Newsletter Archives

INVITATION//Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War CGM Celebration with US Senator Cornyn//October 28//JBSA-Fort Sam Houston, TX On behalf of U.S. Senator John Cornyn, we would like to invite you to attend a special ceremony to celebrate the signing of the Dustoff Crews of the Vietnam War Congressional Gold Medal Act into law. We hope you can join us on on Monday, the twenty-eighth day of October 2024at half past ten o'clock in the morning AMEDD Helicopter PergolaBuilding 1046, 38

After many years of "walking the halls" and "sending letters" and educating our representatives and senators in Washington D.C., the President signed into law the award of the Congressional Gold Medal for ALL DUSTOFF/MEDEVAC crews who served so valiantly in the Vietnam War. Over 900,000 patients were evacuated at a cost of 215 DUSTOFF/MEDEVAC crewmembers and a large number of Hueys that were damaged on missions. Now that the bill has been signed the process moves to a design

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Vietnam DUSTOFF Crews Congressional Gold Medal Act Passes U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. – September 17, 2024 – The DUSTOFF Association is proud to announce the historic passage of the Vietnam DUSTOFF Crews Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 2825) in the U.S. House of Representatives today, marking a significant moment of recognition for the heroic helicopter ambulance crews who risked their lives to save others during the Vietnam War. The

C/1-52 GSAB operates in Alaska - some of the most challenging and dangerous terrain and weather we fly in. Read about their recent missions HERE

Greetings, It’s hard to believe it’s already August 2024. So much has been accomplished since our last newsletter, to include our 44th DUSTOFF Association Reunion in San Antonio and the Quad-A Summit in Colorado! I am proud to say that our association is growing and vibrant. We have a momentum that’s directly projecting positive change. This upward projection is due to our incredible volunteers who have not only performed their roles well but have allowed me to focus on build

SFC Carl R. Piper The Department of Aviation Medicine (DAM) continues to train the warfighter in aeromedical tasks and drive change by incorporating new lessons learned into all programs of instruction. Each branch of the DAM empathizes the complexity of the modern operating environment to students and a shift from counterinsurgency to large scale combat operations (LSCO). The Medical Evacuation Doctrine course sets the framework for medical evacuation personnel to become exp

COL Nate Forrester, Aeromedical Evacuation Consultant to the Surgeon General As our Corps maintains pace with the Army’s modernization and transformation efforts, your Aeromedical Evacuation officers are leading the way. Continued strategic competition with increasingly capable adversaries and significant technological advancements drive the need to modernize our evacuation enterprise, both air and ground. 67Js, serving at the forefront of medical evacuation, provided agile,

LTC (Retired) Chris Wingate The 2024 DUSTOFF Reunion in San Antonio, Texas, was a remarkable event, bringing together veterans, active-duty service members, and families connected by the valor and dedication inherent in the DUSTOFF community. This year's reunion, filled with camaraderie and reflection, also set the stage for exciting developments in the year ahead. As we honor the past and embrace the future, the DUSTOFF Association is thrilled to announce the rebranding of o

The Senate passed the bill awarding the Congressional Gold Medal to the DUSTOFF crews of Vietnam unanimously. Here is the record link below - the House "should" fall in line and pass this bill soon. It's been a long fight with many proud and brave DUSTOFFers lobbying to get this passed. Steve Vermillion and Chris Seidor have spent hundreds of hours personally walking the Halls of Congress to get representatives and senators to "sign on." Click HERE to read.

The Medical Evacuation Concepts & Capabilities Division (MECCD) continues to drive capability development and integration within the Medical Evacuation Community. As the operational space continues to evolve, MECCD is working on several exciting projects to include Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) MEDEVAC variant, Protected Wheeled Ambulance (PWA), Multi Mission Vehicle Interior and Patient Handling System (MMVI) in cooperation with NAVAIR, autonomous evacuation an

By COL (R) Doug Moore A VOICE IN THE DARK I’m sure most Dust Off pilots have flown a mission, or perhaps several, that seemed surreal when finished. I certainly had one in late January of 1969. We had been extremely busy all day and, as night approached, my co-pilot, W-1 Ted Jacoby, and I became concerned about a huge cloud system forming along the Cambodian Border. After a couple of early evening missions, things quieted down but just before midnight, the bottom fell out of

Originally written by COL (R) Doug Moore about Anne Margaret “First printed in Army Aviation Magazine, February 29, 2024.” Thousands of service personnel listen to Miss Ann-Margret sing one of her numbers during her show in Danang, Vietnam 1966. By Colonel Doug Moore, U.S. Army Retired A recent Aviator article on Bob Hope brought back memories. I was assigned to the 57th Medical Detachment (DUSTOFF) at Tan Son Nhut airfield in December of 1964 when Bob and this tr

1LT Phoenix Tabasso was presented with her DUSTOFF Association Life Member Certificate February 22nd, 2024 for having the highest GPA in her graduating flight school class. The certificate was presented by Major Suzannah Palmer, MECCD Deputy Chief. Welcome to the DUSTOFF family and congratulations! Phoenix will be assigned to Fort Cavazos, TX for her first duty assignment. Again, thank you to Collins Aerospace for sponsoring the Top-of-the-Class life membership!

1LT Eric Kulkarni, 67J, was presented with his DUSTOFF Association Life Member Certificate on January 11th, by COL Sam Fricks, Director, MECCD for having the highest GPA in his graduating flight class and Distinguished Honor Grad. Also present to make the presentation was George Johnson representing Collins Aerospace, the sponsor of the Lifetime Membership Award for each top-of-the-class MSC graduate from flight school and the Critical Care Flight Paramedic Course. We welcome

he DUSTOFF Association is excited to announce our 44th Annual awards program winners! We sincerely appreciate the nominations that were submitted for your Heroes. This year's voting was tight, with categories having a two or three vote difference and/or tied for second place. Because of this, we want to announce in this email our 2nd and 3rd place nominees, to Honor their career and heroic actions as well. Also, to provide this distinction for use with comments in their perf

Provided by COL Retired Doug Moore - DUSTOFF Hall of Fame and Army Aviation Hall of Fame Inductee You’ll see them walking through a military medical facility or through a busy airport terminal. All have tell-tale signs of what they’ve been; a brisk, young-old look of efficiency, regardless of age. They stand tall, look confident, and smile a lot. Their heads are on an eternal swivel and nothing passes their close scrutiny, whether it’s a pretty woman or a passing aircraft. I

SGT Elizabeth R. Mann, Detachment 2, C/1169 Aviation Regiment, VA ARNG, was presented with the DUSTOFF Association Life Member Certificate on November 9th, 2023 for having the highest GPA in her graduating AMEDD Aviation Crewmember Course (AACC). Welcome to the DUSTOFF family and congratulations! Thank you to Collins Aerospace for sponsoring the Top-of-the-Class life membership!

COL Sam Fricks Well, 2023 has been a heck of a year. It has also been challenging, rewarding, and quite frankly, a bit frustrating, especially here near the end. The best thing about MECCD, are the people. This year, LTC Audrey Boenker left us, as she set out for her BN Command of the 121st Field Hospital. MAJ Suzannah Palmer recently assumed the role of the deputy chief, and she is coming to us fresh from Fort Bliss, where she served as the GSAB XO. We also gained SFC Justin

Hello from the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia)! We are just past half-way to next year’s Reunion, and what a great year it has been. The new crop of leaders is anything but new, with most involved in the DUSTOFF Association for more than 20 years! I’m honored to serve as the President. I’m thrilled about the future of our Association and the strategy to get there. After celebrating Dan and Suzie Gower’s retirement at the last reunion and taking on the role of President, it becam