Seldom
The para quoted was written firmly tongue in cheek, the rest of it was not and I stand by it. My other half is currently at said location and gets up at 'random times' for 'less stringent' duties because she is called out every time there's a TIC. Every time she goes in she may have to assist providing life-saving treatment - regardless of how much sleep she has had and not a pencil in sight. She can also be expected to go beyond the wire to assist with casevac. She has an important job, and she does it with humility, although admittedly in a Service that 'pulls together' for the greater aim. As I said, everybody out there has a job to do and they are all equally important.
The article has provoked a great deal of negative reaction, the results of which are probably winging around an intra-net near you. I suspect that your reaction to my email is something similar to that experienced by the majority of 'groundies' when reading the original article.