The Men Who Make the Saves USAF photo An HH-60 Pave Hawk is refueled by an HC-130 during Katrina operations. 60 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2007 The Men Who Make the Saves At Moody AFB, Ga., USAF’s combat search and rescue troops train for missions in bad-guy territory. By Breanne Wagner, Associate Editor hen the HH-60G Pave Hawk active duty CSAR wing in the Air Force. In early 2006, the Chief elevated helicopter lifted off, the (Until October, the unit was called the combat search and rescue to “primary temperature was a stifling 347th Rescue Wing. However, after a mission” status. In the process, he W97 degrees. Mile after mile of muddy, reorganization and merger with assets transferred the CSAR mission back snake-infested Georgia swamp passed that include A-10 attack aircraft, it was to Air Combat Command. For two- below. Inside the chopper, heat and given a new name—the 23rd Wing. The and-a-half years, CSAR fell under engine noise reached oppressive levels. latter title is used hereafter.) control of Air Force Special Operations It was, in short, an ideal day for combat The 23rd Wing includes the 347th Command, where it was a second- search and rescue training. Rescue Group at Moody, the 563rd ary mission. The most recent move Inside the Pave Hawk’s cabin, two Rescue Group at Davis-Monthan AFB, gave ACC administrative control of gunners stood ready at their GAU-2/B Ariz., and the 23rd Fighter Goup. all CSAR assets except for those in miniguns. Pararescue jumpers—PJs— Europe and the Pacific. (See “Aero- swung their legs out each door, M-4 “Saves” and “Assists” space World: CSAR Mission Is On the carbines held across their laps. At the In Iraq and Afghanistan, where the Move—Again,” April 2006, p. 17.) proper moment, the pilot brought down fighting is deadly and unpredictable, “There’s nothing higher on an air the chopper, dropped off two PJs, and the CSAR professionals perform a vital commander’s list of priorities than got airborne again. It took 20 seconds. function. They are in high demand. The the ability to go pick up an airman or The PJs located the target—an aban- Air Force credits the wing’s members someone at risk on the surface,” said doned truck—relayed coordinates and with carrying out some 720 “saves” Moseley. “It is an ethical and moral waited. and more than 250 “assists” throughout imperative. [CSAR] is a big deal for Soon, the helicopter returned and Iraq and Afghanistan since 9/11. us morally, and it’s a big deal for us its guns blasted away, raking the Now, Gen. T. Michael Moseley, Air doctrinally, and it’s a big deal for us target with 7.62 mm rounds. “Enemy Force Chief of Staff, has made the as airmen.” destroyed,” said one PJ, as if to say, CSAR mission an even higher prior- The change better aligns the CSAR “That’s a wrap.” He was already ity, and with that will come new and mission with the combat air forces. packed up and prepared to move on improved aircraft. “We can better present our forces to to the next target. So it went on a routine combat search and rescue—or CSAR—training mis- sion held not long ago at Moody AFB, USAF photo Ga. In the world of CSAR, “routine” is a relative term. On one day, rou- tine could mean rescuing a family trapped somewhere in the inundated Mississippi River Delta. On another, it could mean treating a wounded patient in a helicopter that’s evading enemy fire. Whatever the specific conditions, these airmen are in the business of saving lives. And as the exercise at Moody showed, it often goes beyond the pickup. Sometimes, it requires a bit of assertiveness. For the Air Force, the world of CSAR An HH-60 Pave Hawk from the 301st Rescue Squadron fl ies over the streets of begins at Moody, the home of the only Baghdad, Iraq. The combat search and rescue unit is active in Iraq. AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2007 61 April 16, 2004, during a mission called Sky King 61, which unfolded in Iraq. On that day, a formation of three Army CH-47 Chinook helicopters took off on a mission but soon encountered a massive sandstorm. One of the chop- pers, paralyzed by the storm, attempted USAF photo byMontgomery Capt.Tom to land near Kharbut, but the right landing gear collapsed. The helicopter rolled over on its side, stranding the five Army crew members. Two Air Force HH-60G Pave Hawk helicop- ters, Jolly 11 and Jolly 12, picked up the CSAR mission and, because the stormed blotted out all visual refer- ences, the crews navigated to the crash site using instruments. The flight out was made under attack from surface- to-air missiles and rocket-propelled Air Force HH-60 pilots study a topographical map of the Gulf Coast region as they grenades. prepare for a rescue mission after Hurricane Katrina. Everybody made it back. For this action, the crews of Jolly 11 and Jolly the combatant commanders through operations during the Vietnam War. 12 were awarded the Mackay Trophy, ACC, because that’s their business,” The traditional CSAR mission—sav- which recognizes the most meritorious said Col. Kenneth E. Todorov, vice ing of downed pilots in enemy terri- and noteworthy flight of the year by commander of the 23rd Wing. tory—was common and filled with an Air Force person or organization. Todorov says that, because of Mose- danger. CSAR airmen today still wear (See “Aerospace World: Moody Crews ley’s action, CSAR has regained vis- the Jolly Green Giant patch as a re- Awarded Mackay Trophy,” February ibility and attention in the higher minder of this heritage. 2006, p. 24.) echelons of Air Force leadership. “I “We have a long history of doing Even so, this type of rescue was un- think the fact that we’ve got advocacy this mission, before Vietnam, but usual for Iraq, where insurgents most at multiple levels now and multiple we really cut our teeth in Vietnam,” often do their damage against ground [major commands] is an advantage,” Todorov remarked. troops, not aircraft crews. CSAR units Todorov said. today pick up very few downed airmen, The first tangible sign of this came Sky King 61 said Capt. Dave Anderson, 41st Rescue in November, with the selection of a Even in a very different wartime Squadron pilot. CSAR airmen mainly new helicopter to replace old and worn setting, CSAR is vital. This fact is rescue coalition ground forces after out HH-60s. The Air Force on Nov. 9 underscored almost daily in Iraq and vehicle accidents or roadside attacks. awarded Boeing a contract to build Afghanistan but no more so than on In Iraq, there are more water recover- 141 HH-47s to replace the service’s fleet of 101 Pave Hawks. Plans call for Boeing to deliver the first production HH-47 in 2011, with initial operational USAF photo capability set for late 2012. The Boeing award shocked some defense analysts, and the two competitors—the Lock- heed Martin-Agusta Westland team and Sikorsky—have lodged protests. The Air Force maintains that it chose Boeing because the company could meet USAF’s aggressive timetable. The Air Force also chose to increase the size of its rescue force, which is considered one of its most low-density, high-demand assets. Todorov says that acquiring 141 new helicopters “is required to get us out of LD/HD, to fix rescue, so our airmen can get back, reconstitute, properly train, and be trained.” CSAR has been around a long time, An HH-60 Pave Hawk with the 101st Expeditionary Rescue Squadron kicks up dust but it draws much of its legacy from during a combat search and rescue exercise. CSAR airmen continue training even the HH-3 “Jolly Green Giant” rescue while deployed to Southwest Asia. 62 AIR FORCE Magazine / January 2007 after which the Air Force almost im- mediately took up Operation Southern Watch and Operation Northern Watch enforcement of the no-fly zones in Iraq. And this continuous deployment has put tremendous stress on the HH-60 equipment and the airmen performing the mission. According to Todorov, USAF photo byMontgomery Capt.Tom the rescue force has been low-density, high-demand for 15 years. Since the Global War on Terror be- gan, the operations tempo in Southwest Asia has markedly increased. Search and rescue air crews typically see multiple 60-day deployments with 120 days spent at home. For maintainers, 120 days are spent deployed and 120 days at home. A wing spokesman esti- mates that 17 to 20 percent of the wing is deployed at any given time. Two HH-60s take off from Jackson, Miss., on Sept. 1, 2005 to perform combat The situation is particularly tough search and rescue missions along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina. for PJs, who have the highest deploy- ment rates of all CSAR troops, ac- ies than land rescues, according to Lt. high—a fact amply demonstrated by cording to TSgt. Kenneth Marshall, Col. Lee J. Pera, deputy commander of a quick look at the Moody flight line a 41st RQS PJ. The high pace of the 347th RQG. One such underwater on a recent day. The Air Force owns operations coupled with a rigorous operation took place in October 2005, a total of 101 Pave Hawk helicopters, selection process has left the career when a roadside bomb planted near most of them assigned to the Georgia field chronically undermanned.