Arctic rescue Pavehawk style

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Cynthia Spalding
  • 3rd Wing Public Affairs
KULIS AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Alaska --  The rescue squadrons at Kulis Air National Guard Base participate in training missions five days a week, day or night or below freezing temperatures.

"Our primary rescue mission is to rescue a fighter pilot if he ever had to eject from his aircraft," said Lt. Col. Rick Watson, an HH-60G Pavehawk evaluator pilot with the 210th Rescue Squadron. "However, because we also belong to the governor of Alaska, our second mission is to provide services to any civil aircraft accident."

There are three rescue squadrons at Kulis and each support the other to carry out their mission. There is the 210th Rescue Squadron which sponsors the combat search and rescue helicopters to include the HH-60G Pavehawks, the 211th Rescue Squadron for the HC-130 Hercules and the 212th Rescue Squadron Guardian Angel which consists of pararescuemen and combat rescue officers. The three squadrons were only one squadron five years ago.

While on alert 365 days a year, the rescue squadrons conduct about 160 rescue missions a year. Of these, 75 percent are injury reports and 25 percent are missing person reports. Before picking up the patient and making the save, the initial mission starts with a phone call for help. The 11th Air Force Rescue Coordination Center then makes a call to the search and rescue director of operations who organizes the rescue. After they have decided the Pavehawk is the best source to use, coordination is made with pararescuemen, combat rescue officers, pilots and aircraft maintainers; then the mission takes off.

The versatility of the Pavehawk allows it to conduct peace-time operations. They can rescue anyone from your typical hiker or hunter to any civil aircraft accident. There are very few limitations as to whom the Pavehawk pilots cannot rescue.

"Due to our air-refueling capabilities we are called on by other military branches to help out," said Lt. Col. William Sullivan, the Chief of standardization/evaluation from Pacific Air Forces Headquarters, Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii.

Sullivan recalled a mission where the U.S. Coast Guard had asked for support because their aircraft could not travel the distance as far out to sea as the HH-60G Pavehawk, making six air-refuels along the way. Another example of how the refueling capability had a major effect on a mission was for the Rescue of Cougar Ace, a Singapore vessel. Traveling over 1,200 miles out to sea from Anchorage down the Aleutian Chain, the combat search and rescue helicopters completed several air refuels. The Pavehawk can also travel up to an altitude of 14,000 feet without oxygen assistance.

The use of night vision goggles is also a tool that allows the Pavehawk to extend its training and mission capabilities to nighttime operations. Most of their rescue training operations occur during the nighttime hours which help guardsmen become more efficient and increase survivability in combat.

The Pavehawk normally consists of a six-man crew. There are two pilots, a gunner, the flight engineer and usually two pararescuemen. While deployed, Pavehawks carry out missions that include helping Army Special Forces who've been injured and cannot continue on with their units. Usually gone for 3-6 months, Kulis Guardsmen deploy to several different locations to include helping out with disaster reliefs like hurricanes.

"All of us are in the Air Force for different reasons. For me, it has always been about the job satisfaction of being part of a team that is in some way making a difference," said Sullivan. "Regardless of the nature of the conflict or the situation at hand, participating in both combat and civil rescue missions offers me the sense of fulfillment on a routine basis. I feel extremely humbled and honored to have this opportunity to perform this mission with the men and women of the Alaska Air National Guard."