For the pararescuemen and aircrews of the 129th Rescue Wing, the call that came in had its challenges.
On Sept. 18, a Panamanian-flagged cargo vessel called the Grand Vega put out a distress call when a Filipino crewman began showing symptoms of a stroke. He would need immediate evacuation from the ship for treatment in a fully-equipped hospital.
That was the challenge: the Grand Vega was 700 miles off the California coast, according to the California Air National Guard, which shared details last of the mid-ocean rescue that 129th crews pulled off to reach the man. Besides the distance, weather could change and the mariner needed help quickly.
“The distance was a unique obstacle, and while all mission requests are time-sensitive, this one was especially so,” Senior Airman Alyssa Pannucci, an Air Force Rescue Coordination Center Search and Rescue controller, said in the Air Force’s release.
Airmen from the 129th Rescue Wing, part of the California Air National Guard, were called in. The 129th’s crews and pararescuemen make up are the most experienced unit in the Air Force in the high-risk skills of mid-ocean parachute rescue jumps. The wing alerted both aircrews and a jump team of four pararescuemen and one combat rescue officer
The Grand Vega was 885 nautical miles from Moffett, with changing weather conditions around it. The rescue team had to prepare for the possibility of rough seas. Once over the freighter, the team jumped with a specially-prepped inflatable boat and with each pararescueman, or PJ carry massive, gear-stuffed bags larger than those used on ground-based missions.
Once in the water, the team swam to thier small boat, inflated it and started the engine, then motored to the waiting ship nearby. There, they headed below decks to get the mariner stabilized.
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But reaching the man was only half the mission. THe next morning, the 129th launched a second group of aircraft to bring them all home. That mission included two HH-60 helicopters and another HC-130J for mid-air refueling.
Photos from the National Guard show one HH-60 hovering over the deck as the other waits nearby. The National Guardsmen then used the helicopters to hoist up the patient and the PJ team from the Grand Vega. Once onboard, the helicopters headed to Stanford Hospital back in California, where they transferred the patient.
“This mission demonstrates disciplined planning, swift insertion and expert patient care at an extreme distance,” Maj. Coda Brown with 129th Operations Group said in a statement.
