PATRICK AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. \u2013 Thirty-three 920th Rescue Wing Reserve Citizen Airmen from the 920th Rescue Wing out of Cocoa Beach (Brevard County) were recently honored with the 2017 Jolly Green Association Rescue Mission of the Year award for their actions July 7, 2017 in saving two German sailors stranded in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 500 miles off the coast of Florida.<\/p>\n

The unique and intricate mission, which involved more than 30 hours of collective flying between the unit\u2019s HH-60 Pave Hawks and HC-130N Kings, eight air refuelings transferring 16,600 pounds of fuel, a precisely executed open-ocean rescue insertion, and a highly technical nighttime shipboard patient exfil resulting in two lives saved, led to it being deemed the most significant rescue mission of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cPlease extend my congratulations to the crews of Air Force Rescue 05\/06\/235\/237 and the associated Guardian Angel teams,\u201d wrote Lt. Gen. Mark Nowland, deputy chief of staff for operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, in a congratulatory letter. \u201cMy heartfelt thanks goes out to the warriors who live by the motto, \u2018These things we do, that others may live.\u2019 I am especially proud of the teamwork displayed by multiple aircrews and Guardian Angel teams in performing the most outstanding U.S. Air Force rescue mission in 2017.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Guardian Angel team is comprised of combat rescue officers; pararescuemen; survival, evasion, resistance and escape (SERE) specialists and uniquely trained support personnel dedicated to the Air Force core function of personnel recovery.<\/p>\n

The specific capability of the 920th Rescue Wing\u2019s Guardian Angel Airmen, combined with its air refueling and extended-range airpower make it uniquely able to accomplish the mission where few others in the world can. It is the U.S. Air Force Reserve\u2019s sole combat-search-and-rescue wing.<\/p>\n

This is why the U.S. Coast Guard\u2019s Seventh District in Miami immediately directed the call for help to Col. Kurt Matthews, 920th RQW commander, via the Air Force Rescue Coordination Center, Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida, on July 7, 2017.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was an extremely complex and unusual mission,\u201d said Matthews. \u201cThe lengths our Reserve Citizen Airmen went through to save these men is incredible and I am extremely proud of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthews noted the unit was not facing the most ideal circumstances when they received the call for help that morning. The two HC-130s required to transport the Guardian Angel team and refuel the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters were broken and the helicopter crews were on crew rest.<\/p>\n

However, the team pulled together and within two hours the maintenance crews fixed and launched the first HC-130 carrying the Guardian Angel team and their equipment. Two hours later, the helicopters headed to the scene, while the maintenance crews worked on the second HC-130.<\/p>\n

Around this same time, the Guardian Angel team parachuted into the ocean out of the back of the HC-130, followed by their zodiac inflatable boat and medical equipment. After reaching the survivors, they provided urgent medical care and transported them to a nearby freighter whose crew volunteered to help. Under the cover of darkness, the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter teams arrived and their crews hoisted the men into the aircraft bound for the Orlando Regional Medical Center. The survivors spent roughly two weeks in the hospital before returning to Germany.<\/p>\n

The survivors reunited with some their rescuers Jan. 26, 2018, when the Airmen traveled to Hamburg, Germany, to receive the German Medal of Honor on Ribbon for Rescue Missions at Sea in Gold on behalf of the wing. It was the first time in 20 years that the German Maritime Search and Rescue Service had bestowed the honor upon an organization.
\nThe son, who had sustained second and third-degree burns to much of his lower body thanked his rescuers publically at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would like to express my heartfelt thank you to my Guardian Angels for rescuing me,\u201d said Karl Meer Jr. \u201cWith my injuries and without water, I don’t think I would have lived another day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief Master Sgt. Randy Wells, 301st Rescue Squadron chief enlisted manager, who assembled the wing\u2019s nomination for the Jolly Green award, was one of the aviators assisting in the rescue that day on an HH-60 Pave Hawk and who traveled to Germany to receive the Medal of Honor and meet the Meers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was lucky to be crew rested that day and glad to participate along with 32 other professionals who took to the air in a very memorable rescue that bridged German-American relations and solidified our noble mission,\u201d he said. \u201cThis award recognizes the hard work, dedication and compassion all rescue professionals have for their craft.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Reserve Citizen Airmen who flew on the July 7, 2017 mission include:
\nLt. Col. Steven Lawhun, 39th Rescue Squadron
\nLt. Col. John Lowe, 39th RQS
\nLt. Col. Wilfred Rodriguez, 39th RQS
\nLt. Col. Roderick Stout, 301st RQS
\nLt. Col. Michael Stuker, 301st RQS
\nMaj. Cody Atchison, 308th RQS
\nMaj. Paul Carpenter, 301st RQS
\nMaj. Christopher Ferrara, 39th RQS
\nMaj. Jayson Goetz, 301st RQS
\nMaj. Richard Moore, 39th RQS
\nMaj. Richard Verica, 39th RQS
\nCapt. Kenneth Creager, 39th RQS
\nCapt. Daniel Morgese, 39th RQS
\nChief Master Sgt. Shane Smith, 920th Operations Group
\nChief Master Sgt. Randolph Wells, 301st RQS
\nChief Master Sgt. Christopher Lais, 308th RQS
\nSenior Master Sgt. Frank Mora Matos, 301st RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Mark Borosch, Air Force Reserve Command
\nMaster Sgt. Louis Hause, 308th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Isabelle Kliergraham, 920th Rescue Wing
\nMaster Sgt. Jason Kornhauser, 301st RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Robert Kurzen, 39th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Paul Mollura, 39th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Kenneth Pizer, 39th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. William Posch, 308th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Mark Victor, 39th RQS
\nMaster Sgt. Darrell Williams, 308th RQS
\nTech. Sgt. Richard Boyd, 308th RQS
\nTech. Sgt. Patrick Englishby, 39th RQS
\nTech. Sgt. Eric Fowler, 301st RQS
\nTech. Sgt. James Reynolds, 39th RQS
\nStaff Sgt. Christopher Moore, 308th RQS
\nStaff Sgt. Lee Von Hack-Prestinary, 308th RQS<\/p>\n

A half dozen from the group will travel to Florida\u2019s panhandle to accept the award May 5.<\/p>\n

The Jolly Green Association is a non-profit U.S. Air Force veterans\u2019 organization established in 1969. It consists of Air Force veterans, retirees and active duty members from throughout the U.S. Air Force combat search and rescue and special operations forces communities. Members must currently be flying or have flown as a crewmember (officer or enlisted) in a Jolly Green unit or a helicopter unit with a primary or secondary mission of rescue according to its website. The term \u201cJolly Green Giant\u201d was the nickname of the HH-3E Sikorsky helicopter, and its successor the HH-53 \u201cSuper Jolly Green Giant,\u201d flown to rescue downed Airmen in Southeast Asia.<\/p>\n

{rel}","templated":true}]}}