Rescue Reservists participating in readiness exercise

  • Published
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Approximately 380 Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing here traveled to the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah, Ga., Sunday to participate in a readiness exercise from Sept. 10-14.

Rescue Reservists piloted two HC-130P/N refueling aircraft and three HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters along with busses and cargo trucks loaded with all equipment needed for the exercise.

The 920 RQW routinely trains and ensures unit readiness by participating in periodic exercises, evaluations and inspections. This exercise, called a Combined Unit Inspection - Phase II, will test the skills and preparedness of Rescue Reservists during scenarios that mimic what they may find while deployed in a combat environment.

Rescue Airmen participate in exercises to prepare them for whatever mission they may be tasked with, no matter where it might be. They train in quality environments and maintain the highest levels of proficiency and readiness.

Within the past year and a half, Rescue Wing Airmen have deployed overseas to Afghanistan, Germany and most recently to the Horn of Africa providing both humanitarian relief and combat rescue medical evacuations. Since its start in 1956, the 920th RQW Airmen have saved more than 3,000 lives.

Rescue Airmen are the only members of the DoD specifically organized, trained and equipped to conduct personnel recovery operations in hostile or denied areas as a primary mission.

The wing's primary wartime job is combat search and rescue, which involves locating and rescuing service members isolated or injured in combat - such as combatants injured on the battlefield or pilots shot down behind enemy lines.

This is the first of three such exercises over the course of the next eight months Rescue Airmen are participating in. They will have their deployment readiness tested with an official grade by an inspection team during the final phase of the Inspection slated for April 2013.