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Joint rescue mission saves man off California Coast

  • Published
TYNDALL AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  An injured man is recovering in a San Diego hospital following a dramatic rescue 1,400 miles at sea involving California-based Air National Guard, U.S. Marine Corps, and U.S. Coast Guard units and the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center at Tyndall Air Force Base, Fla.

The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center was contacted by the U.S. Coast Guard's Pacific Area Rescue Coordination Center Thursday afternoon regarding an injured man aboard a sailboat 1,400 miles off the coast of California. Controllers immediately responded by coordinating rescue assets from the California Air National Guard and the U.S. Marine Corps.

California Air National Guard pararescuemen (PJs) from the 129th Rescue Wing at Moffett Federal Airfield near San Francisco flew with the U.S. Coast Guard aboard an HC-130 transport plane to where the vessel was located at sea.

Once the ship was sighted, the PJs parachuted into the ocean with a Zodiac inflatable boat and enough medical supplies to sustain the injured sailor's life for several days.

The PJs were able to stabilize the injured man and provide urgent care for the victim. They stayed with him on the sailboat until a San Diego-bound merchant arrived on-scene shortly after midnight Friday. The patient and PJs were then transferred to the merchant vessel which set sail for San Diego.

Aircraft and personnel from the 129th formed a Search and Rescue Task Force and prepositioned at Naval Air Station North Island near San Diego Saturday.

Sunday afternoon two HH-60G helicopters, one MC-130P and one Marine KC-130J tanker launched from NAS North Island, flew out to sea and made contact with the merchant vessel. The HH-60 crew hoisted the patient and PJs from the ship to the helicopter, while the M/KC-130s served as a refueling platform and command and control node for the Search and Rescue Task Force.

The PJs provided life saving medical aid during the flight to San Diego, where the patient was transferred to Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif., Sunday evening.

"This was a total team effort with many different agencies involved in getting the victim to the hospital," said Chief Master Sgt. Stephen Bell, chief enlisted manager at the AFRCC. "It's always rewarding when we have a successful mission like this and save a life."