Helicopter pilot takes command of the 308th Rescue Squadron

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Lt. Colonel Kurt A. Matthews assumed command of the 308th Rescue Squadron June 5, 2010 here. The 308th RQS falls under the 920th Rescue Wing which is an Air Force Reserve combat search and rescue unit dedicated to rescuing downed servicemembers behind enemy lines as well as providing rescue support to civilians in distress and NASA astronauts during space shuttle launches.

Lt. Col. Matthews replaced Lt. Col. Joel R. Kinnunen who served as the 308th RQW commander from February 2008 to June 2010. Colonel Kinnunen has taken the position as the guardian angel functional area manager at Air Force Reserve Headquarters, Robins Air Force Base, Ga., and will be responsible for all three Reserve Guardian Angel squadrons; the 304th, at Portland International Airport, Ore., the 306th at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz and the 308th here. Responsibilities include ensuring all of the squadrons are manned, equipped and funded for worldwide personnel rescue operations.

Colonel Matthews transferred from the 920th Operations Support Squadron as the wing's chief of weapons and tactics from July 2008 to June 2010 and he is a combat rescue helicopter pilot on HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters. He graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor of Science degree in mathematics. He then entered undergraduate pilot training at Williams Air Force Base, Ariz. From there he transitioned to helicopters and became an instructor and then evaluator pilot.

Colonel Matthews has logged more than 3,200 hours as a command pilot including deployments in support of Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch and with combat time in Operations Iraqi and Enduring Freedom. He also supported humanitarian efforts during hurricanes Floyd, Katrina and Rita.

"Rescue is in our blood here at the 920th Rescue Wing," said Wing Commander Col. Robert Dunn. "Lt. Col. Matthews has been in the rescue business for many years and there couldn't be a better man for this unique job working with this elite team."

As commander of the 308th RQS, Colonel Matthews faces a different set of challenges and priorities than his former position presented. The squadron is home of the Guardian Angel's Weapon Systems which consists of combat rescue officers or CROs, pararescuemen or PJs and survival, evasion, resistance and escape or SERE specialists.

"To borrow a motto from the Boy Scouts - I want to leave this place better than I found it," said Colonel Matthews. "It would be a great accomplishment to take this squadron to that next level."

The Guardian Angel team is an elite group of Air Force Reservists. According to the pararescue fact sheet, they are the only team in the Department of Defense specifically trained and equipped to conduct conventional and unconventional rescue processes, making them the ideal force to handle personnel recovery and combat search and rescue operations.

To accomplish this mission, PJ's deploy around the world via the air, land and sea into a wide range of environments to extract, treat, stabilize and evacuate injured personnel. Additionally, PJs are among the most highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the U.S. military and they must earn and maintain an emergency medical technician paramedic qualification throughout their careers.

Their medical and rescue expertise, along with their deployment and combat capabilities, allows PJs to perform life-saving missions anywhere in the world, at any time. Their motto, "That Others May Live," reaffirms the PJ's commitment to saving lives and self-sacrifice. Without PJs, thousands of servicemembers and civilians would have been unnecessarily lost in past conflicts and natural disasters.