'They Weren't Gonna Stop:' Inside the 8,000-Mile Race to Save a Wounded Soldier's Life
28 Sep 2019
Military.com | By Oriana Pawlyk
It all had to sync up perfectly.
As the heavy C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft departed Bagram Air Base, Afghanistan, and raced to its first aerial refueling point off the coast of England, more than a dozen U.S. airmen watched the clock, knowing the life of a badly wounded U.S. soldier hung in the balance.
The circumstances were dire. The special operations soldier, unidentified for privacy reasons, had been hit when an improvised explosive device detonated, fracturing his pelvis and gravely injuring his abdomen, arms and legs. It took three aircraft, 24,000 gallons of fuel and about two dozen gallons of blood to sustain the soldier during the 8,000-mile non-stop journey back to the U.S., where he required specialized care.
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2019/09/28/they-werent-gonna-stop-inside-8000-mile-race-save-wounded-soldiers-life.html
