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This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the United States Army.
57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) | |
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![]() 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) Insignia worn by Major Charles L. Kelly | |
Active | 19 September 1943 – 30 September 1945 23 March 1953 – 15 June 2007 |
Country | US |
Branch | Regular Army |
Garrison/HQ | Fort Liberty |
Nickname(s) | The Original Dustoff |
Engagements | Vietnam War Operation Urgent Fury Operation Desert Storm Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Iraqi Freedom |
Commanders | |
Notable commanders | Major Charles L. Kelly |
The 57th Medical Detachment (Helicopter Ambulance) was a US Army unit located at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, which provided aeromedical evacuation support to the Fort Liberty community, while training in its combat support mission. The first helicopter ambulance unit to be fielded the UH-1 Huey helicopter, it was also the first unit to deploy to Vietnam with the UH-1, and the first unit to fly them in combat, in 1962. By the time the detachment redeployed to the continental United States ten years, ten months, and seventeen days later, its crews had evacuated nearly 78,000 patients. The unit's callsign, "Dustoff," selected in 1963, is now universally associated with United States Army aeromedical evacuation units.