For Others To Live: 65th ABG takes another step in supporting Portuguese Air Force’s SAR Mission

Photo By Cristina Oliveira 65th ABG/PA | Initiatives as the Hot Refueling training exalt the spirit of healthy cooperation between the USAF and the Portuguese Air Force that characterize daily air operations conducted in Lajes.  

LAJES FIELD, 20, PORTUGAL

11.16.2022

Story by Cristina Oliveira 65th ABG/PA 

65th Air Base Group

LAJES FIELD AIR BASE, Portugal - The 65th Logistics Readiness Squadron (LRS), from the 65th Air Base Group, and the Portuguese Air Force joined together for the first coalition Hot Pit Refueling training, a technique that occurs when an aircraft is refueled immediately after landing, while the engines of the aircraft are still running. This is a major new capability at Lajes that expands the life-saving capacity of the Portuguese Search and Rescue (SAR) units that operate from Terceira Island.

The goal was to give both military forces the opportunity to refine tactics and protocols for "when it is a rescue call and the Portuguese Search and Rescue team have to come and go back out again, doing the hot refueling in between flights would allow them to offload patients and take off in a much shorter time", explains MSgt Burch, Senior Enlisted Leader for the 65th LRS.

"We've got the Portuguese helicopter and our refueling truck out of the hangar to the flightline, so we could walk through the procedures and understand what the differences between each operation are, go forward on this process and make the gap a little bit closer", he added. The training consisted of a static simulation of Hot Refueling of the Portuguese Air Force's EH-101 rescue helicopter, with the aircraft stopped and not energized, during which no fuel has been yet transferred.

This exercise is part of the Portuguese Air Force’s EH-101 Hot Refueling certification process, which still needs higher approval by the USAF. Only after authorization, the Hot Refueling procedure will be fully implemented, improving the operational capacity of the EH101 at Lajes. The main goal is to start doing the Hot Refueling around next year's March 2023.

Due to the excellent relationship between the two countries and Lajes's Field massive fuel capacity, the 65th Air Base Group plays a vital role in supporting the Portuguese Air Force SAR mission as its fuel provider. As MSgt Burch pointed out "this is one of the many venues where the United States Air Force and the Portuguese Air Force works directly with each other on an actual operational mission where people's lives are on the line."

In this type of operation aimed at safeguarding human life, the reaction time is particularly relevant, whereby the implementation of the Hot Refueling capacity at Lajes can, in the future, improve the response time of the Portuguese Search and Rescue mission and maintain the aircraft ready to respond to any emergency call. For Captain/Pilot-Aviator Almeida, from Azores's Air Detachment, "shortening this response time could, at the limit, dictate the survival of the victims we help or mitigate the consequences of misfortunes that unexpectedly affect their state of health".

Portuguese Air Base n. 4 at Lajes is responsible for the SAR mission as well as medical evacuations throughout the nine islands of the Azores Archipelago. Portuguese Air Force’s Search and Rescue mission transports people from other islands to the nearest hospital, often responding to health problems such as heart attacks, pregnant women entering labor and damaged ships in the Atlantic Ocean. On average, the SAR team saves 1.6 lives per day.

On a daily basis, the close partnership between the USAF and the Portuguese Air Force contributes to effective and indispensable support for air operations conducted from Lajes. "The reflection of this healthy cooperation between allies is the extraordinary success of the missions Search and Rescue and Aeromedical Evacuations that, in everyday life, allows Portugal to ensure the safety of citizens, Portuguese and foreigners", highlighted Cap. Almeida.

• Date Taken: 11.16.2022
• Date Posted: 12.14.2022 09:13
• Story ID: 435151
• Location: LAJES FIELD, 20, PT