The Associated Press
FAIRBANKS — The Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly is calling for the return of an Army air ambulance team for civilian service after its deployment this summer.
Company C of the 1st Battalion 52nd Aviation Regiment, which provides Military Assistance to Safety and Traffic service, known as MAST, throughout the Interior, will no longer provide service as of July 1. It’s being deployed to either Afghanistan or Iraq.
The unit aids in dozens of civilian emergency rescues every year, from small plane crashes to all-terrain vehicle accidents.
Mayor Jim Whitaker said Army officials have indicated there is no consideration being given to return the service after the deployment.
The Assembly on Thursday urged federal authorities to work with local governments to ensure it returns to Fort Wainwright.
The resolution also directs Whitaker to work with state and federal officials to develop some type of substitute rescue service while the company is deployed.
“They really need to be used where they’re needed most,” Dan Johnson, executive director of the Interior Region EMS Council, said of war zones in the Middle East.
But the departure will leave “a large hole in the safety net for those who work and live and play in the Interior.”
Whitaker said alternatives include using contracted civilian services. To do that, he said funding from the state and federal governments could be involved.