The 121st Medical Co. (Air Ambulance) will be the first unit with UH-72 medevac helicopters to deploy overseas when it arrives in Germany for a mission supporting the war effort this summer. The District of Columbia Army National Guard unit received the helicopter last year, the first in the nation to receive the UH-72, known as the Lakota, equipped for medical evacuation.

A departure ceremony for the unit was held Thursday, July 1, at Davison Army Airfield, Virginia.

Last year, the unit became the first organization in the nation to receive the UH-72 configured for medevac missions. The aircraft replaced the UH-1 “Huey,” a Vietnam vintage chopper currently flown by the 121st Medical Co. (Air Ambulance) stationed at Davison Army Airfield.