JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska – Alaska Air National Guard personnel conducted a rescue mission Feb. 21 after receiving a request for assistance from the Alaska State Troopers through the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center.
The mission was initiated to recover an injured snowmachiner in the Cooper Landing area, about 60 air miles south of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson. The Alaska Air National Guard accepted the mission, located the individual and transported the individual to Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for further medical care.
The mission marked the first search and rescue operation conducted by the 210th Rescue Squadron using the HH-60W Jolly Green II, the Air Force’s newest combat rescue helicopter, which is replacing the older HH-60G Pave Hawk. Guardian Angels assigned to the 212th Rescue Squadron also were aboard the aircraft and assisted in the recovery of the injured individual.
Good Samaritans on the ground at the accident site deployed a signal flare that helped the helicopter crew visually locate the injured individual in the heavily wooded area.
The helicopter was unable to land near the patient because of the mountainous terrain, dense tree cover and deep snow in the area. The aircrew conducted a hoist insertion and extraction of the Guardian Angels and the injured snowmachiner. The patient was extracted using a rescue strop and hoisted into the aircraft.
The Alaska Air National Guard routinely conducts search-and-rescue operations across the state in support of civil authorities, providing life-saving assistance in some of the most remote and challenging environments in the world.