Rescue Reservists support early morning lift-off

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920th Rescue Wing Public Affairs
PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  Early morning skies lit up with the successful launch of NASA's Space Shuttle Discovery approximately 11 miles north of here. The launch occurred at 6:21 a.m. (EDT) from Space Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center.

The 920th Rescue Wing Reservists were on hand, as usual, for any unforeseen emergency and to keep the safety zone that surrounds all shuttle and rocket launches secure and safe for the public.

This particular mission of the 920th RQW is just one of many for the Rescue Reservists.

The Reservists that make up the 920th RQW carry out combat search and rescue or CSAR as well as civil search and rescue or SAR missions and are ready to perform an array of live-saving duties in all types of situations. Here their skills are necessary to save an astronaut's life if there was an emergency and the astronaut had to bail out of the shuttle - over the ocean or if the orbiter crashed somewhere on Kennedy Space Center before lift off.

The Reservists go through special training to respond to eight different modes of emergency and have the skills and equipment to get to the astronauts in record time and get them to safety.

Crews fly four of the unit's HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters equipped like a flying ambulance. Flight doctors and pararescumen or PJs fly aboard the choppers and stand ready. The helicopter crews' piloting skills allow them to get to the victim wherever they end up - whether it's the middle of the Ocean or amidst the overgrowth brush that surrounds KSC.

The skill of the PJs, the Air Force's elite rescue specialists, allow them to medically treat the astronauts wherever they are and get them to safety at the same time. The PJs are trained to rescue in an array of different environments: water, mountain, desert, urban, etc.

The unit's HC-130P/N Hercules extended-range refueling aircraft also take flight during shuttle launches. They are also equipped medically and carry additional PJs, but that's not all - they also serve as a flying gas station to provide fuel to the helicopters if the helos had to take flight for a SAR. Not only can the "Herc" provide fuel to the choppers, but the aircraft itself acts as a SAR platform. All of the crew comes together to provide an extra set of eyes.

"It's an enormous team effort that the Air Force Reserve has been supporting since the beginning of the program. It's something they do extremely well. They are some of the most versatile men and women in the Air Force with some of the most amazing skills," said Col. Steve Kirkpatrick, 920th RQW Commander. "I'm humbled by the scope of their duties and the professionalism with which they carry them out."

Discovery will carry a multi-purpose logistics module filled with science racks for the laboratories aboard the station. The mission has three planned space walks, with work to include replacing an ammonia tank assembly, retrieving a Japanese experiment from the station's exterior, and switching out a rate gyro assembly on the station's truss structure. Mission STS-131 marks the 33rd flight of a shuttle to the International Space Station.

"The 920th's space support mission showcases why it's the world's premiere rescue unit," said Colonel Kirkpatrick. "We are proud play a vital role supporting the 45th Space Wing and the entire space community."

Without the maintainers and life support personnel performing their duties to ready the aircraft and get them airborne as well as prepare the rescue gear for the PJs, the wing would not be able to carry out these vital duties which seven lives rely upon. The entire 920th RQW team of Reservists must be ready each time a launch is scheduled.

To date, Rescue Reservists have supported more than 400 launches alongside their active-duty counterparts, but that's just a portion of what these Citizen Airmen are trained for.  Currently, a portion of the wing's PJs are deployed to Afghanistan. In February they responded to a series of 17 avalanches in the Salang Pass. They saved many lives of the Afghani citizens that day.

The 920th RQW is an Air Force Reserve CSAR unit which performs more than 20 percent of the Air Force's CSAR mission at only 4 percent of the total budget. The Wing is comprised of 1,500 Airmen and flies both fixed and rotor wing aircraft: the HC-130P/N extended-range Hercules and the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter.