Dust Off

n. the military program of medical evacuation and transportation by air; an instance of such travel; a helicopter used for this purpose. Also dust-off. Subjects: English, United States, Aviation, Medical, Military

Etymological Note: The origin of this term is accurately described in the 1982 citation, which refers to events that occurred in 1963. The acronym given in the 2007 citation is a backronym, one created to match the existing term and not the original acronym or origin of “Dust-Off.”

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Citations: 1966 Heaton Port Arthur News (Texas) (Oct. 23) “Family Weekly: How Good is Dust Off?” p. 7: Between April, 1982, and April, 1963, some 35,000 allied casualties were evacuated from field areas by Dust Off. 1970 Mike Mancuso Letter (Aug. 26) @ Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (May 1, 2002) Bernard Edelman p. 195: Remember when we were out in the field and I couldn’t get any “D” rings for my ruck sack? And you told me if someone goes in on a dust-off to take them off their ruck? Well I did, thanks. They were on your ruck! 1982 Peter Dorland, James Nanney @ Office of the Surgeon General Office of Medical History “Dust Off: Army Aeromedical Evacuation In Vietnam”: The 57th had worked without a tactical call sign, simply using “Army” and the tail number of the aircraft.…Major [Lloyd E.] Spencer decided that this slapdash system had to go. In Saigon he visited Navy Support Activity, which controlled all the call words in South Vietnam. He received a Signal Operations Instructions book that listed all the unused call words. Most, like “Bandit,” were more suitable for assault units than for medical evacuation units. But one entry, “Dust Off,” epitomized the 57th’s medical evacuation missions. Since the countryside then was dry and dusty, helicopter pickups in the fields often blew dust, dirt, blankets, and shelter halves all over the men on the ground. By adopting “Dust Off,” Spencer found for Army aeromedical evacuation in Vietnam a name that lasted the rest of the war. 1983 Lynda Van Devanter Home Before Morning: The Story of an Army Nurse in Vietnam (Jan. 1) p. 17 @ (Apr. 1, 2001): The first dust-off is already lifting off, heading back into combat for more casualties, while a second chopper comes in quickly to take its place. 1989 Charles W. Sasser Walking Dead (Jan. 2) p. 73: The villagers kept prudently out of sight as we swept through, after a helicopter dust-off for Dum-Dum and McNey. 1997 Cynthia V. Campbell Baton Rouge Sunday Advocate (La.) (June 8) “Honoring Combat Medics” p. 16-Mag: In the combat zone, clearing companies treated sick and wounded soldiers and treated civilians under MEDCAP (Medical Civic Action Program) Wounded were transported by Air Ambulance (DUSTOFF) or Med EVAC to surgical hospitals, evacuation hospitals and field hospitals, where emergency surgery took place. 2003 David H. Hackworth, Samuel L. Marshall Vietnam Primer (Mar. 1) p. 101: You have only two weeks to go before you climb on that big silver Dust-Off and head back to the land of flushing toilets. 2006 Bob Drury Men’s Health (Jan. 30) “The Doctors of War”: Everything I do in there just gives me that much more confidence on a dust-off.…It’s the same for every medic I work with. 2007 Jennifer McGilvray WISH-TV (Indianapolis, Indiana) (May 5) “National Guard Soldiers Prepare For Departure”: These men and women have a contract with wounded soldiers commonly called DUST-OFF. It’s an acronym standing for “Dedicated Unhesitating Service To Our Fighting Forces.” “That contract states that no matter where they are, no matter what happens, should things go south, and get torn up, that Medivac will come get them no matter what, no matter what.”

Posted 17 Feb 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend