Kevin Barber has been hired as a pilot for California Shock Trauma Air Rescue (CALSTAR), according to an announcement from cheif operations officer Tad Henderson with CALSTAR. Barber has been assigned to work at the company’s base in Gilroy.
Barber is a former U.S. Naval officer, having served in various locations throughout the world between 1999 and 2004. Earlier, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in criminology from California State University at Long Beach. In 2006 he completed a one-year helicopter training program at Los Angeles Helicopters in Long Beach.
In all, Barber has more than 3,800 hours of experience as a helicopter pilot. Most recently, he was an EMS pilot for Air Methods.
Barber’s wife, Anita, is a registered nurse and works in an ICU for Kaiser Permanente. The couple has two daughters, Meili, 8; and Veronica, 5. The family currently lives in Irvine, but Barber says the family will be moving to the Palo Alto area in the near future.
CALSTAR is the largest non-profit air ambulance provider on the West Coast. Now in its 29th year of operation, the company has completed more than 47,000 flights. In all, there are nine bases, serving a diverse area from ‘Santa Barbara to Mendocino to South Lake Tahoe.
