The Rescue professionals are called upon again

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Leslie Kraushaar
  • 920 Rescue Wing Public Affairs
MT. HOOD, Ore - --  The Air Force Reserve Pararescuemen from the 304th Rescue Squadron stationed on the Oregon Air National Guard Base in Portland, Ore., were called to duty on Sunday afternoon to help with the search for three missing climbers.

Two teams of Pararescuemen, also known as PJs, jumped to action, grabbed their gear and headed up Mt. Hood Monday.
"We have a ground rescue team and a quick reaction team up there," said Capt. Chris Bernard of the U.S. Air Force's Reserve 304th Rescue Squadron.

Driving up to 6,000 feet was the first stop for the crews as they set up their Command Post out of Timber Line Lodge. During mountain rescues, it's typical to set up the staging area here, said Capt. Mark Ross, Rescue Officer with the 304th Rescue Squadron.

First thing that morning, one team of four PJs set out at the 2-4,000 foot elevation of the Ramona Falls Trail on the West side of Mt. Hood near where the first climbers' body was recovered - hoping to find clues of the two remaining climbers. They searched the trail network there where the climbers might have tried to walk out.

The second team of PJs loaded their gear onboard a Snow Cat at the lodge and headed up to 9,000 feet of elevation. The Snow Cat has an enclosed passenger space that can hold 12-15 people. It's also environmentally controlled up to about 9,000 ft., so it's not that bad of a ride, said Ross.
This team, on the South side of Mt. Hood, had the advanced medical capabilities not only for the potential survivors but also for the other two rescue teams that were on the search for the missing climbers.

An avalanche pit was also dug by the PJs for quick medical stability, in the case a survivor was found or there was an injury within the rescue group, it could be the stage for initial medical treatment.

Today, the PJs and other volunteer rescue groups went back up Mt. Hood and found the weather too bad to search. They all gathered back at the lodge to plan for the inclement weather to come. A PJ team hiked out for an avalanche hazard assessment to make sure there was stability in the coming days for the search to continue, said Ross.

Currently the search is suspended due to inclement weather, but the PJs are maintaining a short notice team on the mountain for any new developments said Bernard.

PJs from the 920th Rescue Wing 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.

The 304th Rescue Squadron is a geographically-separated unit from the 920th Rescue Wing located at Patrick Air Force Base in Cocoa Beach, Fla. The 920th is an Air Force Reserve Command combat-search-and-rescue unit.