An official website of the United States government
Here's how you know
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | April 6, 2023

Alaska Air Guard Medevacs Patient from Little Diomede

By David Bedard, 176th Wing Public Affairs

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 210th, 211th and 212th Rescue Squadrons evacuated a critically ill patient at Little Diomede just two miles east of the Russian island of Big Diomede on April 4.

The Norton Sound Regional Hospital in Nome requested assistance from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at JBER. The AKRCC sought aviation support from the 176th Wing, and Alaska Air National Guard Maj. Sara Warren, 176th Wing search and rescue duty officer, began planning the mission with other leaders in the 176th Operations Group and the AKRCC.

Alaska Air National Guard Tech. Sgt. Jacob Inman, Alaska Rescue Coordination senior rescue controller, said sea ice fog prevented civilian medevac aircraft from reaching the patient. He said sea ice fog doesn’t “burn off” as land fog does, so it was unknown how long it would take to clear.

Because the village of Diomede doesn’t have an airfield capable of accommodating fixed-wing aircraft, 210th RQS launched an HH-60G Pave Hawk combat search and rescue helicopter from JBER.

Little Diomede is a small island off the west coast of Alaska about 25 miles west of the town of Wales. The International Date Line and two miles of mostly frozen Bering Strait waters separate Little Diomede from the Russian island of Big Diomede.

With a straight-line distance of nearly 600 nautical miles and longer when flying through mountain passes, a 211th RQS HC-130J Combat King II CSAR aircraft also launched from JBER. The King flew weather reconnaissance to guide the Pave Hawk around bad weather and through mountain passes. To provide the range for the mission, the HC-130J refueled the HH-60G in the air numerous times.

Both aircraft carried Guardian Angel teams comprising combat rescue officers and pararescuemen of the 212th RQS. Guardian Angels are highly trained paramedics skilled in air-to-ground rescue operations.

While the Combat King was en route to Diomede, the AKRCC communicated with medical providers and the Guardian Angels to ensure the best medical outcome for the patient.

“We were actively working with the JBER flight surgeons as well as coordinating with doctors in Nome to help the pararescuemen make a quick medical assessment of the patient,” Inman said.

Once on the ground in Diomede, Guardian Angels contacted medical personnel before loading the patient into the Pave Hawk. They transported the patient more than 130 miles southeast to Nome, where medical providers at the hospital took over care.

Warren said due to deteriorating weather on the route back to JBER and the need for crew rest, the helicopter remained in Nome. She said the RCC coordinated to store the HH-60 in the Army National Guard hangar overnight while the crew flew back to JBER on the HC-130. The next day, the 211th RQS launched another HC-130 with a fresh crew to fly the HH-60 back to JBER with refueling support.

For this rescue, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, the 210th RQS, 211th RQS and 212th RQS received credit for one save.
 

 

 

Related Articles
Alaska Air National 210th Rescue Squadron Guardsmen train in HH-60G Pave Hawk operations Sept. 6, 2024, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska. The HH-60 is the Department of Defense's only dedicated rotary-wing combat search and rescue platform.
Alaska Air National Guard Rescues 2 Plane Crash Victims
By Alaska National Guard | Sept. 23, 2024
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -Alaska Air National Guard 176th Wing members conducted two missions in one helicopter sortie Sept. 15, rescuing two general aviation pilots at two crash sites in Southcentral...

An Alaska Army National Guard UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter based in Bethel, Alaska, lands in a flooded area to rescue two stranded hunters along the rapidly rising Gagaryah River about 200 miles from Bethel Sept. 16, 2024. The AKARNG received a request from the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center after the hunters used a satellite communications device to call the Alaska State Troopers for assistance.
Alaska National Guard Rescues 4 Hunters in Same-day Missions
By Alaska National Guard Public Affairs | Sept. 18, 2024
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - The Alaska National Guard rescued four hunters Sept. 16 in two separate missions at the request of the Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.Midday Monday, the...

The Alaska Air National Guard rescues a critically ill mariner from a ship in the Gulf of Alaska June 15, 2024.
Alaska Air National Guard Rescues Mariner in Gulf of Alaska
By David Bedard, | July 10, 2024
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska - When a mariner on a cargo vessel sailing in the Gulf of Alaska became critically ill June 15, Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 176th Wing came to the rescue.Alaska Air National...