Soldiers and Airmen of the Alaska National Guard served as guardian angels in executing four technical aerial missions to save four people during the July 4 holiday weekend.
According to the U.S. Dept. of War website, Maj. Kody Schmidt, senior controller for the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center (AKRCC), said the first mission opened at a request from the Alaska State Troopers for a hoist-capable helicopter to rescue a critically ill patient from a remote residence on the Kantishna River west of Cantwell.
The Alaska National Guard’s 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer accepted the mission and tasked a 210th Rescue Squadron’s HH-60W Jolly Green II helicopter and a 211th Rescue Squadron’s HC-130J Combat King II fixed-wing aircraft, both with 212th Rescue Squadron Pararescuemen on board.
The helicopter special missions aviator hoisted the pararescuemen to a spot near the residence, where they contacted the patient and then hoisted the patient into the helicopter for transport to Fairbanks Memorial Hospital.
Later that day, the rescue center opened another mission following at a request from the National Park Service to medevac a critically ill patient from a remote cabin north of Mount McKinley.
Like the first mission, the helicopter hoisted pararescuemen near the cabin and then lifted the patient for evacuation to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.
During both missions, air-to-air refueling extended the rescue helicopter’s range to reach deep into Interior Alaska.
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Also on July 2, the rescue center opened a mission at the request of the Troopers to save a stranded hiker who had triggered a satellite-based SOS on Matanuska Peak, seven miles east of Palmer.
Capt. Cody McKinney, 207th Aviation Troop Company operations officer, said the Army National Guard dispatched a HH-60M Black Hawk medevac helicopter to the peak.
The crew chief performed a dynamic hoist of the flight medic to contact the hiker and lift the hiker into the helicopter for transport to the Palmer airport. During a hoist, the crew chief lowered the flight medic as the helicopter approached the patient, preventing spinning and oscillation while decreasing the time required for extraction.
The final mission opened when the Guard accepted a Trooper request to rescue a hiker experiencing chest pain near Gulkana.
A 2-211th GSAB HH-60M crew located and treated the hiker on site and then lifted the hiker into the helicopter for transport to Providence Alaska Medical Center.
Schmidt underlined the importance of carrying a satellite communication device when entering the Alaska wilderness, where cell phone coverage is often unavailable.
The saves involved six aircraft, flying nearly 21 hours in under two days.
