SANDY, Ore. – With simulated floodwaters cutting off neighborhoods and covering access roads, Oregon National Guard rescue crews flew low above the Sandy River June 5 to practice lifesaving helicopter operations in Clackamas County.
Since late February, the Oregon National Guard, along with other military first responders, has been training with the Clackamas Fire Department in a three-part “crawl, walk, run” series to enhance joint incident response capabilities. The final “run” focused on water rescues in Clackamas County’s biologically diverse terrain and used an Oregon Army National Guard HH-60M Black Hawk out of Salem and a U.S. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk assigned to Coast Guard Station Astoria to extract casualties from stranded areas along the fictional Clackamine River.
“What we're working on today is interagency coordination between our capabilities with the National Guard, and the water rescue teams on the Coast Guard and civilian sides,” said Army Staff Sgt. Elliot Ariel, assigned to G Company, 1st Battalion, 189th Aviation Regiment. “The training is beneficial to the community, and the practice helps streamline our communication process and how we would have to do this in a real-world event.”
Morgan West, community resilience officer for the Clackamas Fire Department, spearheaded the three training exercises. The “crawl” occurred Feb. 26 during an air-monitoring exercise. The “walk” session was held on April 10 and focused on patient-pack training, aircraft-specific mission briefings and hoist iterations aboard the Black Hawk and Jayhawk helicopters.
A solid plan and open lines of communication set the stage for this final exercise. As with any multi-agency exercise, the real test was weaving everyone together, whether face-to-face, over the radio, on the ground or soaring above.
“Having the combat controllers here [from the 125th STS] was a critical safety factor,” West said. “They are a great resource because they helped with the sequencing of aircraft into and out of the recovery zone.”
The 125th is one of only two Special Tactics units in the Air National Guard; the other is the 123rd Special Tactics Squadron in Kentucky. This unit comprises Combat Controllers and Special Operations Weather Teams. Its members also bring extensive experience in static-line and military free-fall parachuting, rappelling, small-boat operations and all-terrain vehicle operations.
U.S. Air Force Reserve Pararescuemen, known as “PJs,” from the 304th Rescue Squadron at the Portland Air National Guard Base, also participated in the training. They supported both the Army Guard and the Coast Guard Flight Medics on the ground, helping to load patients into rescue litter baskets. Although the squadron is based in Portland, it is part of the 943rd Rescue Group at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona and the 920th Rescue Wing at Patrick Space Force Base in Florida. The unit has a long history of search-and-rescue missions in the Pacific Northwest.
The conditions for this final part of the three-step exercise unfolded after days of relentless rain, when the saturated soils of fictional Clackamine County could no longer absorb the rising waters. Streams feeding into the lower Sandyville area quickly overflowed, causing severe flooding along the fictional Clackamine River. Local neighborhoods became isolated and sustained significant damage as the water continued to rise.
In response, Clackamas County Emergency Management urgently called on the Oregon Department of Emergency Management for help. This prompted a coordinated rescue effort, with Search and Rescue teams from Clackamas Fire and military units mobilizing to assist those affected by the severe flood.
The final exercise mirrored a real-life rescue operation by the Oregon Army National Guard more than two decades ago. On December 13, 2003, the Oregon National Guard Military Air Rescue Team responded to an urgent call from Oregon Emergency Management and conducted an over-water rescue along a similar stretch of the Sandy River.
Real-life responses such as this highlight the importance of training and support for the next generation of first responders in the Pacific Northwest as they continue this legacy.
“This has been a step-by-step training for all of our teams involved. Many of our members have been deployed outside the region and the Clackamas fire area, so we understand which needs we are missing,” said Kyle Olson, who has coordinated regional disaster readiness exercises for the Clackamas Fire Department.
Last August, he worked with the Oregon Army National Guard to begin initial flood response efforts alongside CH-47 crews.
“We have so many talented folks in each one of these competencies and with these skill sets who can go out and help when we need it most,” Olson said.