National Guard rescue team evacuates 26 people from Rainy Pass Lodge

Twenty-six people and two dogs were evacuated overnight from an Alaskan hunting and recreation lodge after a rapid-spreading wildfire threatened the area, approximately 125 air miles from Anchorage, July 23, 2019. An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th Rescue Squadron and a CH-47 Chinook helicopter from the Alaska Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, evacuated the individuals and transported them to safety at JBER. This was the first rescue mission accomplished by the Chinooks since they joined the 1-207th last December. (Courtesy photo)

ANCHORAGE, AK, UNITED STATES
07.24.2019
Story by Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead
Alaska National Guard Public Affairs 

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Members of the Alaska National Guard assisted in the evacuation of Rainy Pass Lodge overnight as a wildfire from a lightning strike two miles away spread toward the lodge where youth were attending a summer adventure camp.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center was made aware of the fire and notified appropriate authorities, coordinating with Rainy Pass Lodge, Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska Division of Forestry, Palmer Fire and Rescue and Clearwater Air.

An HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter from the Air National Guard, with two pararescuemen on board, provided assistance to local authorities, evacuating 26 people and two dogs to safety in Skwentna.

Skwentna is a small community of about 50 people, about 73 air miles northwest of Anchorage, and requires travel by air or boat.

An Army National Guard CH-47 Chinook helicopter, with three Air Guard pararescuemen, transported the individuals from Skwentna to Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson.

The Pave Hawks that responded are from the Air Guard’s 210th Rescue Squadron, which supports an alert mission around-the-clock, year-round. They were able to quickly get to the lodge once it was determined that evacuation was necessary.

“Our priority was to get the people to safety as rapidly as possible, so we started with women and children and loaded up the Pave Hawk, then transported them to Skwentna,” said Lt. Col. Keenan Zerkel, director of the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center. “Then we went back for the rest of the people on the second trip.”

The RCC coordinated for the Chinook to fly directly to Skwenta, where all of the evacuees were loaded into the tandem-rotor, heavy-lift helicopter, which can transport up to 44 passengers.

According to Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mark Ward, the Chinook pilot on the mission, this was the first rescue that Army Guard Chinooks have accomplished since they arrived, new to the unit this year.

“It was great to be able to help these people; it made my day,” said Ward. “I’ve been in the unit 29 years and this was a highlight.”

Reserve Citizen Airmen showcase at one of the nation’s biggest air shows

Photo By Senior Airman Anthony Pham | A 302nd Airlift Wing Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System equipped-C-130 Hercules aircraft performs a system test at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado, July 22, 2019. Aircrew will be demonstrating the MAFFS at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh air show in Wisconsin July 23-28. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Anthony Pham) 

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO, UNITED STATES
07.24.2019
Story by Tech. Sgt. Frank J Casciotta
302nd Airlift Wing/Public Affairs 

Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 302nd Airlift Wing arrived at one of the nation’s biggest air shows today to showcase the wing’s special aerial firefighting mission.

A six-member aircrew, supported by two maintenance technicians, will perform daily demonstrations of the Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System at the Experimental Aircraft Association AirVenture Oshkosh air show in Wisconsin, July 23-28.

Lt. Col. Bradley Ross, the 302nd AW’s MAFFS operations chief, says the air show provides an opportunity for communities outside the local area to see what a MAFFS drop looks like first hand and get a better understanding of what the mission is.

The MAFFS mission is a joint effort between the U.S. Forest Service and the Department of Defense to suppress wildland fires. The 302nd AW is the only Air Force Reserve unit tasked with this special mission. There are also three Air National Guard wings that share this mission: Nevada's 152nd Airlift Wing, California's 146th Airlift Wing and Wyoming's 153rd Airlift Wing.

The MAFFS is a self-contained aerial firefighting system, owned by the U.S. Forest Service, which can discharge up to 3,000 gallons of fire retardant in less than 10 seconds, covering an area one-quarter of a mile long and 100 feet wide. The system can then be reloaded in less than 12 minutes on the ground.

Old fire station on Otis Air National Guard Base demolished

CAPE COD, MA, UNITED STATES
07.24.2019
Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson
102nd Intelligence Wing   

Building 122 in the process of being demolished on July 24, 2019, at Otis Air National Guard Base, Massachusetts.

The building was occupied by the Otis Fire Department from it's construction in the 1950s until 2007 when it was replaced by a larger nearby facility, the Otis Fire Crash and Rescue Station.

After the 102nd Fighter Wing changed it's mission and became the 102nd Intelligence Wing, the Otis Fire Crash and Rescue Station was transferred from federal to state authorities and is the current home of the Joint Base Cape Cod Fire Department.

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson

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Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson

Photo by Tech. Sgt. Thomas Swanson

MCIPAC personnel prepare for change of command

OKINAWA, JAPAN
07.25.2019
Photo by Lance Cpl. Savannah Mesimer
Marine Corps Installations Pacific 

Takeshi Tsuhako, a driver engineer with Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Corps Installations Pacific - Marine Corps Base Smedley D. Butler, poses for a photograph on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, July 25, 2019. Tsuhako was attending a practice for a change of command. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen Paul Rock Jr. is scheduled to relinquish his post as Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations Pacific to U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William J. Bowers on July 26, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Savannah Mesimer)


Personnel with Fire and Emergency Services, Marine Corps Installations Pacific - Marine Corps Base Camp Butler, hoist the American flag on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, July 25, 2019. The personnel with Fire and Emergency Services were attending a practice for a change of command. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen Paul Rock Jr. is scheduled to relinquish his post as Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations Pacific to U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William J. Bowers on July 26, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Savannah Mesimer)


U.S. Marines assigned to various units throughout Marine Corps Installations Pacific - Marine Corps Base Camp Smedley D. Butler hold the American flag on Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, July 25, 2019. The Marines were practicing for a change of command. U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Paul Rock Jr. is scheduled to relinquish his post as Commanding General of Marine Corps Installations Pacific to U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. William J. Bowers on July 26, 2019. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Savannah Mesimer)

Cal Guard rescues missing hiker in Alpine County

Photo By Joint Force Headquarters Califonia National Guard | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Greg Proell, a flight paramedic with the California Army National Guard's Army Aviation Support Facility #3 in Mather, California, talks with a hiker after a hoist rescue in Alpine County, Monday morning, July 22, 2019. The hiker was reported missing after failing to meet up with another hiker July 19 near Lake Alpine. The Cal Guard was activated Sunday night by the California Governor's Office of Emergency Services to assist Alpine County Sheriff's Department on the search. 

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES
07.22.2019
Story by Crystal Housman
California National Guard 

SACRAMENTO, Calif. – A 33-year old man is safe and sound this afternoon after he was rescued in Alpine County by a California National Guard aircrew.

The man was reported missing after he failed to meet up with another hiker Friday near Lake Alpine.

A UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter and four-person aircrew from the Cal Guard’s Army Aviation Support Facility #3 in Mather were activated by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and took off at 8:30 Monday morning. By 9:30 a.m., the crew had located the hiker down a ravine in a rugged and mountainous area of Stanislaus National Forest in the Sierra Nevada mountain range and hoisted him to safety.

The helicopter was flying low and slow over the treetops when the hiker spotted them, said U.S. Army Capt. Christopher Sandin, who serves as the flight facility’s operations officer and was one of the pilots on the flight.

“We found him on a river bed and he was waving at us with some sticks and making it apparent that he needed to be hoisted and saved,” Sandin said.

The crew set up a hoist and lowered Staff Sgt. Greg Proell, flight paramedic, down from the helicopter about 140 ft. to the hiker. Proell then did a quick evaluation and helped the hiker onto a rescue seat for hoist up and into the helicopter.

“Once we located him, we went right into hoist mode and set up for that and right into business. We wanted to do it quickly and safely so we could get this guy out of there,” Sandin said.

Sandin and his crew flew the hiker to an incident command post set up in Bear Valley for a medical evaluation before returning to the search area to pick up a pair of search and rescue personnel who were looking for the hiker on the ground.

The activation is the Cal Guard’s fifth search and rescue mission in support of local, state and federal agencies in 2019 and marks the guard’s second save in California this year.