An official website of the United States government
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 | Aug. 14, 2012

Michigan Air National Guard Airmen refine search and recovery skills

By Tech Sgt. Daniel Heaton 127th Wing

SELFRIDGE AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Mich. - With a steady summer rain shower adding to the mood, Airmen from the Michigan Air National Guard's 127th Wing here conducted a search and recovery exercise as part of a week-long series of training scenarios to ensure that the 127th Force Support Squadron is prepared to respond to any duty they are called upon to perform.

"It is an aspect of our job that most people probably don't realize that we do, but ultimately, it is the most important job," said Air Force Staff Sgt. Kenneth Palmeri, a member of the Services Flight, 127th FSS at Selfridge.

Palmeria and others in his unit have five broad areas of responsibility: lodging, food services, fitness, recreation and mortuary affairs. That final duty means that when they deploy, services Airmen are called upon to lead search and recovery efforts after any type of attack and are then responsible for preparing any human remains for their dignified return first to Dover Air Force Base, Del., and then on to their final resting place, typically the home town of a deceased service member.

"We make no assumptions about anything when we do this job," Palmeri said. "We work with experts who make identifications, with medical professionals who make their determinations. Things have to be done 100 percent right."

During the exercise, the Airmen had two of their own members roleplay as personnel injured and killed in an attack. As part of the training, the deceased Airmen had to be located first. Then, assessments were made as to the possible presence of any unexploded ordnance that could have been in the area and security forces personnel were notified to provide security as needed for the recovery team.

"We work with a lot of players in the mortuary affairs role," said Air Force Master Sgt. Brian Ward, readiness noncommissioned officer for the Services Flight. "There's explosive ordnance disposal, security forces, public health, medical and we have to work with the civil engineers on all the facilities issues. Given the environment that can be involved, it can be a lot more than the process at a local funeral home."

Ward said in addition to practicing the physical skills required to do the mortuary affairs job, the flight talks with Airmen about the mental health challenges that being on such a duty can present.

"It is something you talk about and try to make people aware of the mental health services that exist," he said.

Ward said the Service Flight is fortunate to have a number of strong airmen who are able to do a number of different tasks well, including preparing for mortuary affairs duty.

"We have a core of strong junior NCOs who take pride in what they do," Ward said.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...