FRANCIS S. GABRESKI AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, N.Y. - The 106th Rescue Wing’s first HH-60W Jolly Green II search and rescue helicopter made its inaugural flight from Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base Aug. 4.
Lt. Col. James Liston, the first 106th pilot to qualify on the new helicopter, said it was an honor to pilot the first flight.
“Being the first and being able to teach everyone here at the 106th is a privilege and a welcome responsibility,” Liston said.
“I am absorbing everything I can with the Whiskey program both from Sikorsky, what active duty has done over the last few years, and my test experience so that I can bring that knowledge here and help set the 106th up for success,” he added.
The first flight was over the north shore of Long Island, where Liston demonstrated the aircraft’s automatic approach and hover functions over land and water.
Liston demonstrated the electro-optical infrared camera’s effectiveness in locating and monitoring survivors or threats.
He said the new model’s capabilities will enhance the 106th’s combat search and rescue mission.
Liston said the upgraded avionics suite will enable better navigation in adverse weather, while the new communication system will provide clearer communication with military and civilian agencies.
Staff Sgt. Joseph Devito, a special missions aviator (SMA) at the 106th, said the new aircraft are much more capable.
“There are a lot more tools at our disposal, specifically for us SMAs,” Devito said. “I have higher situational awareness and am more of an operator now. Every hour that we log on the Whiskey, we learn new capabilities. We have more tools to conduct combat search and rescue more effectively, efficiently and safely.”
Liston said the 106th plans to complete aircrew training on the new model by March, and more aircrew will complete their initial training on the model this summer, with local training beginning at the end of September.
“It’s a really awesome feeling being a part of the first team at the 106th to fly the Whiskey,” Devito said. “I feel honored to have been a part of the HH-60G leaving and now being the first one on a Whiskey, and I’ll have that for my whole career, which is awesome.”
The 106th received its first two HH-60Ws, reassigned from active duty, in June. The remaining four helicopters will be delivered directly from the Sikorsky Aircraft plant and the unit will be fully transitioned to the new model by June.
The new version of the HH-60 rescue helicopter takes its “Jolly Green II” nickname from the Sikorsky HH-3 helicopter’s search and rescue wings used from the 1960s until 1991. The aircraft was nicknamed the Jolly Green Giant because of its size and color, according to the National Museum of the United States Air Force.
The 106th Rescue Wing, based at Francis S. Gabreski Air National Guard Base in Westhampton Beach, New York, operates and maintains the HC-130J Combat King II search and rescue aircraft and the HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter. The wing is home to a special warfare squadron with pararescuemen and combat rescue officers specializing in rescue and recovery and deploys for domestic and overseas operations.