The Air Ambulances Of The Hindu Kush

JALALABAD, AFGHANISTAN - MAY 10 2009: CW2 Medevac Pilot Jason Penrod from the 159th Aviation Brigade 101st Airborne Division: Because of dangers around here there are few areas we go without an Apache attack helicopter escort. And that is for a reason. There are people here who shoot at us but you don'y fly your aircraft any different. I don't want to be the guy on Al Jazeera who has crashed just because I did something stupid. My biggest fear is injuring one of my crew or damaging the aircraft. I don't talk a lot about what I do to my family. I just got married before I came out here and it has been a tough pill for my family to swallow. We have all had sleepless nights here after some of the missions we fly. But being here makes you look at a lot of things a lot differently. (Photo by Patrick Barth/Getty Images)