Get us outta here! Explained, how medic battles to save the life of a captured Taliban on board a Black Hawk helicopter

Shot through his side, the enemy Afghan lies in agony on the floor of the helicopter, his life in the hands of the very soldiers he has sworn to kill.
Whether he is in a state to comprehend the irony of his situation is not clear, but the strained expression on Sgt Tyrone Jordan’s face shows it doesn’t matter who the patient is as he tries to put a drip into the Afghan’s arm.
He shouts over the din of the engines to the crew to turn on the medical ­monitor equipment behind him.
Beside him, a Marine from the unit that shot the Afghan during a firefight near Marja in ­Helmand province sits stony-faced, masking the adrenaline coursing through his veins as he guards the Black Hawk helicopter as it ­prepares for take-off.
Black Hawk
The Medevac team are never far from their helicopter - they have to sleep within 50 yards of it. Equipment, body armour and helmets are always left on board
Sgt Jordan, from Charlotte, North Carolina, is one of the unsung heroes of the U.S. operation in Afghanistan - the members of Dustoff, the ­Medevac teams that evacuate the injured by helicopter.
The medics operate under conditions of ­enormous physical and mental pressure, their days spent rushing from one blood-soaked casualty to the next.
Every emergency starts with a radio call that provides what is known as a nine-line report, which gives nine crucial details about the incident including its location, the number of wounded and the extent of the injuries - plus the threat from the enemy.
An American Sikorsky Black Hawk: Millions are spent adapting them for Medevac use
A Sikorsky Black Hawk: Millions are spent adapting them for Medevac use
The closest crew will already be getting ready while commanders decide whether it is a valid mission. The Medevac team are never far from their radio or their helicopter - they must sleep within 50 yards of the chopper. Equipment, body armour and helmets are always left on board, so they can run to it quicker.
The crew - a medic, a mechanic and two pilots - and that of their escort helicopter must be in the air within 15 ­minutes of the call, although Major Jason Davis, the Medevac commander in southern Afghanistan, told the Daily Mail they usually manage it in eight. The team must then get any casualties to ­hospital within 60 minutes  - the fabled ‘golden hour’ - after which a patient’s chances of survival diminish rapidly.
Under the Geneva Convention, Medevac helicopters cannot be armed, so they are always followed by another Black Hawk ­carrying heavy machine-guns.
Despite their humanitarian role, the lack of guns makes the Medevac helicopters - identifiable by their red-cross insignia - a favoured target. As a result, flight plans change constantly: sometimes they fly high; sometimes low, zig-zagging at 175mph, before descending in a billowing cloud of dust.
The U.S. Army has around 30 flight medic crews on duty in Afghanistan at any one time and medics, like other troops, serve there on 12-month deployments. Major Davis says only one flight medic has been killed since they were deployed to Afghanistan in 2001. He died after his hoist cable broke. In August alone, flight medics evacuated more than 350 patients to hospitals, half of them Afghan civilians or enemy insurgents.
Many see this service as a crucial plank in the coalition forces’ attempt to win Afghan ‘hearts and minds’. Major Davis says: ‘The insurgents don’t care what happens to them, but we will give them the best care we can and return them home. Once they’re in the helicopter, it doesn’t matter whether they’re one of ours, an enemy or a civilian. They’re just a patient.’
This insurgent did survive and on recovery will be treated as another prisoner of war.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1318346/Soldier-battles-save-Taliban-fighters-life-helicopter-Afghanistan.html
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Canada Military News: WHEN MAINSTREAM MEDIA HIJACKS HUMANITY -for politicalization and commercialistic reasons- and victims are steamrolled by 'monsters matter more'- (Rwanda mainstream media gets nailed and jailed for pure hate inciting war Rwanda) we need to look at Quality Standards and Codes of Ethics Canada and globally in 2015/Less Polarizing party on party tactics and 'MORE SUBSTANCE IN CANADA PARTY LEADERS PLS'- whilst USA has turned in2 it's own reality nightmare...imho /VOTERS r becoming seriously turned off/ Afghan Women face the worst evil April 5, 2014 and vote in millions 4 freedom and we fritter ours like troops lives don't matter...imho /Kim Campbell -Hillary Clinton strong women hijacked by their parties /Oct 7th- Trevor Noah (Jon's Stewart's Protege) is BRILLIANT AND GLOBAL






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Red Cross defends helping Taliban treat casualties

By the CNN Wire Staff
Men load foodstuffs during ICRC food distribution in Kunar province, east of Kabul on October 8, 2008.
Men load foodstuffs during ICRC food distribution in Kunar province, east of Kabul on October 8, 2008.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • Red Cross says it provided medical training to 70 members of 'armed opposition'
  • Agency says its mandate is to provide unbiased assistance
  • NATO has no issues with the practice Red Cross defends helping Taliban treat casualties
(CNN) -- The International Committee of the Red Cross is defending its practice of providing medical training and basic medical supplies to the Taliban in Afghanistan -- saying it is in line with the ICRC's mandate not to discriminate between different sides in a conflict.
In the latest situation report issued Tuesday, the Red Cross disclosed that in April its workers "reached over 100 Afghan security personnel, over 70 members of the armed opposition, taxi drivers involved in the transport of wounded people, first-aiders and its own staff."
That prompted plenty of quizzical and some critical comments in the international media and among bloggers -- and some grumbling among Afghan officials.
But an ICRC spokesman in Geneva said the practice is consistent with its obligation of neutrality and its mandate to provide assistance to all sides in conflict.
The ICRC says it provides a three-day course that includes lessons in international humanitarian law, practical work with bandages and other basic medical techniques.
It says the course is also a chance to remind all sides about respect for civilians and proper treatment of detainees.
Some critics have drawn a distinction between providing medical care to the wounded and training insurgents to do so. But the ICRC says it has provided similar training in Darfur, Sudan and to Hamas members in Gaza.
ICRC spokesman Christian Cardon says it has been providing such training in Afghanistan for about four years to the Taliban as well as to Afghan police and civilian first-aiders. He added that the ICRC was not training the Taliban in surgical skills; the focus was on stabilizing those injured.
The ICRC says that roadblocks, fighting and mines have made access to hospitals very difficult -- especially in provinces like Helmand and Kandahar in the south of Afghanistan.
The International Security Assistance Force says it has no issues with Red Cross workers training insurgents in medical care.
"We recognize the need for their work to be executed impartially -- and it's precisely for this reason that they are able to gain the access that they do," Lt. Col. Joseph T Breasseale told CNN. "One of the litany of things that separates the international coalition from the Taliban is that we have frequently provided first aid to injured Taliban fighters and we will continue to do so."
The ICRC says the three-day first-aid courses are a small part of its program in Afghanistan. In April it conducted a war surgery workshop for dozens of doctors, and supported the regional hospital in Kandahar in performing almost 1,000 operations.
The ICRC says it has 1,500 national and 140 international staff in Afghanistan.

 http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/27/afghanistan.red.cross.taliban/
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Afghan Civilians Continue to be Primary Victims of Taliban Attacks
Bagram Media Support Center
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2010-08-RCE-CC-125

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (Aug. 26, 2010) – Insurgent-related attacks have been responsible for the deaths of two Afghan civilians and serious injuries to 35 more within the last seven days, despite the holy month of Ramadan.

Click to view image: 'b48a4a51ea17-newnotarepostnato.png'

Below are highlights of some of these attacks that occurred within six of the 14 provinces in Regional Command-East.

On Aug. 21, an improvised explosive device exploded in Paktika Province, killing an Afghan child and wounding four civilians and two Afghan Border Patrol personnel. Coalition forces reported six wounded Afghans showed up at Forward Operating Base Orgun E for medical treatment. Coalition Forces investigated the site of the attack and found one Afghan child had died of wounds. The insurgents were targeting the ABP.

On Aug. 23 in Logar Province, one Afghan child was killed and another wounded by Taliban insurgents. During a patrol, Coalition forces came under attack, receiving small-arms and rocket-propelled grenades. Coalition forces noticed three local children were watching from a bridge nearby when the attack occurred. The unit did not return fire but instead moved one of their vehicles to position it between the insurgent gunfire and the children. Two of the children had already been shot by insurgents. The unit medically evacuated the children along with their father to Forward Operating Base Shank where one child later died of his wounds.

On Aug. 24 in Paktika Province, seven Afghan citizens were wounded by an IED. Three of the wounded were treated by a Coalition forces medic, while the other four were treated at a local clinic.

The latest attacks continue to underscore the steady increase in the number of Afghan civilians being killed and injured daily since Mullah Omar attempted to gain control of the Taliban by issuing a ‘code of conduct.’

In addition to the deaths and injuries inflicted from daily attacks, Taliban fighters have employed threats and intimidation in an attempt to derail the Sept. 18, 2010 Parliamentary elections that are designed to improve the representation of Afghan civilians and make the region safer.

To find a practical example of these tactics, you need look no further than the Nerkh district in Wardak province. Taliban fighters have allegedly issued a warning to the local civilians that if they catch anyone voting in the elections they will cut off that person’s fingers. Taliban fighters have said they will “inspect the fingers of individuals returning to their villages to see if there is ink still on their fingers.” They plan on conducting these inspections on the day of, and days following, the elections since it (ink) takes a couple of days to wear off. Taliban fighters have vowed to use a bayonet from an AK-47 to “chop the fingers off onto the ground.”

While such threats have failed to derail elections in the past, it is important to note that the potential mutilation of anyone is a direct violation of the established guidelines that Mullah Omar’s Taliban fighters are obliged to obey.

In Chapter Nine ‘Official Forbiddance’ of The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’s guidance titled: A Book of Rules released on Sept. 10, 2009, it is clearly written that “Mutilation is strictly forbidden in sacred Islamic Sharia. Therefore, Mujahideen are instructed to strictly stay away from such Practices.”

Furthermore, according to Mullah Omar’s own recently-issued addendum to the code of conduct, Article 78 clearly directs that “The mujahidin are duty-bound to show good character and Islamic behavior to the nation. They should win the hearts of Muslims at large. As mujahidin, they should be such a representative of the Islamic Emirate that all the countrymen welcome them and the countrymen provide them with cooperation and support.”

“Frankly, it’s really not surprising that we see examples of the Taliban threatening to engage in such barbaric actions against their own people,” said Maj. Patrick Seiber, Combined Joint Task Force – 101 and Regional Command – East spokesperson. “We see over and over how they will typically say one thing and do another. There is no command authority that has any control over them present on the ground in Afghanistan. Somewhere there is a disconnect. The Taliban we interdict every day, killing and injuring their fellow Afghan civilians, are definitely not interested in following any ‘code of conduct’,” added Seiber.

One way that Afghan citizens can take charge and increase their own security is by anonymously notifying International Security Assistance Forces (ISAF) of the presence of explosives and munitions in their neighbourhoods that are used by Taliban fighters to injure and kill them.

The Rewards Program enables local Afghans to save lives throughout eastern Afghanistan by providing information leading to the collection of dangerous weapons, explosives and insurgents. Since the beginning of August, Regional Command East has paid out more than $70,000 in reward money to local citizens who provided information on weapons storage facilities, IEDs, and key insurgent leaders. This information led to the discovery of items typically used to harm Afghan civilians, Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition Forces, including 25 IEDs and 33 weapons caches.

One of the largest caches reported this month revealed more than 240 82mm mortar shells, 133 107mm rockets and 97 other munitions of varying types. Once complete, this action could earn the Afghans who called up to $30,000.

Since last October, RC-E has actively promoted the Rewards program and encouraged local members of the community to call in to their Community Safety Lines to provide information. Afghan civilians interested in cleaning up their communities should call their individual district phone numbers that are available at the local governance centers.

“We have collected what would be extremely valuable to the insurgents in IEDs, IED making materials, and unexploded ordinance. Since the program began, we have prevented thousands of deaths or injuries to innocent civilians, Afghan National Security Forces, and Coalition Forces,” said Chief Warrant Officer Steve Mehl, Rewards Program chief, Regional Command East.

“We will continue to actively promote this program because it is saving lives and making the local communities safer for Afghan families,” Mehl said.

 http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=c47_1282831003
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