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polarwid
Feb 27, 2003, 7:16 PM
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Registered: Nov 22, 2001
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Activation cuts into rescues
GUARD: Kulis deployment means other agencies will have to save us.
By Zaz Hollander
Anchorage Daily News
(Published: February 27, 2003)
The Pentagon is calling to active duty a significant share of Alaska's top rescue crews in a deployment that's expected to last up to a year and that will cut deeply into Southcentral Alaska's rescue resources.
More than 150 members of the 176th Wing at Kulis Air National Guard Base -- including members of the elite 210th Rescue Squadron -- have received federal activation and deployment orders for a search-and-rescue mission, the Guard announced Wednesday.
The mission is a continuation of Operation Enduring Freedom, as the military calls the U.S. effort to fight terrorism, an effort that originally centered in Afghanistan but has spread to other countries.
The call-up includes some HC-130 planes, along with support crews such as aircraft mechanics. The squadron's fleet of HH-60 Pavehawk helicopters will stay here.
Military officials refused to provide many specifics about the operation, such as exactly when members of the 176th are leaving. They also would not say precisely where they're going.
The wing will serve in a search-and-rescue capacity, a mission that could involve rescuing downed pilots, a sick soldier, a sailor injured at sea or even civilians hurt in an earthquake.
The 210th squadron's prime mission is combat rescue. Members have served shorter missions since Sept. 11 in places like Kuwait and Turkey.
But the 210th also is the first responder for many civilian rescues in Southcentral Alaska. Members are trained in scuba diving, parachuting, mountain climbing and emergency medicine.
The 150-member group has handled hundreds of life-saving missions ranging from hair-raising cliffside rescues on Mount McKinley to airlifting injured hikers in the Chugach Mountains.
The deployment leaves Alaska without a large share of the rescue squadron.
"A significant number of members of the 210th are going to be deployed," said Lt. Col. Chuck Foster, commander of the 210th. "It's significant enough that we are taking specific steps to address how we're going to mitigate any kind of negative impact."
The state's Rescue Coordination Center, in an effort to fill the void, will have to rely more heavily on the Army Guard, Alaska State Troopers, National Park Service, Alaska Mountain Rescue Group or Civil Air Patrol, Foster said.
The center also will rely on local fire departments, emergency services and communities across the state, said Maj. Mike Haller, spokesman for the Alaska National Guard.
The 210th is the main rescue agency in Southcentral but not necessarily throughout the state, Haller said.
"In Western Alaska it's the Army Guard; it's the Park Service for McKinley," he said.
The deployment orders this week sparked an air of urgency around Kulis as airmen readied for the deployment, attending briefings and intelligence meetings and getting their paperwork in order. They updated personnel records, made sure their wills were in order, packed equipment and updated their M-16 qualifications, said Lt. Candis Olmstead, spokeswoman for the 176th Wing.
"Things have geared up very quickly in the last couple of days," Olmstead said.
A number of the deployed personnel are part-timers, so-called "weekend warriors" who work regular jobs and serve in the Guard for one weekend a month plus 15 days a year.
Guard officials wouldn't say when the deployment orders arrived or how much time members had to get ready. The jobs they leave behind are protected by law, Olmstead said.
Foster, the squadron's commander, credited part-timers who are leaving both families and jobs behind for a year, a longer deployment than he's personally experienced during one mission in Kuwait and two in Turkey.
He said he can't tell his wife and children much more than he can tell a reporter about his pending deployment.
They know he's leaving, and that's about it, Foster said.
"We have a patriotic family, but they recognize the world is not a fun place. Sometimes it requires folks to leave home."
Reporter Zaz Hollander can be reached at zhollander@adn.com
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bobtheboulderer
Feb 28, 2003, 5:00 PM
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Registered: Mar 26, 2002
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Aren't they the ones that were runners up in the Golden Piton award winners for the Jack Tackle rescue?
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rockprodigy
Feb 28, 2003, 5:35 PM
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Registered: Sep 10, 2002
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It's hard to believe that they risk there necks to save us dirtbags as a hobby...for their real job, they do it with people shooting at them.
It is truly a noble job they do....
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yosemite
Mar 1, 2003, 3:00 AM
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Registered: Dec 5, 2002
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I know I speak for all of us when I wish these guys and gals Godspeed and Good Luck. Take care one and all.
And thanks.
Gene
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