Sea Rescue

Airmen of the 56th Rescue Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, pose in front of one of the two HH-60G Pave Hawks used in a rescue mission off the West coast of Ireland, June 26. The pararescue specialists and crew hoisted a sailor in need of emergent medical care onto their helicopter from the cargo ship, Pascha. The man was experiencing severe abdominal pain, requiring immediate medical evacuation. Two additional U.S. Air Force aircraft, a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing and a MC-130P Combat Shadow from the 352nd Special Operations Group -- both from nearby RAF Mildenhall -- supported the operation for refueling and communication purposes. A Nimrod, search and rescue aircraft, from the United Kingdom also played a critical role in the operation, providing real time communication and coordination between the ship and USAF aircraft. The patient was delivered to an awaiting ambulance in Shannon, Ireland, and is in stable condition. (U.S. Air Force photo / Senior Airmen Michael Barber)

Sea Rescue

A 56th Rescue Squadron HH-60G Pave Hawk from RAF Lakenheath, England, flies toward the cargo ship Pascha, approximately 400 miles off of the West coast of Ireland, June 26. Two helicopters from the squadron made the journey to save a sailor who was experiencing severe abdominal pain and required immediate medical evacuation. Two additional U.S. Air Force aircraft, a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing and a MC-130P Combat Shadow from the 352nd Special Operations Group -- both from nearby RAF Mildenhall -- supported the operation for refueling and communication purposes. A Nimrod, search and rescue aircraft, from the United Kingdom also played a critical role in the operation, providing real time communication and coordination between the ship and USAF aircraft. The patient was delivered to an awaiting ambulance in Shannon, Ireland, and is in stable condition. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jay Reinschi.)

Sea Rescue

A sailor, from the cargo ship Pascha, is hoisted aboard an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter from the 56th Rescue Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, June 26. The sailor was experiencing severe abdominal pain, requiring immediate medical evacuation. Two additional U.S. Air Force aircraft, a KC-135R Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing and a MC-130P Combat Shadow from the 352nd Special Operations Group -- both from nearby RAF Mildenhall -- supported the operation for refueling and communication purposes. A Nimrod, search and rescue aircraft, from the United Kingdom also played a critical role in the operation, providing real time communication and coordination between the ship and USAF aircraft. The patient was delivered to an awaiting ambulance in Shannon, Ireland, and is in stable condition. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jay Reinschi.)

Sea Rescue

A HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter from the 56th Rescue Squadron at RAF Lakenheath, England, prepares to be refueled from a MC-130P Combat Shadow during a rescue mission ov West coast of Ireland, June 26. The pararescue specialists and crew hoisted a sailor in need of emergent medical care onto their helicopter from the cargo ship, Pascha. The man was experiencing severe abdominal pain, requiring immediate medical evacuation. The MC-130 is from the 352nd Special Operations Group at RAF Mildenhall. A KC-135R Stratotanker from the 100th Air Refueling Wing from the same base, was also involved with the operation for refueling and communication purposes. A Nimrod, search and rescue aircraft, from the United Kingdom also played a critical role in the operation, providing real time communication and coordination between the ship and USAF aircraft. The patient was delivered to an awaiting ambulance in Shannon, Ireland, and is in stable condition. (U.S. Air Force photo/Master Sgt. Jay Reinschi.)

56th RQS assist in saving sailor over East Atlantic

Published June 30, 2009
By Staff Sgt. Nathan Gallahan
48th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

ROYAL AIR FORCE LAKENHEATH, England -- Two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters from the 56th Rescue Squadron finished a two-day mission Saturday, which led them 400 miles off of the west coast of Ireland to save a sailor on a cargo ship who was overcome with severe abdominal pain.

The search and rescue team transloaded the patient, in stable condition, to medical personnel in Shannon, Ireland, Friday before flying home the next day.

The rescue mission started when the United Kingdom's Aeronautical Rescue Coordination Centre made the call for assistance Thursday, which was routed through the European Command and approved the next morning, prior to takeoff.

The call was made, because United Kingdom search and rescue agencies don't have aerial refueling capability, which was critical to this operation due to ship being hundreds of miles into the East Atlantic.

"This entire operation is about timeliness," said Lt. Col. Mark Ahrens, the rescue-mission commander from the 56th Rescue Squadron. "Although the United Kingdom's search and rescue teams are phenomenal, we have aerial refueling capability, which allows us to travel much farther out into the ocean and get to the patient much faster."

The aerial refueling capability is more complicated than two aircraft connecting in flight and transferring fuel. For this mission, it required three separate aircraft to conduct the refueling and a fourth aircraft, from the United Kingdom, to oversee the entire operation.

A United Kingdom Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft, from RAF Kinloss in Scotland, orbited above the cargo ship and passed real time information to the incoming USAF team, comprised of a KC-135 Stratotanker and MC-130P Combat Shadow from RAF Mildenhall, and the two HH-60G Pave Hawks from here.

"We received unparalleled support from both tankers," said Lt. Col. Ahrens. "Without them we couldn't have gotten out there as quickly as we did."

All three, together, made the six-and-a-half hour flight from the United Kingdom to the ship, but the trip wasn't as smooth sailing as the mission commander hoped.

"The weather was significantly worse than predicted from here to the ship," the colonel said. "We had to fight our way through the weather; sometimes above it, sometimes below it."

After their first refueling, the lead helicopter had an in-flight emergency when the refueling probe on their helicopter wouldn't stop venting.

"It was basically a non-stop fuel leak from the probe," he said. "If we couldn't fix it, we couldn't continue the mission.

"We had to put it down some place, so we landed in Dublin, Ireland," Lt. Col. Ahrens said. "Master Sgt. Kevin Marlatt, the flight engineer, was able to jump out and repair the probe and the mission continued."

They left Dublin and headed to the cargo ship. Thirty to 45 minutes before they arrived, they coordinated with the U.K. Nimrod and had the ship turn into the wind and cruise at 13.5 knots, to keep the ship stable.

"It's safer to be moving into the wind, because you don't have to worry about crosswinds," said Master Sgt. Todd Swartz, a 56th RQS pararescue specialist with 17-years of rescue experience. "The helicopters aren't really hovering, but maintaining a constant, forward movement."

Two pararescue specialists were hoisted down to the ship. The patient was on the main deck, near the back of the ship.

"When we got to the patient he was ambulatory," the sergeant said. "He was pretty much waiting for us. We interviewed him, performed a patient assessment, took his vitals, status of health and then put him in the litter to move him out."

The patient was hoisted aboard the lead helicopter, and the team headed for Shannon.

"Operations and the extraction at the ship went quite smooth," Lt. Col. Ahrens said. "It was the one point of the mission that went as planned."

The team kept the patient in stable condition until they arrived in Ireland, four hours later.

"The success of this mission cannot be attributed to a single aircraft or person, but to the team as a whole," the colonel said. "It comes down to relying and trusting your wingmen and fellow Airmen regardless of what country they're from."

"He was in stable condition, and we were able to transload him to medical personnel around 5:30 p.m. Friday without incident," Lt. Col. Ahrens said.

With a 10.3-hour flight behind them, the aircrew immediately went into crew rest so they could fly home Saturday.

"It was a great feeling finally being able to get out of the helicopter and stretch our legs," said Lt. Col Ahrens said.

The only better feeling, he said, was "knowing this international team was able to pull together and get the job done quickly and save that patient's life."