After watching the dramatic re-entry into our atmosphere of the Artemis II’s Orion capsule Integrity, its subsequent splashdown, and the retrieval of the four astronauts in the Pacific Ocean last Friday evening, we were proud to learn that one of the four Navy dive medical personnel who swam to the Orion capsule and greeted the astronauts has a local connection to the Boston area.
Chief Hospital Corpsman Vlad Link grew up in Chelsea and is a 2006 graduate of Chelsea High School. “I have been exposed to the Navy since I was a young teenager, and I’m proud to represent both my family and hometown,” said Link to , who noted that his role with the Artemis II mission has been the highlight of his 18 years of experience in dive medicine. “Contributing our efforts to NASA and the Artemis II mission is something we take great pride in as part of that legacy.”
Link and his fellow dive medical team members, who trained for years for their mission, performed the initial medical assessments of the Artemis II crew. They were prepared to provide triage care as necessary and assisted the astronauts in egress onto the inflatable raft set up outside by Navy divers. They then prepared the crew to be airlifted by helicopter back to the amphibious transport dock ship USS John P. Murtha.
According to the Navy Outreach department, Link is part of a specialized group, often working in expeditionary warfare communities, who are certified divers and who undergo specialized training to become experts in decompression illnesses and other undersea medical situations. Their mission is to care for and ensure dive-qualified service members are safe to conduct diving operations.
We know we join with all of our readers in offering a “Salute” to Chief Hospital Corpsman Link for a job well-done. He made all of us in the Greater Boston area feel a sense of pride in his accomplishment and we thank him for his service.