C Company 1-168th Aviation Regiment (Formerly the 126th Medical Company) lineage dates back to 1870’s as the Sarsfield Grenadier Guard in Sacramento. In March of 1974, the 126th Medical Company drilled for the first time as a MEDEVAC unit.

     The mission of providing aerial MEDEVAC to state and civil disasters and emergencies has carried on since 1974. The 126th Medical Company has exemplified the motto “DUSTOFF” by being constantly involved in lifesaving, search and rescue, firefighting, and relief operations throughout the state, nation and world for the last three decades.

     Many of the individuals present today in the unit remember the deployment to Bosnia from 1998-1999 where 90 individuals and 10 helicopters were sent to provide medical support for NATO forces for a period of 270 days. Shortly thereafter, the 126th Medical Company was called into action during the 2002 Winter Olympics in Utah to provide MEDEVAC support for the 5,000 troops in the area and for the numerous international athletes and civilians in the area. With 38 soldiers and two helicopters, they provided flawless coverage for the Olympics.

     In 2002, the 126th Medical Company reorganized into a split-state unit between California and Nevada. With the multi-state relationship in its infancy, the unit was tasked to deploy to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.
     41 soldiers and 6 UH-60 Helicopters (to include two of the Army’s newest HH-60 helicopters) deployed for eight months to Afghanistan. While deployed, they performed over 153 successful missions, to include 200 patient transports, and logged over 450 hours of flight time in some of the “harshest flight environments the unit has ever flown in.” The two teams based in Bagram and Kandahar were awarded 8 bronze stars and numerous air medals for their courageous efforts in all weather and combat conditions. The 34 individuals from California and 7 from our Nevada detachment took their place in history as being the first Army unit to deploy the HH-60 helicopters to a combat environment, etching the units place in aviation history and the history of the California Army National Guard.

     Throughout the deployments, the 126th Medical Company continued to support EUCOM, PACOM, EUSA and NORTHCOM exercises; soldiers of the 126th Medical Company volunteered for deployments to Iraq and the unit continued to provide its flawless support of search and rescues and wild land firefighting for the state of California.

     In June 2006, after a national restructuring of all Army and National Guard MEDEVAC units the 126th Medical Company became C Company 1-168th Aviation Regiment (GSAB).

     The C Company 1-168th families and employers of our citizen soldiers consistently stand up and perform any mission asked for by the state of California and the United States of America. DUSTOFF FOREVER!!