JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Airmen with the Alaska Air National Guard's 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons rescued an injured snowmobiler about 12 miles north of Seward on Sunday.
According to the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, the Alaska State Troopers requested support from the Alaska Air National Guard after attempts to reach the injured person were unsuccessful.
"LifeMed attempted to fly to the person's location, but due to weather and terrain, was unable to reach the snowmobiler," said Capt. Jeremiah Brewer, a senior mission controller with the AKRCC. "A ground team was also unable to reach the person by snowmobile due to both terrain and the nature of the person's injuries."
The AKANG accepted the mission and launched an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from the 210th Rescue Squadron with a team of Guardian Angels from the 212th Rescue Squadron on board, out of JBER.
Guardian Angel teams are highly trained medical personnel made up of a pararescueman and a combat rescue officer who both specialize in conducting high-risk rescue missions.
The helicopter flew to the approximate location of the individual, but due to the persistent weather and terrain considerations, opted to insert the Guardian Angel team five nautical miles from the individual's location.
"They had a good idea of where the location was because the individual activated a SPOT beacon, which gives a latitude and longitude of its user's location," said Brewer.
The ground team made their way to the person's location, and once weather permitted, marked a location for the helicopter to extract the group, Brewer explained.
The individual was then flown back to Anchorage and released to medical personnel at the Alaska Regional Hospital.
For this mission, the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons were awarded with one save.