Way up North comes way down South

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920 Rescue Wing Public Affairs
Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. - --  Every year a select group of Canadians find themselves in a direct competition with Americans. Borders are crossed, traditions are continued, skills are tested, camaraderie is established and it is all in the name of Search and Rescue, and in this case, it was called just that - a Search and Rescue Exercise (SAREX).

Although it may be December, the winter accommodations were hardly frigid - Key West, Fla. was the destination and the scene of some very serious, yet fun, competitions between the Canadian Rescue Forces and our American rescue professionals.

Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) is what the U.S. Air Force Reservists from the 920th Rescue Wing (RQW) out of Patrick Air Force Base, Fla. are used to and practice as such. The big difference between the two competitors is that the Canadians train for peacetime rescues and the 920th's goal is to save lives under combat fire. Although there are fundamental differences of operation, the bottom line is everyone involved would sacrifice their lives for another. This made for a common-bond unbreakable by competition.

Gathering the 920th RQW troops to head out of Patrick Air Force Base took two HC-130/N Hercules aircraft and one HH-60G helicopter, both built specifically for CSAR, and several van-loads of Air Force Reservists, towing boats and trailers, made the 8-hour drive down to Key West.

Once there, both the Canadians - who came by their own C-130 from Winnipeg, Canada - and the 920th RQW gathered for a meet-and-greet and to establish the competition schedule.

Basically, the two rescue groups perform the same actions, just across different borders, and the competition was based upon those skills. There were three different events that were judged; HC-130 accuracy competition, the water "rescue" and High Altitude - Low Opening (HALO) jumps by the pararescuemen (PJs) and Canadian Search and Rescue Technicians (SARTechs). Along with the competition, there was time for some SCUBA training as well for both PJs and SARTechs.

The 39th Rescue Squadron took charge of the skies in their HC-130/N with two pilot spot accuracy landings on a short runway. The 83,000 pound, 100-foot aircraft is able to make quick-stop landings, this is important in a combat situation due to terrain and available runways in a foreign country. The idea was to land as close to the zone as possible, with the lowest score, in feet, winning the SAREX.

The landings were a good training exercise for the pilots, but the crew of the HC-130 didn't get off lightly. Their part in the competition was to accurately drop a package from the aircraft and hit a mark. The load masters are practiced in this type of event because part of their duties are to make sure, during an ocean or land rescue, a package is dropped to the survivors that contains rescue equipment and survival gear.

Rescuing people is the reason the 920th RQW and the Canadian SARTechs are in business, so the water rescue scenario was the perfect event for these men. With volunteer 'survivors' afloat on a raft the HC-130 dropped a Rigged Alternate Method Zodiac (RAMZ) nearby. Several PJs/SARTechs then parachuted out to put the zodiac boat together and monitor the 'survivors' until the HH-60G Pave Hawk rescue helicopter came to 'medically evacuate' the survivors.

The rescue helicopter hoisted the survivors with several of the PJs for mock medical support onboard. The PJs from the 920th are among the most highly trained emergency trauma specialists in the U.S. military. They must maintain an emergency medical technician-paramedic qualification throughout their careers. With this medical and rescue expertise, along with their deployment capabilities, PJs are able to perform life-saving missions in the world's most remote areas.

To end the competition, the PJs and SARTechs participated in HALO jumps. These are jump missions that begin by exiting the aircraft at altitudes up to 35,000 feet, then free falling to about 2,500 feet before opening the parachute canopy. The competition here is for the PJs and SARTechs to land on a specific target on the ground.

Throughout the whole event the American and Canadian rescuers traded information, tactics, procedures and techniques with each other - making it not only a competition, but a valuable way of sharing ideas and, perhaps, finding a new, more efficient way of saving lives.

Key West SAREX 2009 was an eventful competition - each day was full of friendly competition, however, it was not lost on all those who participated that the meaning of this type of service is sacrifice. Each day these men and women put their lives on the line, in combat or otherwise, to save another. The motto of our rescuers is, "These things we do, that others may live," and each and every day - competition or not - they follow that creed.