KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan -- The 55th Expeditionary Rescue Squadron arrived at Kandahar Airfield from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., and took over the rescue mission from the 129th ERQS Sept. 1.
The rescue complex consists of the tactical operations center where command and control takes place. The pilots fly the HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopters. The guardian angels are paramedics who render aid to the rescued individuals until they are delivered to a medical facility. And the maintenance crew...
"The maintenance crew are kind of the unsung heroes," said Maj. Brett Hartnett, 55th ERQS director of operations. "They're working 24 hours around the clock to keep these aircraft up."
The rescue maintenance team maintains the HH-60 helicopters 24/7.
"Our maintenance is routine and preventative in order to help keep the aircraft flying so that they have a safe flight going in to perform each rescue," said Tech. Sgt. Dean Bueltemann, 55th ERQS production superintendent.
The 55th ERQS own a couple 24-hour alert aircraft, which must be ready for flight at all times.
"It's a never ending thing; obviously, it's a war zone so it's always needed," said Sergeant Bueltemann. "During that period our aircraft are maintained on a steady alert period. We have a matter-of-minutes response time from the time we get called to the time we go on a rescue. We maintain a high state of readiness. We do certain types of inspections at certain intervals so we can catch problems before they occur."
It's a combined team effort. Once the TOC receives the call, the maintenance guys are literally running out the door to get the aircraft ready to go. At the same time, the pilots and pararescuemen are racing out to the aircraft as well, throwing on their gear and getting ready to save a life.
"We share the alert with the Army," said Sergeant Bueltemann.
Both services receive two weeks on and two weeks off, alternating primary and secondary response responsibilities.
"If they don't have enough or something happens, we'll go in and back them up, and they'll do the same for us," said Sergeant Bueltemann.
The 55th ERQS is tasked to provide personnel recovery services for Regional Command South and they also assist Regional Command West whenever needed. The team primarily conducts casualty evacuations, and they run those missions both here and at Bastion.
"We've been pretty busy," said Major Hartnett. "We probably fly on average four to six missions a day, and that's actually a low number. Bastion probably flies eight to 10 a day, whereas, in Iraq you may have a rescue squadron that flies once every week. We fly considerably more than they do there."
Many of their missions have been due to strikes by improvised explosive devices. Within two weeks of working on KAF, the team performed 58 saves and 107 assists.
"That's a really high number," said Major Hartnett.
"How many saves did you get a month in Iraq?" he asked an Airman who'd recently left the country.
"Zero," the Airman responded.
"Those guys have been there; you can see the difference between here and there," he said.