Coast Guard

MOFFETT AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Calif. – In a remarkable display of coordination and teamwork, the 129th Rescue Wing, executed a high-stakes medical evacuation on Oct. 9, 2024. The mission launched in response to a request from the U.S. Coast Guard’s 11th District in Alameda, to rescue an unconscious merchant mariner aboard a Liberian-flagged cargo vessel approximately 800-nautical miles off the coast of San Francisco.

 

Coast Guard and 129th RQW flight surgeons determined the patient needed advanced medical care due to their critical condition. The distance from shore posed a significant challenge beyond the range of the Coast Guard’s rescue helicopters, which typically have a radius of 150 to 200 miles. The 129th Rescue Wing, equipped with the HC-130J Combat King II’s air-to-air refueling capabilities, was uniquely positioned to extend the mission’s reach.

 

Lt. Col. Christopher Nance, 130th Rescue Squadron HC-130J command pilot, led the mission commanding four aircraft: two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters and two HC-130J Combat King IIs.  

 

Preparation for the mission began on Oct. 8, involving more than 70 service members from the 129th RQW and the 79th Rescue Squadron.  The 79th RQS, an active-duty unit based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, provided crucial air assets.

 

“The teamwork across the ops group, maintenance group, and units like the 79th Rescue Squadron was incredible,” said Nance. “This mission showed how seamlessly the Air National Guard can work with active-duty Air Force personnel.”

 

The mission’s success hinged on the coordinated efforts of the four aircraft, including air-to-air refueling to extend the helicopters’ range.  The HC-130J aircraft from the 79th RQS provided the refueling capability, allowing the Pave Hawks to refuel four times during the operation.

 

One of the standout aspects of the mission was the involvement of a multilingual service member from the 129th RQW, who was instrumental in overcoming communication barriers with the foreign crew of the vessel.

 

“We were fortunate to have someone who spoke Russian and Ukrainian,” Nance said. “This significantly helped communication with the ship’s captain. This reflects the diversity within the 129th RQW and how every member brings value to the mission.”

 

Upon reaching the vessel, pararescuemen from the 131st Rescue Squadron, conducted a hoist operation from a HH-60G Pave Hawk on to the vessel, and evaluated the patient’s condition. Once stabilized, they hoisted him to the Pave Hawk for the return flight. During the flight, it was determined the patient required further medical treatment. An ambulance was pre-positioned at Moffett and transported the patient to Stanford Hospital in Palo Alto for immediate higher medical care.

 

Reflecting on the mission, Nance commended the coordination and teamwork, stating, “This mission exemplified our core mission: ‘That Others May Live.’  The risks taken by these service members demonstrate the dedication and sacrifice required to save a live.”

 

The mission highlighted the 129th Rescue Wing’s capabilities and its seamless integration with other military branches.  The operations saved a life and reinforced the wing’s reputation as one of the most elite rescue units in the U.S. Air Force.

 

The 129th Rescue Wing’s mission is to train and prepare to perform its wartime mission of combat search and rescue anywhere in the world.  This medical evacuation mark the wing’s 1,165th life save.

MIDDLE RIVER, Md. – Airmen from the Maryland Air National Guard hosted a chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear response exercise with regional partners at two Maryland National Guard training locations, September 24-28, 2024.

The Region 3 Battlefield Experience Learning (R3BEL) deployment for training exercise, a local training event that enhanced emergency readiness and response within a simulated deployed environment, took place at the 70th Regiment Regional Training Institute, Aberdeen Proving Ground in Edgewood, Maryland, and Blum Military Reservation in Glen Arm, Maryland.

A total of 30 participants from 11 emergency management flights from the Air National Guard and Air Reserves contributed to the exercise to strengthen relationships between units within the region, including a team of Maryland airmen from the 175th Wing.

“There was a lot of behind-the-scenes planning, coordinating, and preparation that happened before we got to the smooth and fun training experience our attendees enjoyed,” said Maryland Air National Guard Senior Master Sgt. Jennifer Blood, the installation emergency manager for the 175th Wing, who organized and led the exercise. “Due to the wonderful cadre team we put together and the emergency management personnel arriving with an open mind ready to train, it was a very successful week.”

In collaboration with others in the FEMA designated Region 3 units, the exercise focused on a series of training scenarios in which airmen could test their capabilities in the event of unexpected deployment emergency management challenges while wearing the chemical suits.

“We bring different flights from Region 3 and the surrounding area where we can come together and experience some training together in more of a localized setting,” said West Virginia Air National Guard Master Sgt. Glynn Willard, readiness and emergency management flight chief for the 130th Airlift Wing in Charleston, West Virginia, and one of the cadres for the exercise. “We go over some of our annual training that we do, as well as get some hands-on time out there in the field, in a simulated, deployed environment.”

Participating teams from units in the FEMA’s Region 3 included Air National Guardsmen from Maryland’s 175th Wing, both West Virginia’s 130th Airlift Wing and 167th Airlift Wing, D.C.’s 113th Fighter Wing, Delaware’s 166th Airlift Wing, Minnesota’s 133rd Airlift Wing, Pennsylvania’s 111th Attack Wing, 171st Air Refueling Wing and 193rd Special Operations Wing, as well as Ohio’s 121st Air Refueling Wing and Ohio Air Force Reserve’s 910th Airlift Wing.

“Some of the training that we’ll do this week involves general airmanship and basic soldiering skills,” said Willard. “We’ll practice convoy operations, basic weapon handling and skills, and then we’ll use those basic skills to tie into our CBRN competencies.”

The R3BEL exercise was extensively planned in preparation for such events, as well as to provide the necessary training for each team of airmen.

“When we’re working as the Air National Guard component, it’s really hard to get that dedicated time in long doses to actually get out there and train, especially in those outside-the-wire environments and situations,” said Willard. “It gets us out there and we’re able to actually practice those skills in a simulated environment.”

To be ready for a real-world event, it is important for Airmen to know their counterparts from other states so they are not meeting for the first time during an emergency, according to Williard.

“Getting to see some of those newer faces, and then getting to see who they’ll be working with throughout their career is a really important thing for this training,” said Willard.

The exercise expanded upon previous essential training that the airmen had experienced, but had not had the chance to practice in agile combat employment operations, while utilizing tactics, techniques, and procedures and emerging standard operating procedures.

“When we’re working with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear response, we’re tying in some of those soldiering skills and response in a wartime environment, rather than just our normal response stateside or for domestic operations,” said Willard.

Teams participated in a number of training modules involving Humvee operation and convoy tactics, tactical weapons handling in presumptive identification training, sensitive site exploitation sampling, reconnaissance, and biological training.

“These types of training are important for our career field because we are switching from a reactive position where we are just in the office, something has happened, the scene was cleared, and we’re sent in, to a proactive force,” said Delaware Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Josette Santana, emergency management specialist for the 166th Airlift Wing. “We’re going to be attached to different units, different services, and we have to be able to hold our own out there in the field.”

Part of the training took place in the classroom at the 70th RTI and then teams were sent out to Blum Military Reservation throughout the week to gain hands-on training, which culminated into an intricate simulated deployment event over the last few days of the exercise.

“The exercise is broken up into different satellite exercises,” said Santana. “The main objective of this exercise is to become more familiar with our equipment and the changes that our job is specifically going through.”

Santana explained that one of the changes their career field is experiencing involves movement towards a four-person team attached to another branch’s unit within a potential deployed environment.

“It’s important for us to get that practice, so that once we’re actually down range and all these other factors are influencing what we’re doing for our mission come into play, that we kind of have a baseline as to what we need to do because we’ve practiced it before,” said Santana.

The lessons learned through this exercise have been critical to the further preparedness for units along the East Coast in the event of deployment or local disaster.

“Overall, the week provided excellent training and a strong sense of cohesion was built,” said Blood. “I feel proud of what was accomplished and grateful for the experience and lessons it provided, and I’m confident we’ve established a standard for our future deployed for training events that will inspire the next emergency management leaders to keep this going.”