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

Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, shows Sgt. Seth Cantler, a force protection sergeant, how to hold the needle while he sticks his fellow soldier, Spc. Christopher Leonard, during combat lifesaver training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Cleveland regularly conducts first aid refresher courses for her fellow Task Force Keystone soldiers. Photo by Sgt. James Waltz

Spc. Amanda Cleveland describes herself as “a simple girl who is not into drama.” As an Army medic, sometimes she can’t avoid being in dramatic situations, but it is the ability to consistently help and aid people, not the drama, that drives this native of Williamsport, Pa., to excel at her job.

Cleveland graduated from Williamsport High School in 2007 and, at age 17, immediately set off for basic combat training and Combat Medical School.

“I really wanted to go into the medical field and wasn’t sure how I was going to do it,” said Cleveland. “A recruiter was able to get me into the health care field and give me a $20,000 bonus on top of it.”

Cleveland was 18-years-old when her six months of rigorous medical training began and she became very nervous. “It was the longest time I had ever been away from my family,” she said. “I don’t know if I could have graduated if it had not been for a few older friends I had made who shared their previous experiences with me.”

While at training, Cleveland learned the ins-and-outs of emergency medicine and basic medical skills in general. She recalled one particular exercise, which she called “blood lanes.”

“We went through these blood lanes where we had to treat mock casualties in a stressful environment,” she said. “It was fast-paced training and we had to deal with them screaming, among other things.”

She went through similar training at the regional medical training site at Fort Indiantown Gap, Pa., in preparation for deployment.

Cleveland is currently serving with Task Force Keystone during her unit’s nine-month deployment to Iraq. Leading up to the three-month pre-deployment mobilization, Cleveland was one of several medics tasked with training the Soldiers of the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade in basic combat medical skills. This allows each Soldier to act as a bridge during the time between an emergency and the arrival of a medic. This time is often the most critical in ensuring a patient’s survival, according to Cleveland.

Spc. Amanda Cleveland, a medic in the 28th Combat Aviation Brigade, described the importance of pressure in stopping blood loss, during first aid training at Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq. Cleveland has trained nearly 1,000 soldiers in Task Force Keystone leading up to and during her nine-month deployment to Iraq. Photo by Sgt. James Waltz

Her supervisor, Sgt. 1st Class Collin Bowser of Indiana, Pa., said Cleveland is extremely proficient at medical training. “She has done an excellent job teaching several hundred Soldiers the basics of first aid,” said Bowser. “And these are mostly Soldiers who are novices at this stuff and have minimal medical experience.”

Cleveland is humble about her teaching ability, but is quick to acknowledge the importance of the subject matter.”I really enjoy teaching, but it’s not always easy keeping a student’s attention, because I’m not a dominating person,” said Cleveland. “I just keep reminding myself that what I am teaching these Soldiers will not only affect them, but also the people they may have to save. I may be helping my students save a life!”

Cleveland is the primary instructor of the 28th CAB’s First Aid Refresher Course at Contingency Operating Base Adder which is taught monthly to a rotation of Soldiers. When she is not training, she is receiving clinical experience in her unit’s medical clinic. She takes vital signs, screens patients, performs asthma treatments and even stitches sutures.

During her 12-hour shifts, she uses downtime to write home. Many Soldiers here use e-mail, but Cleveland prefers to put pen to paper. “I like to physically write letters for two reasons. First, some of my family members are technologically impaired,” she joked. “But really it just feels more personal. It feels good to have that letter in your hand, knowing there was more time and energy put into it.”

This is certainly one Soldier who thrives on putting time and energy into aiding others.

DVIDS
Story by Sgt. James Waltz