Trooper 6
she completed a rigorous six months at the Police Academy, followed by another eight weeks in the field under the direction of a training officer. As a “road trooper,” Allison received two awards for her on-the-scene lifesaving training. One involved a stabbing, the other emergency CPR. Because of her skill, both patients survived. Jeremy, on the other hand, never had occasion to put his EMT training to direct use as a road trooper, but he more than made up for it once in the air. Jeremy? Oh, yes, let me introduce Master Trooper Jeremy Krebs ~ Crew Chief/Paramedic, who strolls over to where I’m talking to Allison and Kyle ~ next to big bird that has now been refueled and pulled inside for postflight checks. Average height, short hair, stalky, a bemused gleam in his eyes, he wears the look of a man who has seen much and is surprised by little. He, too, seems quite comfortable in his skin ~ especially when it’s smudged and sweaty after a mission. A paramedic for 25 years, he is a 16-year veteran of the Maryland State Police. “I came here from Pennsylvania to be an EMT officer on this helicopter,” he says when I ask about his background. Both Allison and Jeremy are paramedics certified in the state of Maryland. “But,” Allison says, “as far as the command goes, he is a crew chief and I am a rescue tech, which is the entry level for a paramedic in the MSP Aviation Unit. But,” she quickly adds, “I’m actually going through
Master Trooper Krebs of the human spirit burn bright like the sun, or go cold like a dying ember. I suppose that maintaining perspective comes a little easier when you’re leaning hard on the end of a week filled with medevac missions and rescue attempts. They’re certainly not angels from heaven, these fire walkers, but surely they’re salt of the earth. “Allison Oyler, Trooper Allison Oyler,” the young paramedic says when I ask her name. Her response comes back quickly and directly, yet friendly. A trained and certified paramedic for eight years, she’s been with the MSP for three years, including the first two as a road trooper, and now one as a Trooper 6 Rescue Tech/Paramedic. She exudes an air of earnest enthusiasm and while not a large person, she comes across as quietly confident and capable. Like all armed sworn officers, 72