Joint rescue exercise at 117th Air Control Squadron

HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GEORGIA, UNITED STATES

09.10.2020

Courtesy Story

Fort Stewart Public Affairs Office

HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, Ga. – Members of Hunter Army Airfield Fire and Emergency Services and the Georgia Air National Guard 117th Air Control Squadron, based at Hunter, held a joint rescue exercise Aug. 26 on Hunter Army Airfield to test and utilize their equipment in a real world scenario.
This type of rescue is a rare occurrence, said Stephen Long, Hunter Army Airfield Fire Emergency Services firefighter. He explained that FES will periodically receive new equipment as techniques and procedures evolve within the industry.
“This rescue specifically is a low frequency, high risk situation. It is something that doesn’t happen very often. It might happen once in a career,” Long said. “So we train for it. We are basically getting everyone familiar with the equipment and giving the guys an opportunity to perform a rescue without putting people in danger.”
After receiving a mock call from 117th Air Control Squadron, FES moved to their location and began preparing to extract a training doll with a simulated broken ankle from the approximate 100-foot radio tower.
“As part of our maintenance we have to do periodic inspections and we have to go up that tower,” said Master Sgt. Ryan Work, 117th Air Squadron Radio Frequency transmissions craftsman. “If we cannot self-rescue in the event of an injury, we can call FES and know they have a plan in place as a secondary rescue option.”
This advanced rescue required a two-line, skate block system - one as the main line and another as a back-up line in case of failure. Two rescuers went up to evaluate the person’s injury and rig the system from the high point. The remaining fire rescue personnel, rigged the lines at the low point and managed the lines and system to bring the rescued person to the ground.
“The rescue can get complicated with the amount of ropes and equipment being used along with several factors involved such as the tower, guidelines, communication, and the height of rescue,” Long said.
Long led the rescue from the ground and guided the team throughout. Long has been conducting and training for advanced rescues the majority of his career and has worked with the Savannah Fire technical rescue team, Parris Island urban search and rescue and Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Fire Emergency Services.
Work, who scaled the tower in tandem with FES, helped initiate the training after a recent site visit.
“These guys came out a month or two ago and I noticed they were using some climbing gear,” Work said. “As the tower rescue person for the unit here, I knew I wanted to get them involved. If you don’t use it, you lose it. To keep you familiarity with all the gear and how to rescue a person, we decided to get together for some training.”
The two groups have already planned their next joint training exercise, which will take place on their radar tower. This will add a layer of complexity as there are two separate levels of the tower that have to be traversed.

• Date Taken: 09.10.2020
• Date Posted: 09.29.2020 07:43
• Story ID: 379124
• Location: HUNTER ARMY AIRFIELD, GEORGIA, US