to happen to us because we offer them more jobs, more chances to learn a trade. They may have a skill or trade they learned in the past and now can apply it – not only for us but their own people.”

Children show up from near and far when the 542nd arrives on site. They come from neighboring homes, even rowing their boats across the Euphrates to spend time with the visiting soldiers. The kids have an unrelenting enthusiasm for the visitors, asking for candy, water, anything of value. The requests rarely cease even when the soldiers finish their duties and return to their humvees.

Responding professionally to the requests of the locals can be taxing. 2nd Lt. Jaclyn Adams, the convoy commander for the water canal pump team, said the job has been ‘really difficult, but very rewarding’ for her soldiers.

“We’re seeing people who are not like us,” said Adams. “It’s a mixing of cultures . . . we interact, bring them food, water, clothes. Soldiers have been writing people at home so they can send stuff.”

Tamberg said the children’s attitude is infectious.

“Seeing little boys and girls open up with a smile opens up the soldiers even more,” Tamberg said, “so even when we have to get up at early morning hours to do long days, it’s made better by the time we spend with the kids.”

Tamberg, an Operation Iraqi Freedom veteran since 2003, said the reversal of policy by coalition forces has created a different mindset for the Iraqis he meets.

“Compared to now, I rarely had any contact with local nationals (on my first tour),” said Tamberg. “Some would come on my base to do small jobs . . . some would shy from us, some would be open-minded.”

Tamberg said he didn’t really see many children except for those who would come to the side of the road near convoys asking for stuff. By entering their neighborhoods, the kids’ curiosity toward soldiers emerged.

“They’re always asking us questions, trying to learn more English,” Tamberg said. “Instead of asking us for something, some will ask us to join them for supper or to kick the soccer ball around.”

Private first-class Brian Lawrence said he regularly plays with the kids. It makes them feel comfortable [with us],” said Lawrence, who has two children. “Doing that makes it easier when other convoys come; (the children) won’t get nervous and start throwing stuff to hurt the soldiers.”

Lawrence said, however, that it was important for soldiers not to lose their professionalism.

“If someone’s not being professional at a time they need to be, BOOM! . . . there goes your truck.”

The team is predominantly made of young people; 12 of 20 people are under the age of 25. Adams, who is 23, said fighting complacency is a big issue with the team.

“Guys are so young,” she explained, “It’s hard to keep them on their toes, from being complacent. We make sure we cover that (concern) all the time, preaching safety.” “We don’t want [the soldiers] to be comfortable outside the wire, with the local nationals,” Adams said. “There’s a line that you cannot cross.”

Adams said they have a good relationship with the locals but added there will always be potential issues with locals, so the team’s fate is partially in the Iraqis’ hands.

“We’re on their land,” said Adams, “If they have a problem with us, you never know what’s going to happen.” “[We] have to make sure they like us,” she laughs.

DVIDS
Story by Spc. Anthony Hooker