Direct proof of use
The MH-60S Sea Hawk was fielded by U.S. Navy helicopter sea-combat units in the 2003 Iraq War through the 2515th Naval Air Ambulance Detachment. Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21's official history states that the squadron sent its first land-based Naval Air Ambulance Detachments to U.S. Army Central Command in 2006 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, and that 2009-2010 detachments again supported the operation.
A Defense Visual Information Distribution Service account of the departing detachment says the 2515th NAAD used HH-60H Seahawk helicopters, MH-60S Seahawk helicopters, and other aircraft after becoming operational at Udairi Army Airfield in November 2005. The same account says Navy personnel from HSC-21, HSC-23, and HSC-85 performed tours with the detachment and that the unit expanded north to cover southern Iraq from Combat Operating Base Basra.
Sources: HSC-21 Squadron History, DVIDS 2515th NAAD History
Timeline
The Navy air-ambulance mission began in late 2005, when the 2515th NAAD became operational at Udairi Army Airfield with MH-60S and HH-60H aircraft. In late October 2006, a U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings first-person account by an HSC-21 pilot described the detachment deploying to Kuwait with six MH-60S Seahawk helicopters, then flying alert MEDEVAC missions for wounded Marines, soldiers, and civilian workers.
The mission expanded north in 2008 when HSC-25 and the 2515th NAAD assumed a MEDEVAC posture at Combat Operating Base Basrah, Iraq. HSC-21's official history records four-aircraft NAAD detachments at Udari Army Airfield in 2011 and 234 combat-support missions aiding the 2515th NAAD in Basrah.
Sources: DVIDS 2515th NAAD History, USNI Blackjack Pilot Account, HSC-25 Squadron History, HSC-21 Squadron History
Operational role
In Iraq War service, the documented MH-60S role was medical evacuation and support rather than offensive attack. The DVIDS account says the detachment was assigned to evacuate injured and wounded personnel across Kuwait and the northern Persian Gulf, learned to operate in Iraq and Kuwait desert conditions, and later covered southern Iraq from Basra.
The USNI pilot account gives the aircraft-level picture of that mission set: a 2515th NAAD deployment with six MH-60S aircraft, alert crews expected to launch within 15 minutes, patient transport to hospitals, and nighttime casualty movement. HSC-25's official history states that the detachment was responsible for saving nearly 3,000 lives during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Sources: DVIDS 2515th NAAD History, USNI Blackjack Pilot Account, HSC-25 Squadron History
