Irish Air Corps wins NVG award

Irish Air Corps wins NVG award

2-Nov-2012 Source: Night Vision Awards

The Night Vision Awards selection committee presented its final Night Vision Awards for 2012 at the Air Medical Transport Conference held in Seattle, Washington.

“We had a great year for the Night Vision Awards,” said ASU Marketing Director Hannah Gordon.  “We had representatives from the Irish Air Corps that came to the show to be honored.  The Night Vision Awards were a great success and receiving nominations from all over the world is indicative of just how important night vision goggles are to the safety of communities all over the world. It is great to honor men and women at the awards show for their commitment to safety and excellence while using night vision systems.”

“The AMTC Night Vision Awards was – again – a great opportunity to celebrate leaders in night vision operations and showcase their NVG achievements,” stated Night Flight Concepts president Adam Aldous.  “NFC congratulates all the winners and was pleased to support an event that recognizes outstanding organizations from around the globe demonstrating leadership, success and commitment to NVG operational excellence, safety and community awareness.”

Five Year Service Awards were given to St. Patrick’s Hospital based in Missoula, Montana and Northwest MedStar based in Spokane, Washington.

“Northwest MedStar has the highest commitment to safety for our crew and our patients,” said Eveline Bisson, Northwest MedStar program director.  “Investing in night vision goggles was key in ensuring that our team is as safe as possible on every flight.”

A Ten Year Service Award was given to Asheville, North Carolina based Mission Health’s Mountain Air Medical Airlift, (MAMA).  MAMA was the first civil night vision based operation in the United States and pioneered the way for future operators.

“There are numerous stories from both the aviation staff as well as the medical crews regarding how the Night Vision Goggles helped them safely land at a remote scene to provide medical care and then safely transport the patient to the appropriate receiving facility,” said Supervisor and Paramedic John Grindstaff, RN. “With more than 26 years of service to the citizens of the region and over 18,000 patient transports, MAMA continues to use night vision to enhance the safety of flight for everyone involved in the program.”

The Irish Air Corp was given the Community Awareness Award for their amazing use of NVGs in 2011.  In one night the unit was able to help apprehend five fugitives and save a woman stranded out in the Irish Sea.

Brigadier General William Paul Fry, General Officer Commanding, Irish Air Corps, was delighted and honored to receive the news that the Air Corps was given the Night Vision Community Awareness Award.  Brigadier General Fry said he took great pride in the international recognition of the work of the men and women of the Irish Air Corps in developing and delivering this capability.

“This NVG capability is now fully operational conducting the full range of advanced military aviation tasks at night time including special forces operations, air gunnery and air ambulance. It is an aviation skill set unique to the Air Corps in Ireland which enhances our ability to Defend, Protect and Support the State and its people on a daily basis. In addition to developing our expertise, we have shared this capability with An Garda Síochána (Irish Police Force) Air Support Unit to which the Air Corps provides pilots and training,” said General William Paul Fry.

The Night Vision Awards is an annual awards series with recognition events held at three key industry events in North America: HAI, ALEA and AMTC. The purpose of this event series is to promote operational leadership and excellence in the use of Night Vision, in North American and around the world.

Stat Medevac, a previous 5-Year Service Award winner was given the Mark of Excellence Award.

Director of Operations for STAT MedEvac John Kenny said, “”STAT MedEvac has a long history of innovation by implementing resources and training to make our organization better in many ways. This is a continuous process, but the use of night vision technology is definitely one of our greater achievements. We are proud of the work we have done utilizing this technology. As an organization that prides itself on excellence, we are honored to receive this recognition.”

The Next Awards will be presented in Las Vegas at Heli Expo.   Nominations are accepted year round.  Any flight operation using any Night Vision systems is eligible for consideration. Award nomination packets can be downloaded or filled out at http://www.nightvisionawards.com.   Operators must be present at Heli Expo in order to be eligible for entry for the awards at the show.  Nominators are asked to submit photos, videos and stories about their use of Night Vision Systems along with their nomination form.  Applicants are asked to email supporting materials to scott@brandingiron.com.  A full list of previous winners and award description can be found on nightvisionawards.com.

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